Whats up with that smart pricing?

[DaStarBuG]

Hello, it's me again.

Every so often I read threads where users (some of them call themselves adsense experts) say things like this:

* Your AD has been smart priced
* You're clicks will likely get smart priced
* Your Account has been smart priced
* Be careful or you get smart priced
* I suspect that i am smart priced

Everyone is talking about Smart Pricing and thinks it has something to do with lower earnings for publishers but no one knows what smart pricing really is.

Since last month we all (could) know because Google explained it on its Inside Adsense Blog.

So get ready to learn the ultimate secret about how you could find out if you are really smart priced or just a smart price (*just kidding*):

Insight into your earnings Part I: Explaining the ad auction
[adsense.blogspot.com...]

Insight into your earnings (Part II): How smart pricing fits in
[adsense.blogspot.com...]

Sow what did we learn?
Smart Pricing is a constant factor in every AD Auction that effects every publisher all the time.
It reflects the quality of your content and visitors and how they interact with your ADs.

Some more interesting stuff from google:

Diagnosing and treating revenue fluctuations (Part I)
[adsense.blogspot.com...]

Diagnosing and treating revenue fluctuations (Part II)
[adsense.blogspot.com...]

Hope that helps to understand the Adsense Business a little more.

Some advice: Read the Inside Adsense Blog regularly, it is all about the Business YOU are involved in!
[adsense.blogspot.com...]

StarBuG

[StoutFiles]

Yes, smart pricing happens to everyone. You're looking at it too literally though; people use the term "smart priced" as a analogy for being punished. Considering most people with Adsense see their ad click value go down over time, smart pricing is seen as negative.

Smart pricing DOES have something to do with lower click values. It's called "protecting the advertisers", which is Google's main concern (besides filling their pockets, of course).

[DaStarBuG]

For me smart pricing works the other way.
My AD Inventory gets more and more value.

I am becoming side A (as from the example in the video) so to speak :D

[incrediBILL]

Good reading list for sure.

Don't forget, AdSense is a very organic marketplace pooled from a global market, multiple regions, time zones and currencies, where things happen 24/7 which can impact your earnings. Publishers often don't realize that simple things like a holiday in one country can whack your earnings for the day or week even. This is often most distressful to US publishers not familiar with the concepts of globalization, that ignore trends around the world, such as in the UK, CA or AU that can impact their income.

Nature can even play a role in AdSense such as big tropical storms or winter storms that knock out power for many thousands of people for days on end.

Basically, there are other things that can impact payout besides just "smart pricing" when you look at the big scheme of things. The only difference is, unlike the weather, you can make changes to your site that have an impact on smart pricing.

[DaStarBuG]

Yes you are totally right.

I posted this because I think that most Publishers see smart pricing as something google applies to lower bid prices for sites.
After google explained smart pricing for the first time I thought that too.

However it is interesting to see what it really means.