AdSense payment e-mail

never got one before

[LifeinAsia]

Just got an e-mail today (Dec. 28) from AdSense informing me that they recently issued a payment.

Um, yeah, would that "recent" payment be the one that was issued last week (Dec. 22) and hit my bank the next day? Sort of late...

I've been in AdSense for over 5 years and have never received an e-mail like this before.

Oh, maybe the e-mail is *REALLY* late and is actually the notification for my first payment 5 years ago? :)

[manny123]

I received the same email and came here to see if anyone else did. It seemed a bit phishy to arrive without warning after so many years. The links in the email route through doubleclick.com and then redirect to Google AdSense so it seems legit. Strange though.

[farmboy]

I received one also. Seems suspicious. I didn't click on anything in the email.


FarmBoy

[netmeg]

It's weird, I get them from time to time, but not every time.

[wyweb]

I got it 20 minutes ago. First time I've seen it.

[sid786]

Yeah, like netmeg, I've received them, infrequently. It is legit, but cheers that they are making an effort at least. :)

[icedowl]

First time I've gotten one, seems odd to be sent out so many days after the payment. Perhaps they're just testing.

[incrediBILL]

You all beat me to this as I just got my first payment email about 15 minutes ago!

It's totally legit and it's using doubleclick tracking codes in the links and a 1 pixel image tracking bug to detect email opens.

I'm suspecting they're doing some market research to see how many AdSense users are:

1) paying attention to Google notifications
2) getting their email, that the current email address is still active
3) checking open counts, there's a 1 pixel tracking bug in the HTML version
4) seeing how many have HTML email capabilities (tracking bug again)

It's also a good customer service thing to remind people they're being paid from AdSense so they might be inclined to put more ads on more pages.

[ken_b]

I got this too. Geeze, I get paid by paper check, which I've already gotten and deposited.

Maybe they just wanted me to know the check is really from Google. :)

[dataguy]

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System: The following 4 messages were spliced on to this thread from: http://www.webmasterworld.com/google_adsense/4246709.htm [webmasterworld.com] by incredibill - 10:55 am on Dec 28, 2010 (PST -8)

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I just received an email from AdSense, telling me that payment is on the way. I already have received payment for last month, just like normal.

Anyone else get this email?

My heart stopped for a second, thinking that the email was saying they had paid me in full and that's all I'll ever receive. I think I need a break.

[CodeJockey]

I got the email also.

Woke me up to some extent, but not enough to give up my afternoon nap.

[ember]

Just got it, too. We've already received payment for this month, though. Money is in the bank so I'm wondering why they sent this?

[Lame_Wolf]

They did this once before, a few months back. Pointless then, pointless now.

[Lame_Wolf]

It's also a good customer service thing to remind people they're being paid from AdSense so they might be inclined to put more ads on more pages.

Carbon footprint springs to mind.

Another half-baked idea by the powers that be.

[LifeinAsia]

It's also a good customer service thing to remind people they're being paid from AdSense...

Maybe we're jaded because we're hard core AdSensers here, but are there *really* people who don't remember that they're using AdSense?

Okay, I can see some minor publishers with low traffic sites that may go months before making the payment cutoff. Those would be likely candidates for the "reminder" e-mail. But publishers who get paid monthly? Sounds like a waste of bandwidth to me.

[incrediBILL]

but are there *really* people who don't remember that they're using AdSense?

It's called customer engagement and it's a good practice, simply good business.

The fact that they finally figured it out many years later means some things are finally changing at Google.

[Lame_Wolf]

It's called customer engagement and it's a good practice, simply good business

IF used in the correct manner. To many people, this isn't one of them. Remember the last time this happened ? They told us days after we [the people] took the money out of the bank.

[canadadr]

Got it half an hour ago - also wondering why AdSense team would send it so late after the payment was made.

[martinibuster]

...also wondering why AdSense team would send it so late after the payment was made.

Bill made excellent suggestions in a previous post: The email was for market research or customer engagement. Could be data collection for research because of the tracking codes and single pixel image that phones home to let Google know the email was opened.

[maximillianos]

What I thought was weird was how they congratulated me for the payment. I've been getting payments for 7 years. I don't think they need to congratulate me for this one month. But hey thanks! :-)

[Lame_Wolf]

Bill made excellent suggestions in a previous post: The email was for market research or customer engagement. Could be data collection for research because of the tracking codes and single pixel image that phones home to let Google know the email was opened.

According to the ASA... These emails are being sent out by our team to help publishers better anticipate their payments. The idea is to cut down on payments-related issues by helping publishers plan in advance.
[webmasterworld.com...]

[LifeinAsia]

The idea is to cut down on payments-related issues by helping publishers plan in advance.

Yes, receiving the e-mail a week after the payment definitely helped me plan. :)