October 2013 AdSense Earnings and Observations

Haunting Tales of AdSense That Would Spook Any Webmaster!

[JCKline]

Good bye September! What will October bring? Ups, downs, and everything in-between...

[ember]

I have an RPM of over $100 dollars

I have you beat.

[Turvey]

Ember, Most people only look at this thread, why would I want to start a new thread? this is my point, this forum is actually anti-google, most people IMO on this forum don't even run adsense, they are banned or don't know anything about Google. The reason I look at these posts 4-5 times a day is from pure boredom. Webcentric joined the forum and I would like to speak to that person, is this a problem?

[Turvey]

This forum is so anti-google that everyone like me looks at it everyday that believe in Google, the ad hominem comments about the plex are just unbelievable and I personally don't believe that this forum is actually a serious concern but infact you are charlatans who are trying hard to discredit google. Obliviously this post will get banned and I will never get to talk with Webcentric.

[frankleeceo]

@Turvey

The key to learn anything from this particular subforum is to read between the lines. First figure out who are the major players and earners to learn from them. ;p. If you stick around long enough you would know.

One hint is to see "who" are invited in those "special" google clubs. Adsense pub panel for one, if they say that they are in it, their posts are what you should really read and take to heart. And who goes to those adsense local meetings? You should listen to those people too.

Here's a short list of people that I do pay attention:
breeks, netmeg, Mentat, ember, jpch, puckparches. Or you can get more handful of names off [webmasterworld.com...]

Honestly I only pay attention to people who indirectly prove that they make good money and take this business seriously.

Everyone else is just noise. From a statistical kind of view, if a person is only earning $10 a day and say their stats is stuck and earning went to hell, I take that lightly. But if a $500-$1000 / day earner says that his earning went to 0, then my ear's all up. It's like cry wolf too, if a particular poster only says that his earning goes to hell day after day, I mentally mute the person and take all of his posts lightly.

If the big players are starting to get "anti-google", then you know something is definitely up. So do pay attention and you'll see what I see. The consensus of the forum as a whole is still "pro google", with a selected few that got hit by the various organic ranking updates. Google adsense is stronger than ever, once you take out the noises.

I do notice about the subforum though, is that "spicy" "google is evil" complains get replied to and bumped, and serious and practical knowledge and comments about how to make more money get ignored and buried. This phenomenon baffles me. Aren't we here to make more money? I am. So why don't people talk about how to make more? May it be technical, may it be placement analysis, may it be how adsense fares against other networks. More money is good.

Maybe that is why most serious posters and money makers have chosen to be silent.

[frankleeceo]

@Turvey

And yes btw please share how you have achieved $100 RPM. How many pageviews do you have and what is your general niche? Is your traffic organic? I would definitely love to learn from you if you can achieve that amount consistently.

[ember]

Turvey, why don't you sticky mail webcentric? He seems to be a reasonable fellow and I am sure will talk to you.

I agree that there is a lot of anti-google talk here. On the other hand, a lot of people have spent a lot of time building sites in good faith, believing that Google will always be good to them. When Google no longer is, fear and anger can creep in. It's human nature.

[SEOPTI]

$100 RPM is not that easy but possible with the right traffic and niche. IE users click on ads all the time, web noobs love ads.

[webcentric]

Well, was staying out of this one but perhaps a word or two is appropriate. Can't say I'm pro Google or anti-Google but rather a realist. If the discussion is about making money with Adsense or getting traffic from SERPS (off-topic here), my point would be that they are moving targets and reading between the lines may work for some but learning how to read between the lines in a place like this is not necessarily an inherent skill. Details are important when describing a moving target. I'll venture that even the most seasoned webmaster in here is scratching his/her head over some of the recent changes we're witnessing and my motives for posting here and elsewhere have always revolved around learning and stimulating the conversation.

If you're here, you're probably trying to make a living off Adsense (just an assumption). Some are succeeding, some are failing and some are treading water but the big G isn't standing still, regardless of how it's impacting folks. I agree that the constant reports of how your day is going is fairly irrelevant to the average reader because no on knows what you're doing to achieve that success or failure. You might be breaking every rule in G's playbook or you may be walking the straight and narrow. The niche you're in plays into this as well and I have a sneaky sense that a lot of the people that banter back and forth here with no explanation for their success/failure are aware of more details about each other that the general board user is aware of. That makes the discussion (taking place between the lines) essentially an inside conversation and if you're not in the club, too bad. Which is too bad because communities like this depend on community input and the sharing of ideas and information. Board rules make this difficult and proprietary concerns are also valid. Still, I shake my head sometimes out of frustration because I really want a more open discussion. Just did a word count on this and realized I've gone too far again. ;)

p.s. The point about other topics getting scant attention on this board is spot on.

[Play_Bach]

So far today, earnings are back up to what I'd call the 'new normal' (terrible by 2009 standards, but not catastrophic like they were on Oct. 14 and yesterday). Something was going bonkers at the Plex on those red bar days and of course, no explanation has surfaced as to what happened. Are we seeing those clicks coming in now? Beats me, but I'm glad to see something resembling normal again. Hope it lasts, because October is still on track to be the worst AdSense month in nine years.

[webcentric]

Something was going bonkers at the Plex on those red bar days and of course, no explanation has surfaced as to what happened

I could mention a whole slew of changes across multiple services including an ongoing SERP shakeup, upgrades to Analytics and continued tinkering with Adsense text ads (to name a few). Oh and TOS changes across the board. It's like G is shedding it's old skin and unveiling a whole new self to the world. Not that this metamorphosis is something new or that it will ever stop. It's just more coordinated (maybe not the right word - perhaps compressed into a short time span is more accurate) than I'm personally used to or comfortable with.

[breeks]

Most of the posts seem to fit the title of this thread

AdSense Earnings and Observations

If someone want to talk about something else there is always the POST A NEW TOPIC button.

[ember]

POST A NEW TOPIC button

Exactly!

[SEOPTI]

Okay, one more hint, I know I will get more competition but well, go for Bing traffic, as mentioned above, Bing users use IE, they are in most cases noobs, they convert, you will see no smart pricing, high CTR. Bing is underrated, stop being a Google lemming.

Do you remember the old AOL times? This was the best traffic, they converted 1:10. I really hope Bing will reveal some sort of Adsense some day. Bill G. where are you? Bing we really need an adsense clone, come on guys.

[webcentric]

POST A NEW TOPIC button

This is the Adsense Earnings and Observations thread! Semantics implies that this means "Adsense Earnings" and "Adsense Observations." Actually, the title is semantically ambiguous because it could also be interpreted to mean "Adsense Earnings" and "Earnings Observations" or just "Adsense Earnings" and "Observations" as in observations of any kind. So, if something impacts on any of those subjects, it's fair ground IMHO. If you want a thread about the "red bar" then start one, that's my suggestion. Oh wait a minute, there is one and its called "Adsense Stats Stuck -- October 2013" so why are people going on about red bars and stuck stats in here? Answer, because anything about Adsense is fair game as indicated by at least one interpretation of the thread's title. Heck, if world peace can have an impact on my Adsense account, I'm all for discussing the possibilities. And if Adsense earnings are in the toilet then how to offset those losses is equally valid. Adsense is a Google product (integrated with many other Google products which directly impact the program) so how can just about anything Google, including griping about Google or defending Google be off limits when every bit of it eventually leads to the bottom line?

[edited by: webcentric at 4:27 am (utc) on Oct 19, 2013]

[webcentric]

Okay, one more hint, I know I will get more competition but well, go for Bing traffic, as mentioned above, Bing users use IE, they are in most cases noobs, they convert, you will see no smart pricing, high CTR. Bing is underrated, stop being a Google lemming.

A generalization but still a sound point on a number of levels.

[ember]

you will see no smart pricing

Smart pricing is in place on all accounts. It is set per website and is based on what adsense determines to be a website's value to an advertiser. Value to an advertiser is determined by whether or not a click leads to a desired action.

Smart pricing is actually a good thing because it increases advertiser confidence in the publisher network. If advertisers lose that confidence, then there goes adsense and our revenue.

[Play_Bach]

Day is nearly done and has wound up being the highest earnings all month. Right. Oct 14? Worst day ever (that's over nine years!). Oct 17? Also terrible. Today? Best all month. Sure AdSense, whatever you say.

[Turvey]

Getting back on topic I will post my obversations about my current experience with google adsense. My page views have been approx 40% down since the last 3 months but EPC has risen in place of the page view loss, hence I am running on approx $100 RPM instead of say $60 RPM a few months ago with higher PV. The new ad format I personally think is for the better especially where the ads are below each other in rows. I have my reservations about the blue button with a white arrow, IMO it looks small and rather out of place and IMO a larger text fill would be more appropriate with the button at the bottom (large rectangles). My main site runs on 2 large rectangles and a 200 x 200 square, One large rectangle is text only (my biggest earner) the other large rectangle is text/image and performs approx 80% of the text only. The 200 square is text/image and basically a small earner. After multiple testing this format of 2 large rectangles and the 200 square is by far the best setup having found that reducing ad area increases ad EPC.

I personally do not click my own ads or get people to click them as this will cause dilution with conversion rates and hence drop the RPM, this is why I feel i'm successful with high RPM, I have the same ad customers month after month and they are not stupid and must know my site runs on a high conversion rate. Another thing that I felt helped my site was having a dedicated IP, people will say it makes no difference, but I feel the issues of the google account operation with my site are so much smoother, I realise this is debatable but thats how I feel and can not produce any evidence.

[greatstart]

AdSense is totally unpredictable. There is no rhyme or reason why one day should be bad followed by another day being good. It only matters at the end of each month what your total earnings are and this month is on track to be my worst month ever in the 9 years I've been with AdSense. I'm crossing my fingers that the next two months of 2013 will be better.

[Play_Bach]

> I personally do not click my own ads or get people to click them

That's a relief. I was so worried. Thanks so much for letting us know. :-|

[Turvey]

Hi greatstart, this month is on course to equal or even beat my best ever month of which was Jan 2013. One weird thing I have noticed is when it rains I get more page views, hence more clicks. I'm still trying to fathom this out because my sites are in the financial loan niche and surely if people are staying in because of the rain then they save money rather than going out on a good day and spending money?

[MHes]

My experience...

Bing on niche site earning around $20 per day with 1500 visits per day. Average click worth 10cents

Just swopped to adsense as an experiment...

Yesterday $0.70 from only 1 click.

The reasons I think are:

1) Ad Targeting appears to be poor. In my sector, if someone is looking for widgets they are not going to click ads for apples. Too much user history influencing the ads in my opinion.

2) Adsense looks too much like Adsense. People automatically skip over it.

[Turvey]

Mhes, I disagree with your second reason, I don't think adsense looks to much like adsense. I feel the new ad format that was recently rolled out is bang on with IMO the exception of the blue button with white arrow, but saying that I also feel that it is a good thing that changes to the ads are made frequently and this has been done so my opinion of the button could well be wrong and my CTR is holding ground of 4-5%, but IMO not from the new arrow but from the new add format which I feel was brilliantly designed. I feel if the button was ditched with the new ad format then CTR could in fact be increased, but saying that it could then be classed as possible invalid clicks so maybe Google do know best with the strategy and giving advertisers higher returns with conversion rates.

We all have to work hard and think hard about the whole picture, advertisers are not going to advertise if they don't get some kind of conversion rate. I feel my input on my sites have complimented Adsense with conversion rates and feel that my tactics are being rewarded by earnings. Although my sites are not MFA I also feel I push MFA just under the limit of being considered acceptable by Google, but the conversion rate does the talking, so advertising customers, google and myself have a good relationship with my sites setup. I could actually push my earnings so high where I could leave my day job, but refuse to give my destiny in the hands of Google, it wouldn't be so bad if publishers had a verbal or email warning and google said why and what particular reason, but we all know that google just cut the account and appeals are pointless, I am certainly not putting myself into that position or leaving my day job of which I consider my bosses reasonable people.

[ember]

I personally do not click my own ads or get people to click them as this will cause dilution with conversion rates and hence drop the RPM, this is why I feel i'm successful with high RPM

I doubt anyone here is clicking on his own ads or hiring others to do it. Do that too much and you're out of adsense.

[Play_Bach]

Paul - I checked out your site. MFA if there ever was one. Two large rectangles above the fold next to a picture of a girl? UK? Forum? Payday loans? Probably just a matter of time before AdSense bans your account. Later.

[edited by: Play_Bach at 3:02 pm (utc) on Oct 19, 2013]

[Turvey]

Hi ember,

Your correct, but I have a physics & mathematical mind, most of the population of adsense do actually click when they feel right to do so and bring their own RPM down without even realising it. The general population of adsense publishers are basically numpties with a pathetic blog and this is why advertisers are holding back with EPC. Intelligent people know google are cleaning this area up and in the future I feel google advertisers will target only sites that have a decent conversion rate.

[MHes]

Turvey - Interesting stuff and I see your point.

I have just introduced the custom search which is nicely targeted. I keep reading that advertisers tend to shy away from appearing on the custom search, thus revenue is very low. Anyone have success with the custom search engine?

[explorador]

MHes: keep reading that advertisers tend to shy away from appearing on the custom search, thus revenue is very low. Anyone have success with the custom search engine?

I built mine. There were some discussions about this and I can't afford to comment on every single detail because I would bore you. I removed custom search because it showed too much noise, I had clicks and thus revenue but every single click was from someone who didn't fully find what they were looking for on my website and worse: it meant they walked away, those click are more than often exit points. So, coming back to the "threads", we should take care of not allowing too many exit points, many ad clicks in fact are just that.

So I removed custom search to close that door. The results have been encouraging because earnings when down a bit and then up, traffic and readers are more stable now in that sense. Besides I tried custom search and I didn't like it from the user point of view, too many nonsense in my opinion. The tech part? if you have a good CMS chances are custom search engine is not too difficult, if not then you can install a third party tool or build your own. I implemented mine because it was easier to search the database instead of indexing the site. It's not perfect but I'm happy with it. Happier than using custom Google Search.


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** Respectfully I believe some are loosing the point. Any info is useful for dealing with G Adsense, from (A) people making big bucks to (B) people making less: you don't know when you are going to end up in group B so it's better to stay alert and if you end up there, you better be informed in advance. I won't discuss discrimination of information, that's a personal choice but wise people listen more.

Compare how some members look at their stats and traffic: very closely taking in count little details (there are plenty of posts showing this approach) and get familiar with those nicknames... then when other discussions ring a bell remember it's not just their nicknames, it's also how they deal with information, there are diff experiences here so I suggest we all be more respectful and avoid off topics.

In short: I suggest we take a look more carefully to posts before discriminating them.

[Turvey]

Mhes, I have never paid custom search or link ads any attention whatsoever. Back in the days of 2003/4 they kept catching me out and I became to absolutely hate custom search or link ads, I will never use them on my sites for that reason, IMO they totally suck and used by desperate adsenser's. Don't take that the wrong way please, not saying at all your desperate, just feel search or link ads should actually get banned for wasting advertiser money. This is why you may find revenue is low, I for one would never even comtemplate advertising this way, I would rather write my company name on £10 notes and throw them out of my car window for better results.

[Turvey]

Explorador wrote:

In short: I suggest we take a look more carefully to posts before discriminating them.

Some people notice and take facts into the situation, this is what makes publishers and advertisers more money. I am here to help adsense out, even though adsense look at my sites and learn from me. When Play bach said i'm going to get banned he must actually be joking because I contribute the largest mathematical contribution to the plex.