Google AdSense Retiring Link Ad Units

[Lagonda]

We've decided to retire link ads. This is in order to modernize our available ad formats, based on the feedback from users, publishers and advertisers. Going forward, we’ll be focussing on improving and developing other ad formats to help you grow.
What does this mean?
From 10-03-2021:
• You will no longer be able to create link ad units.
• Your link ad units will be renamed with [previously link ad unit] added to the end of the ad unit name. This will apply to both responsive and fixed-size link ad units.
• Responsive link ads will begin to serve display ad units on your site(s).
• Fixed-size link ads will stop serving on your site(s).We will collapse each ad unit where possible. In other cases we will show a blank ad.
Your earnings
Our experiments show that, for the vast majority of publishers, responsive display ads can perform as well as link ads. We are constantly optimizing responsive display ads to maximize performance. You will be able to monitor the performance of your link units through the ad units report to compare performance before and after.
What to do next?
There is no action required from you in relation to your responsive link ads as these will begin to serve display ads from 10-03-2021.
We recommend that you remove the fixed-size link ad units from your site and try out the following ad formats instead:
• You can let Auto ads scan your site and automatically place ads where they’re likely to perform well. Learn more about how to get started with Auto ads.
• Display ads work well anywhere on your site. Learn more about how to create a display ad unit.
• For a customized ad experience, you could try native ads. Learn more about how to create a native ad unit.
• If your site is eligible for Matched content, you can replace your link ad units with a customizable Matched content ad unit. Learn more about customizing Matched content.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to develop our products.
Sincerely,
The Google AdSense Team

[support.google.com...]

In one of my sites, these ad units represent 55% of total revenue.
Nice Christmas gift Google.
Very, very nice.

Well, time to adjust.
They removed Ad Balance, now they remove link ads.
What's next? Not sure I'll be 100% around to wait and see.
(feeling really f'ed up)

[edited by: engine at 12:54 pm (utc) on Dec 11, 2020]
[edit reason] Added attribution [/edit]

[penitentman]

Yesterday was my first day without link ads and whatever google has replaced them with have failed miserably. My earnings are down 75%. Google is assuming most webmasters are foolish and don't know how to monetize their own websites it seems. However, they have royally #*$!ed my profits and I'm not sure what I should do. Maybe if I let it ride a week Google will notice and revert back. Kind of like the search team does after updates that don't have intended consequences. If not I need to do a lot of testing and take back control of my ads being displayed. If anyone finds a comparable alternative please share!

[Jori]

This move seems so flawed that I can not understand why they did it.

"In order to modernize, we remove an valuable option for publishers in our catalogue".

Can you understand this? It was the same thing back in 2019 when they remove Text Ads. Back then, we didn't saw much of a change in earnings.

Maybe they know what are they doing, and in the big picture, of course they will earn more. But for few of us (maybe not so few...) we will be the forgotten guys.

Aniway, it's time to - once again - look again at all my pages and try to improve my adsense displays.

[jetteroheller]

I just checked form March 1..23
3 AdLinks 600x24 made in this time 13.3%
I just checked from March 23..29
2 ads 600x60 made in this time 31,1%
Long time ago, AdLinks made mote than 50% of my revenues, but this is very long time ago

[puente]

without a doubt google has crunched the numbers and arrived at the conclusion that display ads makes them more money. perhaps with the links gone advertisers are forced to buy the more expensing display ads. also seems to me google is shifting away from text towards multimedia type ads. it's possible they even make more money from youtube than they do from static sites, even their own search pages.

[Jori]

I saw that AMP pages still serve link ads units in other websites (I do not use AMP).
We are not very much to complain, and in fact, in other (small) website I have, I didn't see much of a difference. So no hope of Google getting back in this.

[gatormark]

I haven’t seen a revenue drop since I removed Link Ads from my websites. These are websites that make from $10-$500 a month, so not heavy-hitters. Also, they receive primarily USA English traffic.

[lammert]

Preliminary results from ditching my link units altogether:
page-CTR is 35% compared to when link ads were served. But CPC skyrocketed and is now 260% of the CPC with link units. Total effect on page-RPM, marginally lower at 91% from the time before the link units. Either there weren't enough ads in my niche to get high paying ads in my link units, or Google has some fixed RPM they allow specific sites/niches to earn. Weird. I've never seen a CPC rise with 260% consistent over a period of 4 days now.

The Link units were in the middle of the content. The remaining display ads are all served from the side, top and bottom of the content.

[jetteroheller]

So now the first 10 days after replacing 3 AdLinks 600x24 with 2 Ads 600x60

2 ads 600x280 25%
2 ads 600x60 35%
vignette and anchor 40%

Seems the replacement for the AdLinks works very well and outperforms the far bigger 600x280 ads.
The two 600x60 are just after title and description and just after the end of the content.

[Jori]

Helllo jetterolheller
interesting observation.
What about mobile traffic? Do you observe the same kind of improvement too? 600 wide banner seems to me to big for mobile...
many thanks!

[jetteroheller]

33% of earnings is from mobile traffic
30% of of mobile traffic earnings is from 600x60
36% of of mobile traffic earnings is from 600x280
I use a css which zooms less than 614 pixel width to 614 pixel. So 600 pixel are always displayed with a small edge
I have a dynamic layout system by javascript placing 600 pixel width units in 1 to 6 columns on the screen.

[back852]

They didn't disappear ad links as it was announced on 10 March, But I noticed they replaced Gradually with display ads, and entirely we don't have link ads at all since april started. link ads disappeared also earnings went down, I have 72% fewer earnings in this month compared to the previous one, last 7 days downgraded 52% and keeps going down. I don't know how to continue, how not to give up. they need to serve new ad format that will be minimum as effective as it was link ads. display ads, matched content, in feed ads, in article ads entirely are nearly 20% of full previous revenue, So sad news I got info about in february and started looking for alterative ad network, but I guess there is no better than adsense, So adsense is the last hope which I hope won't throw us in the trash bin <3 (in a long distance)

[Jori]

Are you using AMP?

[back852]

@jori, No I don't use AMP.

[Jori]

I wrote to the adsense team. I have an answer. Telling them my users don't click on images, they simply said that I should try in-feed ads in text only.
But I've already tested them, it was a failure.

But look, here's what they also said : "Going forward, we’ll be focussing on improving and developing other ad formats to help you grow."

Ok, good for me, but will I be still alive by then? I just don't want to sink right now... XD

[back852]

@jori You are right this is very difficult to stay alive at this moment, But waiting for another great ad format that will work well, as it was link ads, What type of content you make? Mine is tech tutorials and news.
What answer do you have for this drop Adsense? see earning screenshot here [i.imgur.com...]

[Jori]

They didn't gave me any answer for the drop, just a "we're sorry".
Let's wait. In the meantime, I'll give a second shot to the in-feed ads in text format.

[back852]

@jori Where did you write them?

[Jori]

In the support of google adsense https://support.google.com/adsense/gethelp

[edited by: not2easy at 1:36 pm (utc) on Apr 9, 2021]
[edit reason] readability [/edit]

[lammert]

That support link does not give access to a human Googler for all users. If I remember correctly there is a minimum earnings requirement of USD 250 per month. And you must be logged in to google.com with the account you use for AdSense.

[back852]

@jori you mean you asked on support forum, That I already did, they give some advices, about how display ads are same as link ads, that I need to test and replace with other existing ad formats, but they all are sh%#$*t to me. They earn 1/10 of what link ads used to. :((((( earning is still down 68%.

[back852]

Google why did you kill my earnings?

[dolcevita]

My earnings are down 25% -30%. CPC is higher but CTR is terrible. Page CTR 0.81% lower comparing with March and Impression CTR 0.09% (17%)
I tried everything to increase CTR through positions, thin lines but nothing help.

Adlinks performed 15x better than any other Adunit. CTR was great for Adlinks. No matter that visitors must click 2x on Adlink unit. They were simple great.

And with Adlinks unit page gained in diversity, interestingness, multidimensionality. With Adunit it looks monotonous.

[barefoot]

Clicks on ads have crashed to around 1/2 of what they were before. However Cost Per Click has skyrocketed compared to what it was before. I'm actually seeing an increase in earnings due to the changes. March 2021 was the best month I've had since July 2018. I am very surprised by this and do not know how long it will keep up.

I have made no changes to the link unit ad code and display ads are automatically being shown.

[dolcevita]

Do you guys block any categories (general or sensitive) based on.their performance?
Except that do you hsve any idea what is actually generaly spoken low paying category?

[Jori]

@barefoot : do you saw any low revenue just after the change, or did the ads skyrocketted since the first day?

[barefoot]

@Jori - I actually saw a large spike in earnings in the week around the change over date last month, since then earning have held a little higher than normal. Will have to see how it plays out this month, anything could happen from here.

@dolcevita - I don't block any categories, I know that my music related site performs extremely poorly in adsense.

[Jori]

How is it going for you all? I saw some improvements on my side, better cpc

[lammert]

Yes, CPC has almost fully compensated the lower CTR due to the retirement of adlinks.

[Claudius121]

Here too. Much better cpc, compensated the decrease in ctr. However, mobile earnings are lowers therefore im 10% less on cpm

[back852]

In my case, earnings are down. sometimes CPC is more than before and at end of the day, I get similar earnings as it was before, but some days CPC drops even more than it was before, So the entire month's revenue is dropped 46% so far.