The Decline of AdSense

[engine]

Those that have been with AdSense for a long time will have seen it grow and mature. We've all seen it change over time, and today the earning haven't been what they were. When AdSense started there wasn't competition from social media, influencers.
This piece explains it quite well, and describes to where the opportunities have moved.

[medium.com...]

[robzilla]

This piece explains it quite well

I disagree. I think it's poorly written and badly researched. For one, it calls Google a "dying business", which is absurd [statista.com].

The author's experience with AdSense seems to be limited to a failed YouTube channel. The supporting evidence for her conclusion that "the algorithm is no longer profitable for creators" comes from a YouTube search for "I'm leaving YouTube". For good measure, she throws in banner blindness -- a term coined in 1998, for Pete's sake. "My boss no longer makes good money with Google Adsense," so it must be in decline. I could go on.

It goes without saying that the continued arrival of self-contained platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, as well as other revenue models such as Patreon, has an effect on Google's ad market, limiting its growth. Content creators and advertisers simply have more choice, which is great. Still, while some types of content or ads will be better suited for TikTok or Patreon, others will fare better on YouTube. And I don't think it's true that "content creators and users now prefer subscription-based payments". Some creators can do well with subscriptions, but I think the vast majority of content is still consumed "passively", supported by advertising. Users who have paid subscriptions to some creators still consume lots of ad-supported content by other creators that they won't want paid subscriptions to. So it's absurd to conclude that "content creators should change their money strategy."

One problem for content creators, especially those starting out now, is that the competition is so enormous. You have to be lucky, very talented and/or original to stand out among the millions of other creators and go beyond "paying for Spotify with Google AdSense", and that goes for all platforms, not just YouTube. The author didn't make it, but shouldn't feel too bad about that; millions of others have tried and failed. But if it wasn't viable for some, you wouldn't be seeing all this new content.

I have websites with content types that don't really lend themselves well to other platforms, and they're thriving with AdSense. I don't know if they'll continue to thrive for another decade -- things can change quickly online -- but for now that's enough evidence for me to conclude AdSense is far from dying.

[NickMNS]

I fully agree with Robzilla.

Just to add, when AdSense started it required a network effect to succeed. To create the network effect Google made sure that the "few" participants could make good money, with little effort, easy money. This attracted new participants, but as number of publishers/content creators grew AdSense secured its network and each participant was now fighting for ever decreasing slice of the pie. The days of easy money are long gone.

This is a common business model in tech and other areas of the economy. One stand out example was Uber, in the early days there were few drivers, and so each driver made a lot of money, this attracted more drivers, some away from taxis and others from other low paying jobs. But once a sufficient network effect was achieved they cut back on revenue share and continued to add drivers, keeping prices for the consumer low, while still ensuring that Uber's share of the revenue was maintained if not maximized.

This is doesn't me that you can't be profitable using AdSense. What it does mean is that you need know what you are doing and do better than the others.

[robert976]

what a joke. I have been using adsense since 2007 and have never earned as well as this year (although it has always made me money). Maybe next month everything will change, but for sure incapable publishers should just find another job instead of crying and blaming adsense, government or illumimati for their inability

[martinibuster]

incapable publishers should just find another job

It's not always the publishers. And it's not always AdSense to blame, either.

Some kinds of websites have been hit hard by changes at Google Search but also changes in society and trends, making those sites virtually unsalvageable without a complete content pivot.

The picture is larger than what it appears to be.

[ember]

I equate Adsense with radio, which was king of the media hill until television came along. Almost 100 years later, radio is still here. It isn't what it once was, but if you are talented enough, then you can make radio work for you.

Same with Adsense. The days of just throwing up a website, slathering it with ads and watching the money roll in are over, but Adsense isn't dying. It's no longer king of the digital advertising hill, but it's still a viable way to make money if you know what you are doing.

[engine]

Oh, I totally agree, Google is not a dying business.

I think the observation of other ways of earning is a good one.