Why isn't Adsense working as well?

isn't it what it used to be?

[Alex978d]

In the past (about 15 years ago) I was able to make money with Adsense. At some point I stopped using it.

Recently I created a new website and submitted it for approval. Adsense approved it but what I notice is they only show ads from 1 or 2 advertisers and these ads usually aren't relevant (site is targeting consumers and the ads are targeted towards businesses).

There should be enough relevant advertisers available because the content on the site is about a popular topic (financial).

Because of this, when I send (relevant) visitors to the the site no one clicks on the ads.

I wonder what has changed? Why isn't Adsense showing relevant ads (from multiple advertisers). Does anyobody have any ideas about this?

Are there any additional steps required to get relevant ads (apart from pasting the ad code)?

Thanks!

[not2easy]

Hi Alex978d and Welcome to WebmasterWorld [webmasterworld.com]

If you had stopped using AdSense in the past and recently just added the old code - or even a newer code - you might have missed one step that makes a difference: do you have an ads.txt file uploaded to the domain where you have activated AdSense? Their bot looks for that to help advertisers decide whether to show ads on the site. There are dozens of instructional posts around the forum if you were to search for ads.txt using our site search [webmasterworld.com] you could learn more about the how-to part.

Even if you have taken care of that change, it might be time well spent browsing/searching some more recent posts regarding cookie and privacy settings, particularly for AdSense users. It seems that third-party cookies settings can hurt your chances if they are not done right and GDPR cookie banner requirements are another issue. Today's AdSense is not the same as it was just a few years ago. You can still earn but it can take time to optimize for earnings.

[NickMNS]

As not2easy says above.

Today's AdSense is not the same as it was just a few years ago.

Your website's niche:

the content on the site is about a popular topic (financial).

falls into the YMYL (Your money your life) category. YMYL means that your site undergoes far more scrutiny than others. AdSense is very reluctant to show ads on these sites when the sites has no historical record or if the content has any sign of being less than the best.

To overcome this you are going to need to gain trust signals. Things like gaining links from high authority sites in your niche. This is a high hurdle that may not be attainable. In the interim, Adsense will not risk it's reputation with its best advertiser thus your website will be limited to demand from second rate advertisers, which means lower prices for you.

but what I notice is they only show ads from 1 or 2 advertisers

How did you notice this? Simply looking at your own pages and observing ads will not provide a reliable picture of the types of ads, because ads are are targeted mostly at the users based on the user's history, and data (browsing history, geo-location, etc...). A user interested in gold fish that visits your finance page is more likely to see ads for aquarium equipment than financial products.

Are you in Europe and/or targeting a European audience? If so GDPR compliance is essential, failure to comply will cause AdSense to limit the ads it serves.

Hope this helps

[Alex978d]

Thanks for your response, I appreciate it.

Yes, I did upload the ads.txt file however I remember there was 1 other notification on the dashboard. I think adsense asked to upload another file as well. I didn't understand that one (and what is was for) so didn't upload the 2nd. The notification has disappeared, I'm not sure what that was about.

Ok, I'll read some cookie & privacy settings posts here. But when you say: 'third-party cookies settings can hurt your chances if they are not done right' do you mean the browser settings of the visitor? I'm trying to understand how to optimize for this.

Anyway, I believe you when you say it's not the same as it was. I'm going to do my best to figure it out but wonder if it still worth it.

[Sissi]

„Because of this, when I send (relevant) visitors to the the site no one clicks on the ads. „

If you do it via social networks it won t work.

[Alex978d]

Thanks everyone, great comments!

Ok @NickMNS +, all makes sense.

How I notice the 1 or 2 advertisers only is by visiting the site from incognito modus of multiple browsers, on multiple devices from multiple locations.

Yes, it's based/targeting Europe so GDPR complaince probably also plays a role.

Like you guys said, lots of things changed and these changes make sense.

Good to have found this forum!

[NickMNS]

How I notice the 1 or 2 advertisers only is by visiting the site from incognito modus of multiple browsers, on multiple devices from multiple locations.

A better and easier way to see the ads that appear on your website is to go in AdSense, click "blocking controls" in the left sidebar menu. This should open on "Ad review center" you can then click the button at the top left that says "Most impressions" and it will sort the ads showing the ones with the most impressions first. This shows you all the ads that appeared in the last 30 days.