Forum Moderators: martinibuster
Google offers a referral fee for getting them new Ad Words customers, doesn't it?
I don't think I've seen this offered anywhere Google, but they may have a special invite only program.
Once Google makes Site Target available to all its Ad Words users, and it accepts both text and image ads in the various sizes, I'll probably just remove all my information on how to advertise on my site and point everyone to get a Google Ad Words account.
Sounds like an interesting idea.
Aren't you worried that these same advertisers will use the "advertise on similar sites" feature and maybe choose to advertise with your competitors instead of your site (or spend less money on your site?)
Granted it's more work to manage those accounts individually, but it is "insurance" against having a large portion of your ad revenue disappear.
My point, however, is I think Google can now offer a way that potential advertisers can target me directly, and offers all the tools they'll need to manage their campaigns, pay me, etc.
On the other hand, one advantage of site targeting occurs to me. If you've got several advertisers competing for limited space on your site, you might really benefit from a bidding war.
i think the deciding factor will be the size of your site. if it is very small, then it probably is best to outsource (although it is a little frightening to hand over the keys to the majority or all of your website's revenue to one company - google). if your site is large, then it might behoove you to hire someone, part or full time, trying to find and deal with advertiser's directly.
I think there is a lot of merit in terms of deciding to focus more on content than chasing after potential advertisers. But my suggestion is to leave the info about advertising on your site directly as is - given that there could be interested advertisers who don't use adwords. Plus, you need not go after potential advertisers as much; just sort of wait for them to fall on your lap. This way, you are free to write your content, but give potential advertisers the option of using adwords or advertising directly if they want exposure on your site
point everyone to get a Google Ad Words account
I was thinking the exact same thing today. And I'm not really worried about putting all of my eggs in one basket. That's where they are already anyway, and as long as I don't do anything evil with my site, and I play by Google's rules, I'm not going to lose any sleep.
You will be putting all of your hard earned eggs in one basket.
I love receiving requests for advertising. When I work out the time it takes me to upload the clients ads, I am usually making more money, per hour, than a lawyer or something similar. It makes my Mum laugh :)
How sure are you that the price advertisers are willing to pay for this site targetting feature will provide you with equal or greater revenue compared to selling the ads directy?
I think this would be the biggest thing I would be concerned about.
I wouldn't be too worried about the whole "all eggs in Google's basket thing", but without knowing the revenue split, it wouldn't seem like a smart business decision to take a 50% split for the few minutes it takes to setup an advertiser directly for 100%
I have a lot of direct advertisers on my site, and part of the draw of me handling it is that I get 100% off the profit.
As for whether sending advertisers to Google is a wise idea, that depends. Are you selling and serving ads direct now? If so, do you find it worthwhile, or is it more hassle than it's worth? Could the space used for direct-sold ads be used more effectively for another purpose, such as affiliate links, AdLinks, another AdSense block, direct sales, or promotion of other topics within your site?
Also, too many ads can reduce the effectiveness of affiliate links and AdSense ads, so until now I've always said "No, thanks" to prospective advertisers. Being able to refer those advertisers to a Google page about site-targeted CPM ads would be helpful to me, to the prospective advertiser, and to Google.
And I'm not really worried about putting all of my eggs in one basket. That's where they are already anyway, and as long as I don't do anything evil with my site, and I play by Google's rules, I'm not going to lose any sleep.
the problem with all-eggs-in-one-basket is not necessarily that they will ban you because of breaking the rules. the problem is, that they could change their policies, and they could change them quickly.
adsense is relatively new, and they are still working out the kinks. here is a scenario, just off the top of my head: imagine that because of the rise in scraper sites, many advertisers start opting out of content - so google starts cancelling accounts that deliver poor ROI to their advertisers. you are playing above the board, but that does not mean that you wont get thrown out with the bathwater.
you only need to hop over to the google news forum to read about hundreds/thousands of completely legitimate publishers that get tossed out of the SERPs because of collateral damage in google's fight with spammers. the same could happen with adsense.
i am not trying to make you lose any sleep, its just that when you make the majority of your income from one source, its a dangerous position to be in. it could work in the long run, or it might not.
this uncertainty is fine if you are running a hobby website, but if you are making big money from adsense, i think it pays to try to diversify... i am getting direct requests from advertisers on an almost daily basis, but am not geared up for them yet. it is something that i plan on addressing later this year.
