Forum Moderators: martinibuster
Now I can host AdSense on my search results pages and make more than that lousy nickel a day... hopefully...
Does anyone know if there is anything else I have to do to remove myself from the "AdSense for Search" option besides just removing the javascript from the pages where I had Google Search?
It does come across on almost every single one of your posts like Google is somehow rewarding you for being here and making positive comments.
As a Junior Member, you probably haven't been around long enough to read my many critical posts about AdSense. Suffice it to say that I think there are flaws in the program (mainly in terms of network quality and advertiser choice), but Google has recently taken steps to address some of those first-generation weaknesses. Ad targeting, which used to be very iffy at times, has also improved quite a bit.
I love Google! I'm thrilled with the AdSense opportunity! I just have been personally disappointed with the amount of traffic I have sent through "AdSense for Search" that is leaving my site on only a penny or two income for me.
People are going to leave your site with or without AdSense for Search. That's how the Web works. And if you're earning only a penny or two per click from AdSense for Search, that probably just means the keywords that users are searching on aren't worth much or that Google is granting "smart pricing" discounts to advertisers based on anticipated conversions from your pages. (One- and two-cent clicks from AdSense for Search ads are by no means universal.)
I do appreciate Google... but I can't go so far as to treat them like more than just another business.
I don't think there's anyone in this forum who'd argue with that.
Maybe you aren't meaning to come across this way but it does seem like you actually have a more extensive relationship with Google than the rest of us.
Nope. No special relationship. (Too bad--maybe I wouldn't have lost 75% of my Google referrals between late March and late May if I had been blessed with a "special relationship.")
Do you actually get some benefit from Google for being here at WebmasterWorld?
Hey, I didn't even get a thumb drive from Google two Christmases ago when everyone was bragging about their Google thumb drives on this forum. :-)
I remember an earlier post you wrote that seemed to say you have special permission from Google to share more than the usual information with us about your site... can you disclose your entire relationship with G so that we can put your posts here in perspective?
Your memory is flawed, or perhaps your imagination is running amock. I've never said any such thing, and I've never done any such thing. You must be confusing me with the other members who routinely post their EPC, CTR, eCPM,etc. in this forum despite the Google AdSense TOS.
Finally, to get back on topic, here's when I think using AdSense for Search is appropriate:
- When a site that gets relatively little internal search traffic wants a quick, free search tool that will index an unlimited number of pages.
- When a publisher feels that a familiar search interface (meaning Google's) is a service to users.
- When a publisher understands that helping users find information on or off the site is ultimately rewarded by user loyalty, repeat traffic, and greater earnings. (By the way, I'm not alone in grasping this concept; visit Washingtonpost.com, for example, and you'll see a search box near the top of the home page that gives users a choice between "News" and "Web.")
Bottom line: AdSense for Search isn't the best solutionfor everyone, but it shouldn't be dismissed out of hand, either. And it's both rude and childish to dismiss other members as Google cheerleaders just because their experience with AdSense for Search (or any other aspect of the network) has been different from yours.
Bottom line: AdSense for Search isn't the best solution for everyone, but it shouldn't be dismissed out of hand, either. And it's both rude and childish to dismiss other members as Google cheerleaders just because their experience with AdSense for Search (or any other aspect of the network) has been different from yours.
I'm sorry, EFV, but have read hundreds of your posts and I must admit I have been disturbed that you consistently rally for Google on almost every occasion... much more obviously than anyone else here. Not saying you aren't entitled to your opinions, but it is just a trend that I've noticed.
I *do* remember distinctly a post by you when I first came on board that mentioned your main website was somehow used as an example by Google (sorry, my memory is not that good!) and that gave me the *impression* that you had gone a step further than the rest of us in some sort of promotional aspect for Google.
The keywords here is *impression*. You give that *impression*.
I guess I just sort of snapped. I better not post so late at night... sorry if I struck a nerve.
I *do* remember distinctly a post by you when I first came on board that mentioned your main website was somehow used as an example by Google (sorry, my memory is not that good!)
A few weeks ago, another member drew my attention to the fact that one of my pages was mentioned favorably in a leaked Google manual for quality evaluators, but that was the first I'd heard of it. And it certainly didn't imply any "special relationship" with Google Search, let alone Google AdSense. (My site is on the FORBES "Best of the Web" list, too, but that doesn't mean I know the people at FORBES.)
As for whatever impression you may have received from my posts, that's your subjective inference (and one that's about as accurate as your suggestion that I have a "special relationship" with Google). But what do your impressions, right or wrong, have to do with the topic of this thread? Wouldn't it be more productive to discuss the topic logically and dispassionately instead of trying to change the subject by questioning the motives of your fellow members?
The affiliate pages Google regards as "offensive" [webmasterworld.com]
and you will agree the author of the original post makes no assertion or gives any impression that EFV has gone "a step further... in some sort of promotional aspect for Google."
To bring this thread back on topic, does anyone have any specific recommendations for a free, high quality asp search script (has to be asp, not php, sorry) which can be used as a sitesearch instead of Google's offering?
I'm in the mood for some A/B testing.
1) relevancy... adsense-for-search may have better ad relevancy, but from the posts in this thread indicate, that relevancy is great in a homebrew system
2) google logo... adsense-for-search includes the google logo, so that may entice more users to use it, but it may have the opposite effect as well - tough to tell
3) design... the homebrew system should win here since the results pages are fully customizable... you can tweak the design for optimal CTR as well as better integrate the design to your other pages of your site.
4) restrictions... it seems to me that there might be fewer TOS restrictions on a homebrew system than on adsense-for-search - need to reread the terms with this in mind to get a complete answer.
in theory at least, it seems that if you have the ability to create a homebrew system, it wins over adsense-for-search. i am going to be trying it within the next couple weeks, and i hope reality lives up to the theory.
After experimenting with it for a couple of months, though, I ended up removing it and reinstalling the Google Search code. Why? Google's results are just better. Better relevancy, not only for sites around the web, but even for my own site! The Googlebot crawls my site regularly, so pages are updated fairly regularly.
As far as earnings are concerned, I didn't notice a significant difference between one and the other. I'm not saying this will be the case for everyone, but installing Google's search box on your site is probably a good choice for most people.
Google's results are just better. Better relevancy, not only for sites around the web, but even for my own site! The Googlebot crawls my site regularly, so pages are updated fairly regularly.
You bring up a point worth thinking about: frequency of crawling. My new articles and other features are usually indexed by Google within a day or two, which is considerably faster than the once-a-week indexing that I used to get with a free search tool. But if I had a site that got crawled sporadically, I might be better off with do-it-yourself search.
