Publisher share declining?

12 clicks for 6 cents yesterday, 2 clicks for 1 cent this morning

[atypeofmagic]

Has there been a change in the share Google pays out to publishers? I've been with the network for just under a year, don't make too much (about $60-70 a month), but the lowest payout per click (until this month) has been $0.03.

Now I'm seeing clicks paying out $0.02, and these last two days were the absolute pits: 6 cents for 12 clicks to start with yesterday (finally finishing around 60 cents for 25 clicks); this morning I've had two clicks, paying 1 cent so far.

So what gives? Before anyone jumps to conclusions, the two sites I run Adsense on have all original content (we commission writers for print and web articles), are listed in DMOZ, aren't part of any link exchanges, and on the one occasion I mistakenly clicked on an ad (many months ago), I wrote to and cleared it with Google.

All I can think of is that publisher shares are being reduced. I'll have to consider the Yahoo alternative when it's out of beta.

(Edit: Corrected figures)

[Rodney]

it could also be that some of the clicks that are being reported aren't valid clicks.

So 6 clicks for 12 cents might be 2 clicks for 6 cents each and 4 invalid (or psa) clicks.

It could also be that the advertisers changed their bid amounts with the new ad system that they launched for adwords.

There are a few scenarios that could cause what you described other than google lowering the publisher share. Others have reported increased CPC values.

[lilyfr2k]

There's also an algo called "Smart Pricing", where Google calculates your earning following the conversion rate of your website. :)

[europeforvisitors]

it could also be that some of the clicks that are being reported aren't valid clicks....It could also be that the advertisers changed their bid amounts with the new ad system that they launched for adwords.

Smart pricing (discounts to advertisers based on the likelihood of conversion) could be another factor. So could increased competition for a limited pool of ads related to the publisher's keywords. And at this time of year, when many people (including small advertisers) are on vacation, demand may having a seasonal slump.

As for whether Google has reduced the publisher share of revenues, that's unlikely. People speculate on this every time they see a slump in their own earnings, but Google's quarterly financial reports tell a different story.

[Paris]

atype, it's not Google paying out a smaller piece of the pie. A few days ago AdWords had a major policy shift where the minimum bid went from $0.05 to as little as a penny for some keywords (based on the keywords and the quality of the ads).

On the flipside, some keywords (and ad campaigns) now have minimum bids far greater than a nickel. So it's been feast for some, famine for others in the AdSense world since Wednesday.

You may want to follow the AdWords threads here to learn more about this from the advertiser's angle.

[atypeofmagic]

Paris, I think that explains it. Not that it makes it any less frustrating - I've been actively adding fresh content over the past month, only to see daily revenues dip below $1 for the first time in months even though there has been no change in the number of clicks.

I've cut down the ad units on every page to just one (I had two earlier plus Adlinks), let's see if that helps make a difference.

[MediaSpree]

"I've cut down the ad units on every page to just one (I had two earlier plus Adlinks), let's see if that helps make a difference."

That was my saving grace. Keep only the highest paying ads as options on the page. I don't have room for 3, 2, or now even 1 cent clicks on my site!