Is Adsense worth it?

[fordio]

I am setting up a new site and want to know what other webmasters think of adsense. I will be advertising my site via ppc and am wondering if adsense loses more revenue than it gains?

[Rosalind Gardner]

Hello Fordio,

You are going to get a multitude of different responses to this question.

My 2 cents...

Do NOT put Adsense on product pages. It's OK for something like a forum that has many, many pages, yet few product listings... however, I'm dubious about even that.

What you do not want to do is send your traffic away for pennies on the dollar, which is exactly what Adsense amounts to.

Furthermore, 'Made for Adsense' sites have lost significant ground in Google.

So, if you're paying to send traffic to your site from PPC's, why would you choose to send it back away for even less?

You need to test your pages and see what works best on individual pages. Yes, it's more time-consuming, but you'll earn more money in the long run.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

Ros

[Lowell Rieger]

Ros is right,

PPC you pay full dollars for, Adsense you get a percentage of a PPC click for.
The math doesn't work.

Use PPC to get eyeballs to converting pages that make you lots of money.

[greenie]

So it seems Adsense is a dumb thing to do, judging from some comments here?

Then I just don't understand why almost every other site I see has Adsense Ads in them?!!!

Someone please tell me the truth please?

Thanks.

[Lowell Rieger]

Hi Greenie,

Your original question asked if Adsense loses more than it gains. Consider that Adsense pays you a percentage of what is bid for an Adwords keyword. Also consider that many Adwords buyers do not put their campaigns in the "content" display, which is where the Adsense ads on your site would come from. Also consider that if they do, they typically pay a fraction of what they would for a display in the more relevant "search" results.

Adsense isn't dumb, but spending more on PPC clicks than you could possibly make at the adsense landing page is. You are dealing with both the Google revenue share issue and the conversion of your page elements issue.

I didn't say not to put Adsense on your pages, you can do whatever you like. But don't get frustrated. I'd rather see you do it your way and learn than give up.

Personally, I don't have Adsense on any page that I pay for clicks to. While some people promote Adsense arbitrage by paying for clicks at Adwords, and then hoping site visitors click on a link on the landing page, it is a tricky business, as you have to find just the cheap keywords related to more expensive keywords, and then get people to click on the links.

At one site, my last three Adsense clicks paid .01, .01, and .06. Now I have pages that generate way higher amounts on other keywords, but you don't have much control over what Adsense ad is displayed. The only affiliate link at that site (a free blogger blog) pays $12 or so. Traffic comes only from free sources.

Every once in a while at a web hosting review site of mine, I get paid .01 for Adsense clicks, which usually run closer to .50 to $1.00. Webhosting typically has high Adwords bids and pays well, but once again, you have no control over what Adsense is displayed.

An affiliate link at that same web hosting review site pays $50 and up for someone who signs up at the host.

Yes I have pages that have both Adsense and affiliate links. But I don't pay for clicks to the pages, and the Adsense is placed in a way that it isn't the primary emphasis of the page. It does allow some revenue from people who find that the information on the page isn't what they were really looking for.

And by the way, all that said, my number one source of revenue comes from marketing to my lists, so if you are in this for the long haul, think about that as a third option. It will definitely add to both your Adsense and affiliate income.

Lastly, consider this forum page. I came here as a result of an email message about your post. I first came here by being subscribed to Ros' marketing list. There is an Adsense menu bar at the top, and a tower in the sidebar. It makes sense here. I don't know but assume that all the traffic here is essentially free.

It wouldn't make sense if the page was all about her Super Affiliate Handbook and she was using PPC for traffic.

Regards,

[gmee]