Keyword Tips

What's the rev share on AdSense ads?

Okay okay... we know that we've been exceptionally AdSense-centric of late, but heck, AdSense is a huge portion of what makes keywords valuable to us as Web site owners. And so, we thought we'd share this funny blog entry by John Battelle.

In any event, Battelle (a recognized Google expert), received a call from a Google AdSense sales person who had absolutely no idea who Battelle was. Comic hilarity ensues, but the key statement was something to the extent that AdSense publishers get the "majority" of the profit from ad clicks. While the Google rep couldn't verify anything about what the actual rev share was, most people assume majority means more than half.

Even if your site is optimized ridiculously well for smart pricing, you're probably still not getting too close to a 50/50 split with Google. Well, unless you've got a premium account. But even then, I suppose the split is largely dependent on how big of a player you are and how good your negotiator is. Either way, check out Battelle's blog entry... it's damn funny.