Keyword Tips

AdSense effective cost per thousand impressions (eCPM) on the decline?

Hmm... there's a scary scary thread over in the forums at WebmasterWorld about "What to do when your eCPM continues to drop". Posters are offering a slew of advice on this potential drop in earnings, like:

"I have found that either changing and experienting with different ad formats/placements or shutting down underperforming ads helps me... There is a theory going around here which I subscribe to. That theory is that bad quality advertisers or off target ads lead to a poor conversion rate which in turn leads to the dreaded effects of smartpricing."

"One potential action is to do nothing, be happy, and concentrate on producing more content."

"Generate content with higher paying keywords. Link ads ONLY on your highest paying/earning pages. Blocking ads that are irrelevant to the topic of the page."

"have you ever tried Jensense's idea: copy your ban list to notepad, save it, delete them all from your filter and see what happens? (You can restore the list later from the saved file)."

Etc. etc. There's an abundance of ideas for what to do and why it's happening. It should be noted that some think nothing's happening and that the range of comparison was affected by seasonality. But the more prevalent conspiracy theory appears to center around Google's SmartPricing. So, what's our advice? Keep reading the forums at WebmasterWorld and checking back here... maybe someday we'll have a definitive answer.

Rich media beta coming soon to Google AdSense

Google has apparently begun contacting some publishers about their interest in participating in a beta test for running rich media ads through their Google AdSense accounts. Extremely different from the traditional AdSense text ads, the rich media ads would be site-targeted. Additionally, the rich media ads are rumored to be similar to the "floating" ads served by EyeBlaster and PointRoll.

Jenstar of Jensense.com has a totally kick-ass post about the ramifications of this potential expansion into other facets of online advertising, including:

"... if AdSense did offer rich media to all publishers, they could easily add a new clause that would mean companies such as Fastclick and PointRoll would suddenly be competitive ads and not be permitted on the same pages as AdSense. Many AdSense publishers implement rich media ads to compliment AdSense, and as non-contextual, most of these ad products are well within the AdSense terms. But if AdSense decided to not permit rich media ads on pages also running AdSense or AdSense rich media style ads, this could mean that many publishers would drop competitor's ads and just show AdSense... as well as those advertisers flocking to AdWords to get their rich media creatives showing through the AdSense program."

If you're not visiting Jensense.com daily, you should consider doing so... them's good readings.

AdSense referrals tougher to cash in

According to a post by Ionut Alex. Chitu at googlesystem.blogspot.com, Google has changed the terms of AdSense referrals. If you have no idea what referrals are, check out this older post on Google's referral program.

Chitu writes that Google has:

"... now instituted a 90-day time limit on that referral, meaning a referred publisher must earn the $100 within the first 90 days, before the referring publisher is eligible to earn that $100 for a completed AdSense referral."

While we haven't exactly made a huge push for referrals, we definitely haven't seen any conversions. It seemed like a relatively tough thing to cash in on in the first place. Now it seems like that space at the bottom of the right column on keyWorthy might be better used for something that will convert better.

Keyword Search

*Keyword lists are not in a definitive ranked order. Keywords in the list are editorial selections made by the staff based on subjective relevance and should not be interpretted as scientifically confirmed rankings.

Google, porn, and the Department of Justice

If we've got this right, the goverment is interested in the public's porn-surfing habits and wants Google (among other search engines) to turn over their search data. According to CBSnews.com:

"The Justice Department wants Google to turn over records of a million random Web searches during a one week period. Google has refused to comply so far and said in a statement that it will fight the government's efforts 'vigorously.'"

However, it appears that the other major search engines have also been contacted by the Department of Justice, but Google is grabbing the headlines because they're the only ones fighting the government subpoena. BoingBoing.net reports:

"... Yahoo, AOL, and MSN were also asked to supply search records information, and all complied. Google did not, and that is why the DoJ asked a federal judge on Wednesday to order the company to do so."

So, what does this mean for webmasters using AdSense to make money on their sites? Well, not much directly. BUT, what this does show is that if Google's fighting the release of data for a million random searches for a single week, they'll be willing to fight even harder for private user data... like anything associated with AdWords or AdSense accounts.

Move over Howard Stern, here comes Google!

Google just dropped about $1.2 billion to acquire dMarc, a company that allows streamlined radio ad purchasing through an online system. So don't be surprised to see AdSense for Content and AdSense for Search joined by AdSense for radio in the near future. But I suppose AdWords is the more accurate statement along those lines.

So, while Howard Stern has been grabbing 99% of the news headlines about radio, Google's grabbed a considerable share of the press with this recent move. Here's a smattering of the hub-bub:

• Execs React To Google's Radio Ad Play, Try To Pick Up Signal
• Google Dials Up Radio, Accelerates Move Into Traditional Media Buying
• Radio Google
• Google Goes Radio Ga Ga
• 'RealMoney' Radio Recap: Shrug Off the Selloff
• Google's excellent radio ad venture
• US Internet titan Google buys radio advertising firm
• US: Google extends reach to radio ads with $2b buy
• Google Agrees to Buy Radio Ad Company
• Google Brings Radio Advertising to AdWords Advertisers with dMarc Broadcasting Acquisition

Just for ho ho's, check out our Google and Google Radio pages.

Google's Bid and Traffic Estimator

Due to popular demand, we've added a direct link to Google's traffic estimator on our keyword pages. We've filed the link under our "Text Ad Bids" section because it includes a CPC estimate for the #1 position.

But remember, unlike Overture's bid tool, Google's traffic estimator requires that you login for results. Enjoy!

Keyword Search

*Keyword lists are not in a definitive ranked order. Keywords in the list are editorial selections made by the staff based on subjective relevance and should not be interpretted as scientifically confirmed rankings.

The official AdSense blog

Given that yesterday's post had absolutely NOTHING to do with AdSense, we figured we'd go the opposite end of the spectrum today and point you folks at Google's official AdSense blog. Enjoy!

Coolest Google logo yet?

As you may or may not know, Google periodically changes up their logo to match seasonal events. Today's is pretty darn cool... a braille logo to celebrate Louis Braille's birthday. How does this beenfit your Adsense campaigns? It doesn't. It's just fun.