May 22, 2007
Why I hate Google AdSense Part I
OK We’ll first off, I should apologize, since I am a totally new to the blogging world, I now realize that if you are going to bash something you need to back it up better. I got totally hammered over here at Problogger.net with my first (probably my last ;) ) attempt at guest blogging. But one thing I am not new too, is the online advertising world and I believe this is the reason Darren asked me to do a post about “how to make your site more attractive to advertisers” in the first place. I have been buying and selling online ads for over 6 years and being on both sides of the fence so I have a pretty good idea on what ads should cost and a sites potential is for revenue.
As for my comment on Adsense it still stands; let me explain further.
First off, is there a use for Google AdSense? Yes. So I do agree with some of the comments made by Eric over at Memwg. He has some very valid points. If you have really low traffic it may be in fact the only way to monetize your site, and it is good for ‘remnant’ inventory when you can’t sell any ads or get an ad network to give you a half decent CPM on the excess inventory.
Can you make money off AdSense? Absolutely. And I’m sure lots of you do already make, $100 or even $500 a month, which is fine, but what I’m talking about is REAL advertising dollars. By real money, I mean $10,000, $20,000 a month. If you are making $500 a month in AdSense, then your site could easily be generating $5000 a month in paid graphical advertising! Most people with great small niche sites really underestimate that value of what potential ad dollars could be on their site, and I know that a lot of this perception is skewed by getting a small pay cheque from Google each month. You’re like, wow, $75 and all for doing something I like to do anyway. Well how about finding someone willing to give you $500 a month to run an ad in the same spot as that lame old Google box? Just one advertiser would beat everything you are making now.
If you have a Blog making several hundred a month in AdSense, you should:
A) Start selling fixed graphical ads off your site directly to advertisers today either on your own or hire a sales rep to do it for you.
or
B) Consider joining a blog network like Federated Media or b5media.
Another reason that I hate Google Adsense is because I believe they are blatantly ripping you off! What percentage of the ad dollars do they give you?? Well Google doesn’t tell you and there is only speculation. Some theories are 70% or 80%. Ha! I call BS on that one. Have you ever gone in a purchased a campaign yourself? I’ve seen keywords at $10+ a click. Have you ever got $8 for one click on YOUR site? I don’t think so. Maybe $0.80? The numbers just don’t match up. If they were in fact giving such a high cut to the publishers at 80%, don’t you think they would make that information public knowledge? Heck, I would think that would be a great sales pitch for them. But the fact is that they are making Billions of dollars off other peoples traffic and content. Your traffic and visitors are worth more than you realize to advertisers. I have personally sold single fixed monthly ads on sites with only ¼ of the traffic that Problogger has, for $100,000+ per year. That’s to ONE advertiser, on only ONE niche site. TechCrunch sells single boxes for $10,000/month and Mashable sells his for $1000/month, your site could be selling ads for $100, $200, $500 or even $1000 a month too! All that I’m really trying to say is; don’t underestimate that value of your audience.
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:28 am
I absolutely love your site. I would love to talk to you more about this, I’m trying to get interviews and guestbloggers for my blog and would love to hear more tips from you!
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:44 am
Chad,
You can guest blog on my site any time :-). You are going to catch alot of flak anytime you diss adsense. There is too much money in it for those that know how to exploit it, and those who exploit others into thinking it the way to financial freedom.
Maybe you should join their ranks and write an $97 clickbank e-book about paid graphical ads with 1000’s of affiliates rehashing what anyone can find for free elsewhere with a little searching?
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:03 am
There’s a common misconception that advertisers will pay big bucks to show their ads on AdSense sites. I wrote an entire series about the fallacies of high-paying keyword lists. The simple fact is that the smart advertisers bid separately (if at all) and much lower for ads shown on the content network (AdSense) versus ads shown on Google’s own pages. Yet the prices people quote are for the latter, so there’s a huge dichotomy. Add in things like Smart Pricing, which reduces the prices advertisers pay for ads on poorly-converting sites, and you’ll soon see that “$8 per click” probably translates into 50 cents per click on an AdSense site because the advertiser didn’t actually pay $8 for that click.
I agree that serious/pro bloggers should look into advertising alternatives if they’re interested in making more money and they’ve developed a coveted audience. It only makes sense to diversify, let’s face it. But AdSense is the bootstrapping service that gets many of them to that level in the first place…
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:25 am
Hey Steve, thanks for offer and the great idea about writing a clickbank book. I’ve certainly seen hundreds out there about AdSense, so maybe I should write one ;0
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:45 am
[…] Chad Randall recently wrote a guest post on Darren’s ProBlogger blog about why you should not use AdSense, and after the natives got a little restless, followed it up with more at his own blog. I think he is right on the money. Check it out! Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:03 am
Thank you for stopping by mysite! please let me know if you’re ever in the mood to guest write for my site or what not. I loved your post!
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:16 am
Hi Chad,
I read your ProBlogger post with interest. I was in agreement with you about AdSense looking unprofessional, and not to use it. Then you went and admitted that b5media use it.
Contradicting though your post was, I enjoyed the read and will be mentioning it over on my own creative design blog.
Bye for now.
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:18 am
Oh, and I just noticed AdSense beneath your comments.
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:22 pm
thanks for the follow up post Chad - and no, it’s not your last guest post - unless you want it to be :-)
it’s a great discussion - I hope my readers didn’t leave you feeling too bruised.
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Hi David,
Thanks for you comment. Yes, b5media has been using it, and since I don’t own the company, I can’t just pull it off the site. But it is my plan to slowly replace it all with higher paying ads.
Oh and as for my site here having it, I left it for the traffic stats which I do find useful. (But I guess I better pull it off completely eh? :)
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Hey Darren,
Thanks for poping by my site. No I was just kidding about the guest post comment. It was my pleasure. I’m still learning, and your readers had some very valid points. It was fun and I learned a lot too.
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:47 pm
I think it’s just a misunderstanding… If you had started out by saying what you said here, I don’t think people would have batted an eye. Most people don’t have the traffic to command 10-20K a month in advertising (IMO). Getting the Fortune 500 advertisers is not even a prayer for the average blog.
The rest of the tips can apply to a blog of any size, but this one seems only apply to very large blogs. I’m not sure that was clear enough from the outset.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Well, I’m one of the folks who commented at ProBlogger. A few things:
* While I didn’t understand your AdSense comment until you clarified it, I want to make clear to you that my comment wasn’t criticism. Inspired by your post, I went and converted my sole AdBrite CPC client to local direct, and pitched two others. I think we’ll get all three.
* It’s not time for LighterFootstep.com to drop AdSense yet, but I know I will. That sidebar is too valuable for CPC of any type.
* Lighter Footstep was created in response to a lot of things Darren teaches, and I watch b5 very closely. You may be new to blogging, but you’re no stranger to success. And that what we all want. :-)
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Chad,
My humble apologies for “hammering’ you at Problogger. It wasn’t my intent.
I enjoyed this post and a previous comment on Darren’s site that I had missed where you quoted $20 CPM’s instead of $1.
While my sites via Google earn considerably more than $1 CPM they aren’t earning $20. But as I consider what you’re saying I have to weigh up whether all the extra effort of chasing advertisers, getting them to pay their bills, fit it with their custom requirements etc is worth my time. Time that could be better interacting with my readership or writing posts.
AdSense does all the stuff that I don’t want to do and if that’s worth losing some money over then so be it. If you could convince me that the effort isn’t as onerous as I suspect it might be I would be willing to reconsider your ideas.
BTW - didn’t Darren share that he earned US$15k+ in one month via AdSense?
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:05 pm
[…] […]
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:28 pm
[…] Chad Randall, b5media’s director of sales, got hammered for a guest post he did on Darren Rowse’s blog about why he hates Google AdSense. After getting stitched up, he took another crack at his thesis today. For all the gory details, check out his blog. […]
March 23rd, 2007 at 6:54 am
[…] Genau meine Rede: “If you have a Blog making several hundred a month in AdSense, you should: […]
March 23rd, 2007 at 9:27 am
Hi Chad,
I happened to run a follow-up after your Interview with Darren Rowse was publishe at ProBlogger.net.
I agree that Google, as of now, is not willing to share much of the monetary side of Ad Sense, in terms of the share/click Google earns from Advertisers.
Advertising rates also vary wih respect to the region one’s located in. For example, the cost an Advertiser has to pay in the US may not be the same, as that in India => Chunk of money earned also differs.
But all in all, I wonder when will they be sharing this information with their loyal blogvertisers / webvertisers.
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:52 pm
I think you are right on here.
Google needs to disclose the amount that it makes off of the ads from your site and give you the percentage that is your cut. It’s completely ambiguous now and probably corrupt. Who knows?
March 23rd, 2007 at 8:44 pm
I recently sold a site I had that was generating about 4500 unique visitors per day. We just couldn’t get enough adsense revs to justify running the site. The problem we had was that it cost a lot to keep a sales person on the road and the kind of advertisers we were getting were a pain. Many small advertisers is not a winning solution either. You need either a network that brings large advertisers or access to large advertisers that want to participate in niche sites. Our success with the latter was very limited.
March 24th, 2007 at 2:34 am
[…] So, is Chad being contradictory/inconsistent? No, not really. You can read more about what Chad has to say about this debate in his follow-up post at his own blog called AdvertiseSpace: Why I hate Google AdSense Part I. […]
March 24th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
[…] Why I hate Google AdSense Part I I always wonder what kind of a cut Google takes from adsense. The fact taht they don’t publish this info makes it clear that it is “a lot”. But can anyone just sell adds on a site? No. Will that be the case a couple years from now? I don’t think so. (tags: google adsense) […]
March 25th, 2007 at 10:44 am
I have nothing against Google adsense, but actually you haven’t either. If your point has not been misunderstood, you are saying that if you make 500 a month with Google, you could resort to custom banners by clients.
This doesn’t mean “hating adsense”, why you feel so?
It only means giving a good advice. What i don’t understand is: why you see the two options as mutually exclusive?
I use Google ads and I *love* them, and I have room for a custom banner too: why the one should exclude the other?
However, unconventional ideas are refreshing, yours is (although as I said, you don’t hate adsense actually - at least not as long as you quit deeming the two options as mutually exclusive) and I’d rather prefer a million of ideas like yours than a million of sheep that say beeee beeee all day long: we have already plenty of those. Truly plenty, all used to stale stuff and ready to hate anything new.
Be refreshing, and quit the hate: you don’t hate adsense at all actually, you’re only talking of an optional addition: custom banners.
Alberto
March 26th, 2007 at 5:22 am
[…] Bij advertise space staat een bericht over het gebruik van google adsense. Deze meneer beschrijft dat je beter gebruik kan maken een vaste grafische advertentie van 1 bedrijf. Daarmee kan je per maand meer verdienen dan met adsense. Adsense is wel handig volgens hem voor sites die weinig aanloop hebben. Dus ik kan beter adsense gebruiken want dan verdien ik waarschijnlijk meer dan met andere soorten van advertenties. En laat ik mij ook eerst maar eens bewijzen en zorgen voor een vaste berichten stroom die interessant zijn om te lezen. […]
March 28th, 2007 at 12:50 am
Hi Chad, great post, really an eye opener for me. My site will be part of B5media once we get our site migrated to WP and glad you are our sales director. All I keep hearing is you are our money man! I just have few questions, how do we go about in hiring a sales rep? Where do we look for one? My site actually generates over a thousand in adsense but accordingly to you, I can be making a lot more! Please help!
March 30th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
[…] Why I hate Google AdSense Part I by Chad Randall […]
April 8th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Hmm… I hate AdSense too. They don’t let me in. That’s why Im starting my project “The Traffic Marketplace“, so webmasters and bloggers can sell Ad space on their site …
April 12th, 2007 at 7:42 am
[…] Like Chad Randall, I hate Google Adsense. It’s just not for me, although I know it has it’s place. Yes, we have some on our site right now. It’s a placeholder. We’ve gotten one click. I’ll be happy to donate the few cents we earned. I honestly don’t think it’s fair to have adsense ads next to content that other people have written, especially when they may have their own adsense ads on their own site with the original post. We would hope that you click through the the full article, then check out their own ads. But again, with success come bills, so we are looking at revenue-generating alternatives. […]
April 15th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
I agree, adsense isn’t worth the trouble - it gives you a low income, monetizes YOUR content, and are basically just ripping you off.
I believe, that in 5-10 years, advertising prices on the internet will have gone up alot, once the big players realize that the internet is THE place to throw big signs in peoples head with buy this and that! And prices will, at that time, I believe, be up in the ranges you’re talking about.
So todays tip is: Build websites now, don’t put ads on them and let them grow into popular commmunity sites, which will give you a huge income in some years.
April 17th, 2007 at 12:14 am
I’m surprised that no one mentioned anything about Adsense’s contextual relevancy and how it can contrast with your site content.
Adsense is a powerful passive monetization tool but ad relevancy and its effect on branding are some of the important issues I would explore as well, when deciding to use adsense or not.
I’ve linked through to my post on the topic.. feel free to click on my name to read more :)
May 3rd, 2007 at 2:13 pm
[…] - Level 1: Bottom Level = Google AdSense. Yes, even though I strongly dislike AdSense, it can be used to soak up and remnant ad inventory that you have on your site. Google, the biggest pimp in the ad industry world, will take any traffic they can get which includes the international traffic that most ad networks avoid. Average CPM = $1 […]
May 4th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
[…] Chad wrote more on why he doesn’t like AdSense on his own blog after that post - and today wrote another useful post titled the 7 Levels of Revenue for Your Blog which ranks advertising methods for blogs. […]
May 4th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
I had months with more than $10,000 on AdSense… But FM wouldn’t accept me in their network. So I use Google AdSense and TribalFusion.
It’s hard for ANYONE to sell ads directly. It’s too much time involved in that. Unless you hire someone to sell, which add to the costs of running a website.
May 6th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
nice blogs guys, some great stuff in here..and good to see opposing views with none of the grief you get in most forums these days!
May 8th, 2007 at 6:06 am
[…] Why I hate Google AdSense Part I - Very good post about why bloggers should look to sell advertising directly before using adsense. […]
May 24th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
[…] FeedBurner is an important partner. Google, however, has not historically been a good partner and Jeremy is even offering a cash prize to anyone who can show us differently. Chad also tells us why he hates Adsense. Granted, this has been on the advertising front, but forgive me if I remain skeptical. […]
June 21st, 2007 at 9:39 am
Cool post I like it very much, must say that don’t bother your self what others think about you ! Because they are same as you, new to blogging and everybody could be right or wrong.
What you are saying about advertising in my opinion i think you are correct.
Now visit me!
September 23rd, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Ohhh… This AdSense debate makes my head turn. So much to think about.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:17 pm
[…] the long overdue follow up post to my last year’s shit storm post on why I hate Google […]
June 11th, 2008 at 3:52 am
[…] anyone who has read my previous rants on why I hate Google AdSense part I, and part II might be more than a little surprised that I’m writing this […]
June 20th, 2008 at 5:39 am
Well i have no choice but to use google ads because my site isn’t discovered yet…
You made alot of good points there thumbs up to you
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:33 pm
[…] anyone who has read my previous rants on why I hate Google AdSense part I, and part II might be more than a little surprised that I’m writing this […]