Adsense Dying? I'm Not Buying.
Adsense, as we know it, is ending.
(Not really.)
But a title at Copyblogger that reads, "It’s the End of AdSense as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)", does make it sound that way. The post itself is referring to this li'l report here; a study finding that advertisers wasted about $800 million on bogus clicks in 2005. It found that 15% of clicks are dirty.
That's not just Adsense click fraud; they're talking about Yahoo and all the rest as well. Are we surprised? Nah'.
Most Adwords advertisers are already well aware that conversion rates on ads that run on independent websites (as opposed to search results) are For Sucks, in general. However, depending on the kind of ads you're running and the ratio of slimy-suck-punk ass websites to good websites they show up on, it can be worth it.
Personally, the ads I run show up on Google searches only. For instance, I'm fond of selling Rhapsody (aff) subscriptions, but running those ads on independent websites isn't going to happen.
Rhapsody comes with a free trial. Which, technically, means free music. Keywords associated with "free music" are sources of huge, non-buying traffic on the internet. Websites capitalizing on those kinds of keywords tend to be slimy. And suck. And punk ass. Not what we want.
Getting back to Copyblogger, the post in question isn't really claiming that Adsense is going anywhere; it's really just saying that - maybe due to click fraud, in part - affiliate marketing is coming back into vogue. And then it gives us an affiliate link to a service that offers coaching in affiliate marketing.
Call me cynical (please), but I'm thinking that's what the title was all about. Feeling a little manipulative, Brian?
I did check out the affiliate link anyway, and, uh, it's time for a Little Numbered Mini Rant.
LNMR: "Affiliate Classroom"
Little. Numbered. Different.
2. Those little junk-mail looking sites with the tacky graphics, red letters and promises of arcane money-making "secrets", are not sexy. Not sexy at all.
3.They used this effect, for which someone should bite them.
But I digress. Click fraud sucks. Fraud, in general, sucks; but fraud goes hand-in-hand with anything having to do with money. Occupational hazard. Business reality. Hence, it's doubtful Adsense will be doing anthing resembling "ending" (as we know it or otherwise) before there's a real, viable, alternative.
(Not really.)
But a title at Copyblogger that reads, "It’s the End of AdSense as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)", does make it sound that way. The post itself is referring to this li'l report here; a study finding that advertisers wasted about $800 million on bogus clicks in 2005. It found that 15% of clicks are dirty.
That's not just Adsense click fraud; they're talking about Yahoo and all the rest as well. Are we surprised? Nah'.
Most Adwords advertisers are already well aware that conversion rates on ads that run on independent websites (as opposed to search results) are For Sucks, in general. However, depending on the kind of ads you're running and the ratio of slimy-suck-punk ass websites to good websites they show up on, it can be worth it.
Personally, the ads I run show up on Google searches only. For instance, I'm fond of selling Rhapsody (aff) subscriptions, but running those ads on independent websites isn't going to happen.
Rhapsody comes with a free trial. Which, technically, means free music. Keywords associated with "free music" are sources of huge, non-buying traffic on the internet. Websites capitalizing on those kinds of keywords tend to be slimy. And suck. And punk ass. Not what we want.
Getting back to Copyblogger, the post in question isn't really claiming that Adsense is going anywhere; it's really just saying that - maybe due to click fraud, in part - affiliate marketing is coming back into vogue. And then it gives us an affiliate link to a service that offers coaching in affiliate marketing.
Call me cynical (please), but I'm thinking that's what the title was all about. Feeling a little manipulative, Brian?
I did check out the affiliate link anyway, and, uh, it's time for a Little Numbered Mini Rant.
LNMR: "Affiliate Classroom"
Little. Numbered. Different.
1. In the post, Brian said: "...at less than $30 a month it’s a no-brainer." Eh, pardon me, but $30 dollars a month for a website subscription is not a "no-brainer". For that much, I recommend engaging the brain.
2. Those little junk-mail looking sites with the tacky graphics, red letters and promises of arcane money-making "secrets", are not sexy. Not sexy at all.
3.
But I digress. Click fraud sucks. Fraud, in general, sucks; but fraud goes hand-in-hand with anything having to do with money. Occupational hazard. Business reality. Hence, it's doubtful Adsense will be doing anthing resembling "ending" (as we know it or otherwise) before there's a real, viable, alternative.
Taglature:
Don't know what happened with the last one -- gotta love Blogger.
ReplyDeleteOK, you're cynical. :)
But really, you made my exact point. More people will now know to stay away from publisher sites in AdWords (which means less advertisers for AdSense).
With these types of fraud reports, Google (and publishers) can no longer rely on the ignorance of advertisers that have allowed them to stray outside the SERPS.
And finally, Affiliate Classroom has a lot of great info on the inside, but you can't get past the marketing. Oh well.
And spending $30 a month to earn $100, or $1000, or more in return, is actually the exact definition of a "no brainer." Maybe you just need to build up some confidence in yourself.
Just some (more) friendly advice -- you're going to have to re-align the way you think about business if you're going to have any success. Take it for what it's worth to you. :)
Hey man, I just said to use the brain before signing up (as opposed to leaving it out of the equation). ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure their service could be valuable, but their ad copy makes me want to gnaw on their ethernet cables. Bad marketing isn't necessarily a show-stopper, though; I had other reasons not to buy in at this point.
As to success - well, that's self-defined, but I'm alway up for hearing some advice (that's why I read Copyblogger). Thanks for stopping by, sir.
Yes, you know... I'm getting fed up with the cheese copy too. If it weren't for the fact that I know the actual product is quality, I'd feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteI may just have to start teaching all this stuff myself. Who needs sleep, right? :)
Indeed.:) Gotta' pick your battles, I guess.
ReplyDelete