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We have been known to cover AdSense earnings complaints and earnings polls over the years. Most of the threads I see on AdSense are complaints that the publishers are not earning enough money. Truth be told, I skip 99% of them.
So instead of covering a complaint thread on low AdSense earnings, let me cover a thread that complains about all the complaints.
A WebmasterWorld thread named "Fallacy of AdSense Failing" has one publisher talking about how many people are making a killing through Google AdSense. He chalks it up to a small but loud percent of those who post in the forums are the ones who are not doing well and thus have time to complain (or desire to complain). incrediBILL explained:
People are constantly saying AdSense is failing, going down the toilet, and of course everyone claims absolutely everyone is having these problems. The only thing is "everyone" is just the limited finite group of usual complainers constantly complaining which assumes the AdSense universe is only comprised of all of their complaining peers.
He then goes on to share stories of publishers making millions with AdSense. These publishers don't talk big because of (1) Google doesn't want them to and (2) there is a lot of competition out there.
I suspect most of AdSense publishers don't earn all that much but real businesses with good strategies can make a nice amount using AdSense.
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
Comments:
Johnasmith2011x
02/11/2011 02:00 pm
What exactly is the point of this post? You don't have numbers, the webmasterworld guy doesn't have numbers. So who's fallacy is it?
Barry Schwartz
02/11/2011 02:01 pm
I linked to numbers. This post is about people can make money and all I do is cover the complaints. I figured I share some people not complaining.
Johnasmith2011x
02/11/2011 02:45 pm
Barry, I meant actual numbers. The WMW guy says that "millions are satisfied". I'd love to REALLY know those numbers and be sure. I'm not so sure. I talk to a lot of people, none of them are happy right now. It just seems the WMW poster tried to lift the spirits up by posting something positive, but it doesn't seem to make much factual sense or point us to factual numbers that can liven this up for all of us. So if the point is giving us a confidence boost, I appreciate your post and I visit here a lot because of your great work, but really, adsense doesn't allow true numbers discussed, so how can he claim or disclaim something is a fallacy? Thanks for your reply, and keep up the great work.
Barry Schwartz
02/11/2011 02:46 pm
He is just saying it is all not bad with adsense. I'll say I make a few thousand per month with it and I barely do optimization stuff.
Andrew Hallinan
02/11/2011 02:58 pm
They may be making money now, but not for long. http://andrewhallinan.com/blog/2011/02/09/38-google-adsense-spam.html Google AdSense is going to crack down on publishers!
Chris
02/11/2011 04:27 pm
I will say this, I am certainly happy with adsense. Having been in this industry over 10 years I remember when Adsense first started, I signed up day one, Adsense revolutionized the business model for smaller, especially niche, content sites, as well as helped larger sites that could use existing networks additional income sources.
Colin
02/11/2011 04:35 pm
Fair point really, those who are smart don't shout from the rooftops about how well they are doing... unless like Mr Schoemaker they want to sell their products off the back of it.
Ben Pfeiffer
02/11/2011 06:28 pm
People really need to stop complaining and wasting so much time blaming Google for their lack of revenue and spend time optimizing their campaigns. Build some new websites. Learn some new SEO tactics (that work). Figure out how to maximize the existing traffic you have. I have been with Adsense since the beginning and have generally seen my revenues increase over time.
GuestWho
02/12/2011 12:25 am
Some publishers make a whole butt load of money on a daily basis for nearly a decade now, however we keep quiet about it since we don't want competition within the space we have found success.
Ferodynamics
02/12/2011 12:38 am
Just look at Google's annual report if you want numbers. Last I checked (years ago) Google was paying $1 Billion every quarter to Adsense publishers.
Ferodynamics
02/12/2011 12:46 am
Yes it pays my bills too. The reason people fail at Adsense, they don't understand visual attention. Take an art class in composition. For example, I could 10x the Adsense revenue here, way too much non-essential stuff. Share on Facebook? Really, how does that help anyone besides Facebook stockholders? If I wanted to share, I wouldn't click your sidebar.
Carlos Andrade Jr
02/18/2011 06:07 am
Those that are quiet usually don't speak on their earnings. I know some publishers would rather stay quiet because its nobody's business as to what they earn.
Ryan @ Planting Dollars
02/21/2011 06:25 am
Anyone who voices how much they make, who actually makes a decent amount would have to worry about Google penalizing them and increased competition in their niche. The only people who have a reason to share income earnings are those trying to teach others to make money online anyways. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who are making a ton who have no reason to speak up, what's there to gain by bragging?
Sk2
02/21/2011 11:58 pm
true! the more time you waste complaining the more money you lose, adsense is about building new stuff, exploring new niches, and improving your ecpm all the time.
Randomguru
02/23/2011 07:39 pm
whoever is "bragging" about how much money they make using Adsense might actually be violating some Adsense rules about publishing earnings online. i personally have had my ups and downs with Google Adsense, but lately it's been doing fairly good for me. i can't and shouldn't complain. but i have better income streams than Adsense in the form of sponsored blog reviews and link ad strategies.
Michael Scheel
03/01/2011 02:17 pm
You are allowed to publish your earnings however not details like CTR, eCPM and Clicks
yahoo-VQSSRIGJPNXWKD54F5WVCWUWQQ
04/24/2012 02:41 am
I concur with your post, that there are a lot of people complaining and the truth is that if you work hard and drive traffic to your site through great SEO then the benifets will slowly come. People seem to not work hard yet expect a windfall of income.