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Many, many Google AdSense publishers are complaining about a drop in earnings from their Google AdSense initiatives. A long and detailed thread at WebmasterWorld has a lot of complaints from publishers on the topic.
There is no question that ad dollars globally have dried up. The economy is in really bad shape and consumers are not buying, so sellers are not advertising. I can tell you from personal experience, we use to turn away advertisers left and right and now it is almost impossible to get a new advertiser here. (Hint, if you want a good price on ads here, contact us.)
I hear that many Google AdWords advertisers are slashing budgets due to the drop in sales they have experienced. With a drop in advertising budgets, that means less ads to go around in the contextual space, which results in less money for Google AdSense Publishers. There are no hard facts on this drop yet, but I wouldn't be surprised to see more data come out on this soon.
Publishers, let us know if you have seen a drop in AdSense earnings in the past couple weeks or so. Take the poll below:
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
Comments:
Steve
02/06/2009 01:41 pm
I think it is common knowledge that earnings via adsense is down, a clever post that was basically designed to generate new advertisers for your site! I am actually surprised that you have managed to keep so many of your current advertisers, it is well known that these are paid adverts and that they will not carry any weight or pass any "link juice". I would not trust any of the sites that advertise here as they are either unaware of the Google guidelines or are basically ignoring them, either way a very ignorant practice for any SEO company. Just my opinion.
Barry Schwartz
02/06/2009 02:12 pm
Steve, I promise you, I did not write this post to get more advertisers. I actually thought, should I share the fact that my ad dollars are down or not. I decided to and then I figured, heck, good time to mention we are accepting advertisers. I hope you are okay with that. We rarely ever do this and I pour my heart, soul and tons of time into this site - I can use a bit back in ad dollars. Also, the "sponsored links" on the left are not about these guys wanting better ranking. They want to show their support for what we do here. I personally appreciate it.
Steve
02/06/2009 02:58 pm
I have to say seroundtable is one of only a small number of sites that I check out each day, where possible of course. You do deserve to make big bucks from it and the real page rank of the site is a 7 or 8. I do however think that it is slightly naive of you to believe the following statement: "on the left are not about these guys wanting better ranking. They want to show their support for what we do here". If that is the case ask them to forward you a payment each month/quarter without having a link on the site. How many of them would agree to this?
Barry Schwartz
02/06/2009 03:06 pm
Steve, most sites like to thank their sponsors. Heck, museums have big walls mentioning their contributors and sponsors.
Steve
02/06/2009 03:16 pm
Barry, I understand what you are saying and I know for a fact that you understand what I am saying, let's just leave it there lol. Have a great weekend and keep up the good work. Steve, The How To Stop Stuttering Centre
Dave Child
02/06/2009 03:17 pm
My earnings have dropped by around 90%, but I'm having a hard time working out whether that's down to the forced domain name change or advertising generally. That's AdSense though - everything else is up. Could it just be people spending eleswhere?
Mark
02/06/2009 04:32 pm
Amount per click has dropped in october/november 2008 by +- 30%.
Tony Lawrence
02/06/2009 04:47 pm
I'm only down a little in earnings (10-15%) but it's more than it seems because page views are up over 25% from last year so earnings should have followed but did not.
Bihar
02/07/2009 09:37 am
There is no doubt that things are little shaky. Lets hope the new administration can turn things around and bring everything back to nromal.
A John Smith
02/07/2009 11:40 am
How about more detailed poll, like your earnings have dropped 10%, 20%, etc... Now it's just too vague, there's a difference between losing 10% and 50%.
Rob Abdul
02/07/2009 03:09 pm
I very strongly disagree with Steve’s comment and by the cynical presumptive nature of its tone. What you guys at Seroundtable.com (Barry, Tamar, Benjamin, Chris, Carolyn), do is an exceptional job of sifting through and cherry picking the most important and highly relevant search engine related issues for us for free. Yes for me the economy is taking a toll on my adsense earnings. Earnings are down for me. I have been wondering for months now, when are the guys from Seroundtable going to mention it. This to me is a highly relevant issue. I keep coming back to Seroundtable not just for the latest in the search engine news; it is because I feel like I know you guys. Barry you said “I pour my heart, soul and tons of time into this site”. I hear you brother, I heard you the first time. To Seroundtable.com’s Advertisers: My name is Rob Abdul, I am an eCommerce Expert, I am ranked number 1 in Google for the term”ebusiness specialist”. That is a testament to the knowledge gained on Seroundtable. I never said this before, thank you Barry, Tamar, Benjamin, Chris, and Carolyn for all you hard work, I greatly appreciate it and have benefited from it. I develop ebusiness solutions for private companies, blue chips, and governmental departments through my employment. I have 12 years of experience this industry. What I would like to say to you Sir, is that I hold Seroundtable in the highest regards, and in my professional opinion I think your decision to advertise here is a wise decision. God Bless Seroundtable.com.
Barry Schwartz
02/07/2009 11:41 pm
Thank you so much Rob. That really means a lot to us. Thank you so much!
Ehsan
02/08/2009 07:08 am
One Problem I am facing since past two months is Although Google is issuing checks My Bank is unable to encash them, again i have to stop it or file for a fresh check is any body else facing the same problem? thanks
Arun Pal Singh
02/08/2009 06:48 pm
Adsense earnings are showing a downtrend inspite of rise in traffic. Both CTR and commission per click have reduced. Not a good thing but these are bad times
Steve
02/09/2009 01:10 pm
To Rob Abdul, 1. What is it about my comment that you disagree with? 2. Your comment was a great advert for what you do - well done 3. "ebusiness solutions" Congratulations on gaining no1 for such a competitive phrase 4. Your sucking up made me feel sick! Steve
Rob Abdul
02/09/2009 02:06 pm
To my learned-friend Mr Steve Hill, 1. I disagree with the whole of your comment. I believe you are mistaken dear Sir. 2. I believe my comment is perfectly in context, in my professional opinion. 3. Mr Steve Hill, it appears that you are mistaken once more. I said “ebusiness specialist” and not “ebusiness solutions". Did you also make a mistake whilst reading this article that has led you to conclude mistakenly also! 4. Sorry for making you feel sick Mr Steve Hill. I hope you have recovered now dear Sir.
Steve
02/09/2009 03:39 pm
To Rob, 1. Perhaps your country has not been hit by the credit crunch and perhaps you are not aware of the google guidelines 2. 100% advertisement, and you know it! 3. Fair point! 4. I feel much better now, thanks. 5. You are a funny guy! Steve Hill is a speech coach from the UK. He runs the How To Stop Stuttering Centre where he offers one-to-one speech courses to help people to achieve fluency. There are a number of self-help options for people who are unable to attend a course such as a seventy-minute DVD and an e-book. Steve has a website at http://www.stutter-stuttering.com 6. Two can play that game but in reality it should not be allowed!
Rob Abdul
02/09/2009 06:07 pm
To my learned-friend Mr Steve Hill, 1. My country dear sir is your Country; my city is your city. I am in the UK in Birmingham, 8.2 miles, a 17 minute drive from you. Maybe I'll drop by for tea? I think I know the UK has been hit hard by the credit crunch! 2. "100% advertisement, and you know it!” that is your opinion. We must agree to disagree on this matter. 3. "Fair point!", well done Mr Steve you stand corrected. 4. "I feel much better now, thanks." - Hey, that has made my day Mr Steve Hill. It is good to talk and get this off your chest. 5. "You are a funny guy!" - Thank you for the compliment Mr Steve. 6. "Two can play that game but in reality it should not be allowed!” for your own personal and professional development Mr Steve Hill, lookup the meanings to the following phrase and words: a. Two wrongs do not make a right (That’s assuming I agree to point 2 which I do not, that it is “100% advertisement, and you know it!”) b. Hypocrisy c. Online Relationship Management Study them well my dear sir, really concentrate on them as you have done on point 3.
Steve
02/09/2009 07:05 pm
Thank you once again. It is great that you live in such a splendid city! We shall agree to disagree on some of the points. Have a wonderful and enjoyable life. Keep smiling, Steve
mark
02/10/2009 01:58 am
Steve can you stop being a pissy boy and admit that you're wrong? K, thx. Bye.
Kyle
02/22/2009 12:46 am
I have always thought that when economic times were bad, you should put MORE money into advertising, get the brand name out there. But I'm seeing that this is not the case.
Rob Abdul
02/22/2009 04:09 pm
Amen Kyle, “you should put MORE money into advertising; get the brand name out there.”, I wholeheartedly agree with you. I’m constantly advising my Clients that, the downturn means that growth is easier if you can exploit the power of your brand. It is all a game about the big C word. Confidence.
Claire Jarrett
02/22/2009 05:48 pm
I've been hearing on Adsense forums that Adbrite work out effectively double the commission of Adsense these days. Personally I cannot see why Adsense earnings would drop related to the economic climate (people will keep on marketing despite the downturn) except due to the education of the advertisers - i.e. realising that they need to turn the Content Network off!