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AdSense’s low eCPM for web publishers
This financial crisis isn’t good for Google, its AdWords advertisers and its AdSense publishers.
While Google’s 2008 annual report shows a dip in the pay-per-clic advertising revenue model, the situation hasn’t improved since the beginning of 2009. In fact, the eCPM levels many publishers are seeing are hitting what appear to be record lows.
What probably hurts the most is the roller-coaster effect, of sort, between the “banner year-like” revenues of 2008 and the abysmal counterpart, in 2009.
AdSense is still the most lucrative PPC ad program online but countless publishers can’t make ends meet anymore. One publisher saw eCPM metrics shrink threefold. In real life, it’s the difference between making some $75 a day (in 2008) and some $25 a day (in 2009).
While many publishers had quit their day job to build high-quality web destinations, financed through AdSense, in 2007 and 2008, this year’s revenue slide has convinced most to get back on the job market and basically forget (for a while, at least) about their newfound lifestyle, as work-at-home web publishers.
But the more creative web publishers continue to derive enough money from AdSense to hold on tight during these generally harsh financial times.
Here’s what’s being done by some web publishers to “stay in the AdSense game”…
- Cater to niche markets (namely to the debt consolidation and troubled assets niches);
- Bank on the social networking trend (including “spin marketing” in Facebook groups);
- Reduce the number of AdSense “ad zones” to show only the most lucrative ads;
- Redesign the looks and add new features to existing web destinations;
- Find a way to get more visitors in order to make up for the lost revenues (with the “original” visitor count).
Let’s hope that you’ll get creative too and basically endure the current market downturn. This will likely put you in an enviable position when the market goes back up, again. Assuming that it will. Of course.
So, is it possible to survive even though AdSense’s eCPM levels appear to be lower than ever? Probably, yes. But it’s not going to be a joyride. This time around, AdSense publishers won’t be laughing all the way to bank, like so many were, in 2008, the year AdSense really shined — for Google, the advertisers and the publishers alike.
Mathematically speaking, known and [publicly] unkown factors affect AdSense’s eCPM.
Rather weird situations seem to have wildly unpredictable effects on this particular metric but suffice it to say that for a large group of AdSense publishers, it hasn’t been as good in 2009 as it’s been before.
Given Google’s inherent creativity and leadership, one can safely assume that this particular “revenue decline” issue is being dealt with quite seriously at the search king’s headquartiers, in Mountain View, CA.
In the meantime, web publishers are welcome to get creative in order to beat this financial crisis and prove, once again, that AdSense’s online advertising continues to be a huge bargain, even for cash-strapped advertisers.
Tags: google, adsense, adwords, ecpm, ppc, pay-per-click, ads, advertising, online ads, publicity, web ad zones, adsense publishers, adwords advertisers, revenue down, overall revenue, revenue generation, work-at-home, web publishers, web publishing
5 Responses to “AdSense’s low eCPM for web publishers”
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Thanks for the info, good write up!
What do you think is a typical eCPM for AdSense on a decent content, reference, news or similar site? Please email me if you can as I won’t get a notification of your reply
Thx!
I recently added AdSense square ads on my travel blog. My adsense earning are still low since I dont have a large volume of internet traffic, yet.
i am really very thankful that Google launched the Adsense program. this enables most of us who owns several websites to work at home.
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