Forum Moderators: martinibuster
Google can decide whether one- and two-cent clicks are a threat to the viability of the AdSense network
One and two cent clicks in themselves are not the threat. It is the rif raf that they encourge into the network that is the threat.
AdSenseAdvisor
Senior Member
#:3828121
10:08 pm on Jan 16, 2009Sorry, guys. This one is entirely my bad. It's not that AdSense dropped the ball, it's that I dropped the ball. We've been looking into it, but I haven't provided updates because I've been out of the country. I apologize for not giving you all a heads up.
So, this was posted over a week ago. I'd be interested in an update. Can't be that difficult to ask those who should know.
I very much believe this to be an "issue on Google's end", because I still see ads in the Preview Tool that definitely ARE in the competitive ad filter. And it's the big sites (apparently Google's top customers) who are immune to filtering.
But hey, silence is golden.
Also, how does smart pricing figure into the pricing minimum? If the nominal minimum bid is 5 cents and John Doe's poorly-converting site is smartpriced to a penny, does that mean smart pricing should be eliminated (even though John's clicks aren't worth a nickel), or does it mean that the nominal minimum bid should be raised to 25 cents so the effective minimum even on sites like John Doe's will never be lower than 5 cents?
So where's the "sweet spot" between keeping the riff-raff out and discouraging legitimate advertisers who aren't willing to overpay for low-quality clicks?
Even though this is the wrong thread for this discussion (this thread is about Google not blocking certain ads despite publishers explicitely requesting this), I have an answer for you: LET THE MARKET DECIDE.
If only Google permitted publishers to set prices (either eCPM or CPC) for their pages, then automagically the market price would be achieved. Publishers raising the bar "too high" will see no or negative effects; publishers raising the bar mildly will keep the "riff-raff" away while still allowing legitimate advertisers in.
But I know that Google is not fond of giving away the pricing domain.
FarmBoy
No, I didn't answer the PM ASA sent me either. It seems to me for all the help Google Adsense HAS NOT given me over the years, the guessing and wondering what on Earth I'm doing wrong without a clue from Google, the (what only seems to be) punishment every "maintenance update", that they could figure out what the problem is (of course they're all smug and pleased with themselves and their free lunch) and fix it. OR, maybe they could fire the kid that screwed this up and fire the other one that was supposed to fix it and hire someone that will do the job correctly. Thanks for nothing ASA.
No, I didn't answer the PM ASA sent me either.
I did, but heard nothing back.
"I was out of the country learning to juggle"
ROFL.
Nah. They focus on essential stuff these days. Like "Breathing on your own 101".
Could we get an update on this, please?
January has been not as pleasant as expected. Traffic developed as expected, but clickthrough is still very weak, hurting earnings A LOT. I attribute some of the CTR weakness to the fact that ads for certain big sites keep showing up despite being in the filter for a long time. It does not help to throw these ads (e.g. for MFA sites) into the mix, when I *know* that such ads will be perceived as "mis-targeted" at best. To me, it's no surprise that fewer people are clicking the ads.
When I put a site into the filter, I expect the ads for that site gone from my pages within 48 hours. That's the way the filter worked in the past.
No, I didn't answer the PM ASA sent me either. It seems to me for all the help Google Adsense HAS NOT given me over the years, the guessing and wondering what on Earth I'm doing wrong without a clue from Google, the (what only seems to be) punishment every "maintenance update", that they could figure out what the problem is (of course they're all smug and pleased with themselves and their free lunch) and fix it. OR, maybe they could fire the kid that screwed this up and fire the other one that was supposed to fix it and hire someone that will do the job correctly. Thanks for nothing ASA.
We're all frustrated at this. The thing I don't get is the "cut your nose off to spite your face" approach that you express.
I mean, really. Isn't it worth trying to solve a problem that takes money out of your pocket?
...I'm so glad I don't have clients who think like this. I don't think I would want to have much to do with them either.
Good job!
I'm so glad I don't have clients who think like this. I don't think I would want to have much to do with them either.
Then again, maybe you are probably providing something that could remotely be considered "customer service"? What would your customers think if you would not even answer the phone or reply to emails, or if you do, you just reply nonsense? How long would you be able to stay in business?
The topic of "filter problems" has been around for a long time; just found this thread [webmasterworld.com] from September 2006.
Then, after the installation of the new ASA, I mentioned the mal-function in the feature request thread. See message #3801857 [webmasterworld.com]. That was on December 7th, 2008. At that time, ads showed up that were in the filter for two months already. Since that time, CTR has been tanking.
In mid-December 2008 the new ASA picked up on the problem by asking in this thread whether anyone else might have this specific problem, and a couple of folks replied that this seems to be the case. Mid-January 2009 we get the apology that he forgot about this issue because he was out of office. Now it's February, and still no word.
During this time CTR (at least for us) continued to be depressed, partly maybe due to a weak economy. But when you look at the ads of those immune advertisers, it's obvious -at least to me- that these ads do not get clicked.
(Heck, how do I know? Good question! Google gives me so little information that I can only guess about this. But then again, when I am looking at a page on blue widgets and get an ad about yellow toys then I don't need to be Einstein to figure out that this probably won't work.)
Tic toc tic toc... Will we get an update before summer 2009?
We're all frustrated at this. The thing I don't get is the "cut your nose off to spite your face" approach that you express.
I'm good with it. I do have options since Adsense has been diminishing in returns. Adsense appears to be to be unresponsive at best as this seems to be a continual problem. Rather than waste my time and get in Google's face I'm just going to roll with building what I want to see in my site without the ads. I've voiced my concern which is more than Google does before they exact a penalty. It's up to Google/Adsense to solve their own problems. Two years ago this wouldn't have been the case, but the program is no longer worth spending any more time on than absolutely necessary. It is called a "competitive ad filter." If I cannot block out competitors or worse yet, out of context and whorish ads, I have to move on and develop new pages as a positive experience for myself and my visitors without Adsense. I'll maintain what I have, but updates to existing pages will 'block' Adsense altogether until they solve what I see as a relatively simple problem.
Then again, maybe you are probably providing something that could remotely be considered "customer service"? What would your customers think if you would not even answer the phone or reply to emails, or if you do, you just reply nonsense?
Publishers aren't Google's customers; advertisers are.
What's more, as a business that's paying money to you, Google is your customer. Maybe you should be thinking about keeping your customer happy instead of constantly complaining about that customer in public. :-)
However, I am seeing issues with the AdSense Preview Tool. I realize that it only gives an estimate of which ads it believes will be showing on the pages, but lately it's predominantly shown ads that are already in my filter, but not on my site. So it's pretty much useless. It did not used to behave this way.
I suppose it's possible that with all the personal search stuff, it's outlived its usefulness, which would be a pity.
What's more, as a business that's paying money to you, Google is your customer. Maybe you should be thinking about keeping your customer happy instead of constantly complaining about that customer in public. :-)
Oh well- I'm done complaining.
