Adsense: my truth, and some confidence

In many of the events and internet entrepreneurs who have had the opportunity to visit in 2008 to share ideas I have heard only in part as "a business should not live Adsense, Adsense is the easy solution, unless it is Adsense to self ...

And I say that I agree with it only in part on certain grounds.

The first because it is important that Adsense has been a driving force in this business, has brought the democratization of advertising and has helped many small and large companies to survive and have a viable business model. I think we should not demonize business models to monetize only or mainly with advertising because of this system has proved to be as stable or more, the advertiser direct affiliation networks and large advertising networks.

Is that what they are paying very low CPC for? The cost per thousand impressions (CPM) that is achieved is insufficient, "A company can not live only Adsense? As of certain thresholds can not be won over ?, worsening the performance if you use this system not only contextual, "Are there subjects or formats to use Adsense ill?

Everything is relative, and I will try to give my personal opinion, based on my experience with Adsense, because I have one of the first accounts of Spain since 2002 and still using it. It has given me joy and dislikes, as it is possible that some of my friends from Google will happen when you read this post and I think it is fair to both reflect and not just stay in the negative.

I remember back in 2002 from Google Inc. in the USA, then little more than a browser-Kristen Jeppssop contact me, I spoke for the first time Adsense, a program that was launched in the U.S. and wanted to introduce in Spain. He offered to create a Premium account and I explained that they had interest in me to start implementing it in Spain. Will see if the prehistory of this program, we were exchanging months by email and fax proposed contract (contracts very made-in-USA with 15-20 pages of ridiculous clauses). Come on, just like today that you register on 2 minutes via the web.

Incredibly known today for the program, I suggested buying the entire inventory and pay a fixed CPM. I intended to buy 3 years for all my advertising. I guarantee it can grow in a sustained and consistent with graphical advertising on the post-bubble era.

In one of those decisions that I guru (this is in the top3 those taken in the last 10 years) decided to "go soft" and not commit any advertising so aggressive in this new invention with these guys from Google and preferred choice in revenue share to CPC and try and learn little by little we had this future history. That is, between what we now know as Adsense pure and simple.

I do not know if it was in 2002 or 2003 when I published my first contextual ads, even the continuous running.

Adsense Is it profitable? Does Adsense unit?
My opinion on both issues is resounding yes.

Portals Group Publispain have depended heavily on Adsense 2002 to 2006. 8-9 having contracts with advertising agencies and international nations that has adsense-dependence weakened. The reason is clear; ¡worked better and the quality and relevance of the ads did much more profitable than conventional advertising graphics.!

It is true that we learned a lot in this period, not just us, Google and also there are certain tricks of locations, color, textual relevance, formats and even themes, etc which are essential to test and learn to have a good conversion to Adsense eCPM

Factors such as the color of an ad, or not round the corner, the box or not, are critical and can make the same change in position and to form a 35-40% return on your account. Not everything works according to that site and type of content.

¿Adsense unit?.

Well, I must admit I do. For a sample button. In 2005 at the peak time came to represent 78% of the total turnover of the portals of the Group Publispain. I got to feel a very well-paid employee of Google. When mounting Entertainment Networks wanted to minimize this "problem" to the maximum. Can say that the percentage of the billing system in the Adsense network of blogs Entertainment Networks is residual, exactly 12% in the last quarter of 2008.

I have heard so disparagingly, that a company can not have a valid business model based on Adsense. Is that true?. Is Adsense a self?

Google Inc. will not let me, (under penalty of expulsion from paradise or something) to publish details of traffic or performance of my account, are especially problematic catch with CPC, eCPM etc, but if I can say is that a real solution and even as a valid business model for a company (eye, that does not mean that the ideal is so dependent on a single company).

How much money can be won with Adsense?
I do not break any info that is confidential information and public prosecutor, if I say that we have come to check in a year with Adsense an amount close to $ 1 million in our network of portals. That billing advertising business model would not be enough for a Spanish company?. My answer is clear: a company can live Adsense, but to rely on eye Adsense is a risk.

Where would not Adsense?
There are places where it does not work. Sites forums, fotologs, pictures, wallpapers and generally low contextual give a very bad performance, I believe in social networks and blogs do not succeed also requires a certain versatility of integration. Niche economy, energy, travel, finance, information technology, business and science if the integration which is key, it's good, it should work fine.

What eCPM might aspire to achieve?
There are people with very high eCPM. Yes, I know and I've seen, but many are very specific examples of traffic and small (less than 5 or 10 Mll page views). My experience is that managing large volumes, the highest eCPM a half months has been around 2 x U.S. $.

We have publications and 10 U.S. $ 8 / CPM rate of return but that does not occur in publications with inventories of millions of page views per month. You strike a balance vs traffic. eCPM.

If you also use other solutions Adsense advertising graphics. ¿Worsening my CPM?
Yes, but minimally. Perfectly compatible with both options and in my opinion is not advisable to rely on a single system.

What is the biggest risk?
You're number one. There are people who enjoy so, others not.
If one day you close the account and is unfair because it is not nice to be number one. You'll have to send emails and receive emails rate on many occasions. The lack of a direct and personal contact in a business that you can rely on high, is a clear risk, and uneasiness.

I break a lance for Google to say that in recent years trying to improve this. There is a department for that. Unfortunately not in Spain but in Ireland. If someone helps my example, I do not have direct contact with Google in Spain ¿surreal, right?. If in the USA, Ireland and France. In Spain alone commercial Adwords. Too bad.

I hear that Adsense has worsened, is that true?
Yes, without any doubt such factors as the fall of the dollar, separate measures of the CPC of the Google search network (which usually pays more to the advertiser) and the content network, the new Google products or measures to try to minimize click fraud or mistake in the system and advertisers have to be reduced to Adsense income brackets (companies and webmasters).

Should we have one or more accounts Adsense?

Well, I have 3. I have more than one reasonable. Once, in 2004, I eliminated one by one problem at a forum with content uploaded by users. Today, no longer do so with the white, understand and analyze the contents Self more things ... but ... I maintain accounts 3

Is Adsense a tyrant?

Take that, like all non-po-mo-lio. But if you adjust and you understand that you can enjoy without tyranny importarte because it is a fair system to use if you know well. If you work with a trade fair, a good theme, and optimize the ads well, work.

I hear much talk about social networks and more power in the future of online advertising. That, and the system of contextual advertising, could magnify the success of Adsense on my social network?

I think the big social networks in general are aware that the fund will not check what they believe and Adsense. It takes a trend for Adsense blogs and social networks for completely different to today. Social networks are not going to win on the page views (huge) but in relation to the unique users. In a way users behave as users of the forums will draft fact, not read or click on the advertising, are "vaccinated" and go directly to the content of seeking mechanically. Networks such as Tuenti can earn money with Adsense, but they will not find in this great eCPM in fact I think it will be very low and should like to experiment with other solutions.

What formats would not fail to Adsense?
Do not leave the head, the banner 728 x 90 (megabanner) higher. It works, and not related to the text (important to have more quality ads) and is the format for excellence in graphic advertising.

I do not like the ties of links. Is to give / receive traffic without losing revenue because if there is after the second click. Moreover scare me aesthetically.

I do not like to give publicity graphics, text only. I am of the opinion that "Zapatero ... your shoes."

Is it possible to create a competitor to Adsense?

Well, Yahoo! And Microsoft should have tried better or more seriously ... If Yahoo! start using the system only is Microsoft. If they have failed you can not: Is it possible to get 100,000 or 200,000 advertisers in Spain.

Google's success lies in an effective, solid and attacking the Long Tail of advertisers in Spain. Airlines using Adsense and invest hundreds of thousands of euros a year in the program, but that is not the success, is not replicable and relevant budget 1,000-10.000Eur who invest thousands of small travel agencies in Spain.

If you think that today can go a local player to compete in this context ... think you can possibly launch a cola drink in Spain to compete with Coca-Cola. It is for me today almost impossible to get it surprised me a lot.

Hum, as I write this it is possible that someone thinks that I am advocating Adsense, or that yesterday I had dinner with someone from Google and I'm a little contaminated . I'm extremely critical in this blog with this company in many ways, of course I admire the other, but lately I hear very good things about Adsense and wanted to give my experience and my vision of contextual advertising.

Yet I must count on the problems for my Adsense and not find anything new to anyone:

- That this apparent handled. Whenever I feel that it is a machine in which the churros churrero short and lives in California and opened the tap at certain times.

- That each day minimizes more revenue to webmasters / carriers because Google has a market share as high as the way to improve performance and profits often saw the operating margin of support endorsing also the revenue. We have seen examples in music which prepares Google Labs, but also in local search, or seeing projects like Knole clear pursued Google Inc.

- That in Spain paid in euros and paid in dollars. Bleeding and less serious for those who like me are advertisers and media at a time. 1 year ago said it would settle smoking ... I hope ...

- The type emails! Nothing like to write and receive an email form that does not fit into your problem. In recent years seem to try to gain support, but must manage hundreds of thousands of accounts and ... well ... even when I have had a serious problem that I have to thank me Isabel Macias has devoted his time and attention. Even so I would love if we could work more closely with people from Google in the optimization because I have very clear that we could achieve much better results.

- It is a mystery because if you buy me a concrete floor at a cost of at least 0.8 Eur click, and those clicks on my pages of the same issues that are not in proportion or even removing the Google operating margin ... is a mystery unsolved ... unless Google has the highest clicks in their media, and the resulting low CPC residual third party content.

- We worked together for years, it seems fair to me that both ethical and (Adsense and I) know that the other wins. We are partners, or not at all?

I am aware that in this post some personal information of our relationship with Google, which is important for many reasons, not just my money to companies, and I care not to violate the terms of service to them. If I give real data of our relationship with the only goal that anyone would be useful information and because they do not normally see that in flour between real numbers and addresses of operation. I think some people may be useful to know.

If so, I know that love has been the case.

The graphics for heat Adsense websites, blogs and forums to illustrate this text Mazacote are the Google AdSense FAQ.