Why no AdSense clicks?

1. 0

   ryankettposted 13 years ago

   I don't really get it. All I can really see is a direct relationship between Hubpages announcement a new position for AdSense units and my CTR collapsing.
   
   Has that change been fully rolled out? Because I prefered actually getting a few clicks. Obviously.
   
   Lot's of people are reporting their worst two days for a couple of years, me included.
   
   Initially I considered the possibility of smartpricing, sitewide rather than account specific. But that doesn't explain the lowest CTR are record.
   
   Can I have my clicks back please? I would be most grateful.

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2. 71

   sunforgedposted 13 years ago

   the 2nd change in adsense by HP led to an additional 50% decrease in CTR for me. I never had much of a ctr in the first place! I survived on high value multiple dollar clicks
   
   
   "Fading light,
                   Dims the sight,
                   And a star gems the sky
                   Gleaming bright,
                   From afar,
                   Drawing, near,
                   Falls the night."

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3. 70

   Cagsilposted 13 years ago

   Because, Google Adsense placements have been limited to the prime spot near the top...one placement along the side and then at the bottom of the hub.
   
   There are no ads at the top of the hubs or in between capsules, that I have noticed.

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4. 0

   Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

   Not to rub salt in your wounds. I've made adsense payout this month and today was okay. (My adsense should continue to increase because there are almost no products on many of my hubs.)
   
   Again, you've got giant Kroger ads and other hideous ads on all of your impressions because you're in the HP ad program. Don't you think there's a possiblity that this is all your visitors can notice?

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      ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Implementation of HP Ad Program did result in a fall in CTR, about one fifth. This was fine, well worth my time.
      
      The recent change in the ad position has halved that figure again. I can see a direct correlation
      
      And, of course, I have met AdSense payout too. But, I took $1500 in January, February I took $1400, roughly.
      
      So far this month, at the midway point almost, I have taken $250. Can I expect to reach $500-$600?
      
      Before the layout change, yes. If the current CTR is as a result of the ad layout changes implemented a few days ago, then I would be lucky to reach $400.
      
      So IF this new ad layout IS the way that things are going to stay, then I expect my projected April AdSense earnings to be cut from $600 to $300 pretty much overnight.
      
      I was motivated to stick around and see what happens, change my hubs etc, not publish but retain my portfolio.
      
      Now I'm not too sure, I'm tempted to just pull the plug. I might see what AdSense does without the ad program (earnings for that have been falling steadily too).
      
      Its almost as if I was laying face down in the muck and somebody felt the need to come and give me a big kick whilst I was down.
      
      Has this change in ad layout been implemented to increase CTR? or has it been implemented to give precedent to ads from the Hubpages Ad program?
      
      Maybe I shouldn't be so vocal with this, but I don't like what I am seeing. To put it bluntly, the 15000 - 18000 page views per day that I am still getting are worth more than I am seeing in the past few days.

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         sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         the layout was too top heavy with adsense ads and fit the example of the other sites that were heavily hit. There were 4 or 5 ads above the fold previously.
         
         That had to go. But the HP Ads have taken slots that adsense could have stayed in.

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            ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            What happens when somebody disables the HP program? Do AdSense ads occupy some of those slots?

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               sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Yes, in your impression share. That really only opens up the under profile ad though doesnt it? the other locations that hp ads appear in were never adsense spots anyway.
               
               But, I dont see it making much of a difference.  I am really surprised at the format change, I would have never guessed the header banner as being a desirable location compared to the ones that were cut.

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         Mark Knowlesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I don't think so Ryan. Indian traffic is worth considerably less than US traffic.

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            ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Mark, I understand that. What I am trying to say is that whilst my CTR four days ago was sh*t, my CTR in the last two days, since the movement of AdSense ads, is twice as shit.
            
            I still take 3500 Google.com visits per day, by the way. My grudge is not with the value of non-Google.com traffic, but a suggestion that ads have been relocated to increase CTR.
            
            When, in reality, it has only served to HALF my CTR. 5 cents clicks are 5 cents clicks, I am happy with my 5 cents clicks, but not when I get half the number overnight.

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            1. 59

               Mark Knowlesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               This is because their ad serving system need to learn what works. I am not worried about that - at least not yet. I already lost 90% of my income when the US traffic vanished.
               
               The google.com stats are inaccurate in any case. A lot of people use the .com even if they are not in the United States. I know I do. How many Indians use the .com?

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                  ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  Surely they have had enough time with their 40% of impressions to ascertain where ads need to go. Or are you talking about positioning on an individual basis on hubs rather than sitewide?

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                     Mark Knowlesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     They have changed their ad positions.
                     
                     http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/70082
                     
                     Plus the traffic is different - no longer US traffic. So the system is starting all over from scratch.
                     
                     Give it a month and see - I would have thought this should be good for you in the long run, because the HP ads are per 1000 impressions - not clicks. I think it should favor low value, high volume stuff better than low volume high value.

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                     1. 0

                        ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        Yes, I understand that they have changed the ad positions, that is my precise point.
                        
                        Or are you saying that they are going to change further? My CTR has plummeted following that announcement.
                        
                        But, if you are telling me to wait a month then I will. I'll change any product hubs which are listed and emailed to me, other than that I will leave everything alone unless they request something else.
                        
                        And, I will just see what happens
                        
                        On a positive note, I have a great new coffee machine which has just made me the greatest ever cup of Douw Egberts

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                           Mark Knowlesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           Yes - I am saying wait and see. I am also saying that the ad serving system has had to start a new learning process because they changed the ad positions and the traffic is not the same as it was since the "panda" update. Hence the drop in CTR etc while it finds out what does not work.
                           
                           Good about the coffee - going out for one myself in a minute.

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   sunforgedposted 13 years ago

   the change in placement isnt the only factor , you can do great with just 1 or 2 well placed and targetted adblocks - the big blinky hp ads are distractions that draw away clicks.
   
   Ill probably complete a months testing and withdraw as I WAS a successful adsense publisher, Im thinking HP ads is perfect for the average publisher or low performing publisher.(referring to topics and organization, not quality of said publisher)
   
   *edit* what nelle said
   
   I have also reached "payout" this month - but in far more time than it would normally take.

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   Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

   Sunforged are you in the 500? At first I was very disappointed that I couldn't accept the invite - now I'm not so sure.

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      sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Yes.
      
      But I dont think my model fits the more general HP ads system.
      
      The whole HP model as far as ads go, is great for people who dont want to be overly involved in placement and strategy, I enjoy such things and in the past saw a much greater return than the averages often cited here.
      
      My personal choices have beat out yieldbuilds every time in my offsite testing
      
      I dont think you would be missing much. I dont think most who are interested in the marketing aspect online would benefit more from the HP ad system over intelligent adsense or product strategies, with the exception of the few who target no value high traffic terms.
      
      But, changing ones strategies to the new model could prove profitable as you have the opportunity to earn twice with HP(clickturn) ads - once for the HP impression and then via a normal click or sale.

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      CASE1WORKERposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I am, yesterday was mind blowing, 8c, that was unbelievable.

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7. 62

   Mishaposted 13 years ago

   My CTR seems to be within the usual range...

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      sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      well, my example is hardly telling, its only one days worth of data.
      
      But my ctr today is less than its ever been, ever, outside of perhaps my first month.

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8. 0

   Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

   Paul Edmondson or Paul Deeds actually said at some point when they were just discussing the possibility of an HP affiliate program, that it would benefit non-optimized hubs - and now I can see what they were talking about.

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      Mark Knowlesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      This may be the case. I will give it a month and see. My adsense has fallen off a cliff and the HP reporting system lags. Like sunforged - my adsense was high value low volume stuff. I will see at the end of the month if I switch back to adsense only.

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9. 70

   Cagsilposted 13 years ago

   I was only making reference to the ad placements at the beginning of the hub and the spot that usually displays ads, after the second text capsule or after a photo capsule after the first text capsule.
   
   Those ads have disappeared. I had specific hubs setup for the ads that were placed in that spot and now they are gone.

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10. 0

    Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

    LOL, Sunforged. I've actually been thinking about what topics and writing style will do just that. Given some of the hubbers who are reporting great success, it might be fun to take a ride on the wild imagination.

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       Mark Knowlesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       I am definitely switching to celebrity break ups and tattoos of famous people.

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11. 0

    Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

    I can't be in the program, but it appears this is what they are encouraging with new financial incentives. Maybe someday they'll grow up and do direct deposit like every other merchant I deal with - and I'll be ready.

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12. 0

    Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

    Ryan what do you want to pull the plug on the HP affiliate program or HP? Your traffic is worth the money it's generating. What type of hubs are getting that traffic and not producing? That's the interesting question.

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    1. 0

       ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       HP.
       
       Leaving the HP program is not going to put my AdSense ads back in their prior positions.
       
       I was happy enough with the HP program, before a couple of days ago; before AdSense was seriously compromised.

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13. 0

    Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

    Leaving HP with Hubs up or Hubs deleted?

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    1. 0

       ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       A bit of both, I still have hubs winning good traffic, they can stay.
       
       I feel as if a lot of my hubs are now damaged by association, many just haven't ever worked.
       
       Pretty much everything that has been published between December - February has failed completely. I want to earn from that content, its just a case of working out where to put it.
       
       I don't think that I can stay with a 716 hubpage portfolio, they require a lot of maintanence. Especially now. I suspect that a portfolio of around 400 would be kept, for now.
       
       I spent more time pre-crash on administration of existing hubs than writing new ones. I don't really understand what it is that we are supposed to be doing to rejuvinate them, that isn't clear just yet.
       
       I am not touching my hubs yet, it just isn't time efficient to go through them all to make changes which could damage them further. A few of my busiest sales pages (unaffected) are going to have to be entirely structurally reworked.
       
       To be honest, for now I see only 100 hours of work on my portfolio which can be invested elsewhere. A simple decision to move some of that content could save a lot of time.

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14. 0

    Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

    Ryan how many of your hubs are out of compliance with the new guidelines? If you've already fixed them or if just a few would get unpublished, I say take a break - but leave them up.
    
    I'm finding this to be one of the most unpleasant experiences, having no control over how things get fixed.
    
    I've got about 400 hubs left - may be a few more - I think I've forgotten a few alternate identities, (I've lost my list), but oh well. But I'm not coming to HP for a few days. Going to work on fun and positive stuff. Get a better perspective.

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       ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       I would estimate 200 to be fixed.
       
       But I am yet to recieve an email telling me to fix them, I'm not going to weed through 716 hubpages looking for warnings. That is just inefficient and would take me an age.
       
       When they give me the list I will take a look at them.

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15. 0

    Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

    Anyways remember your heart health and don't stress too much. I'm off to bed.

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16. 0

    ryankettposted 13 years ago

    It is also clear to me that these changes are proposed to raise the ENTIRE site.
    
    That means altering Hubpages which have not suffered in the slightest. And that is what I am saying, damaged by association.
    
    Sure, some could do with a big change, but removing Amazon capsules from your most productive and completly unaffected individual hubpages is demoralising.

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    sunforgedposted 13 years ago

    I peeked at the page source and it does look as if the ads are def targetted via categories and can be further targetted via hubber.
    
    I did see one day with 10+ per 1000 ePm - which gets closer to my comfort area. But of course that day had the lowest recorded impressions also .. oh well

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       Mark Knowlesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       I am averaging about half that, but my adsense is running at about a third of what it was. Plus of course - I lost 40% of my traffic a couple of days before the new ad program - more in some areas - so it is kind of hard to tell. I will wait and see.
       
       And stop fretting about it. Or at least try to.

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18. 71

    sunforgedposted 13 years ago

    I actually am not too worried. Which is why I am lounging around the forums
    
    I am mildly agitated because I dont believe in the efficacy of any of the suggested changes outside of a dupe content sweep.
    
    I dont have a single hub that cant be pulled and placed into a website in that exact same theme that I do not already manage.
    
    The strategic side of the short run fix is just a pet study for now ... if all else fails, ive found some promising promotional server rentals that might give my newer websites an uncompetitive advantage

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