Low CPM with traffic increase.

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   Jesse Drzalposted 7 years ago

   Pretty frustrating when I get a significant traffic spike only to see CPM values plummet. My Google Analytics stay steady for the most part as far as page time, bounce rate and things of that nature. Why does this always happen?

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   Jodahposted 7 years ago

   My traffic has gone up considerably over the last two,months but my earnings are almost half of the average. Not good.

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      Jesse Drzalposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Hope it turns in the other direction for you.

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   eugbugposted 7 years ago

   Turn off your Hubpages Earning Program and switch to Adsense only. You might be pleasantly surprised. (some days anyway).

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      Jesse Drzalposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I was thinking about that..why not try it right?

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Why do you say this?  Is there that much of a difference?  Please let me know.  My CPMs are about half of what they were prior to this month but still not horrible, but I'd like to know your thinking about this and also here from others who are having success just with Adsense.

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         Jesse Drzalposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Definitely a big difference, a big drop. What's strange is that it always ties in with traffic increases. It doesn't seem to be coincidences either.

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            eugbugposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            CPM gets diluted if less lucrative articles have a sudden surge of traffic. CPM is an average figure across the board. Maffew James gives a good explanation here:
            
            http://hubpages.com/community/forum/130 … ng-cpm-why

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               Jesse Drzalposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               Awesome appreciate that thank you!

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         eugbugposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         It's sort of a gamble Sondra, but worth trying if you haven't done so. I find I get lucky on some days and Adsense earnings can be 50% to 80% higher than those from the ad program. However on other days, they can be 50% lower. It depends on the number of clicks you get. I'm not sure whether there are earnings per impression with Adsense as there are on the ad program. I haven't experimented long enough either to determine whether earnings are higher or lower over e.g. a month.

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            TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

            My adsense earnings have been much higher lately than they have been and I'm close to getting another payout, so I'll try it for a bit to see what happens.  I'm guessing they only pay for ad clicks, but who knows.

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               Jesse Drzalposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               Definitely a worthwhile experiment for sure..good luck with it.

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               lobobrandonposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               No some adsense ads are also CPM so it's a mix of both. If you login to adsense there's a pie chart that shows you this. Not sure if I edited some settings to get this, but I have it.

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            TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

            I've heard that some people do better with just Adsense.  I've always used both, but as an experiment, I turned off my HP program yesterday about half way through the day.  My Adsense income more than doubled from what it was the day before and the end result was that for Adsense I earned more in that half day than I had earned the entire previous day with HP.  I'm going to leave it this way for a few days to see what happens because my views always go up on Sundays and Mondays and then drop slowly back down until the next weekend. 
            
            I missed an Adsense payout last month by 12 cents!  So, it won't hurt to pump it up a bit right now.  As long as I still get income from Amazon, I'll be good with it.  If that stops, I'll go back to using both.  Thanks for the info!

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               eugbugposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               As far as I can recall, you can still check CPM with the ad program turned off so you can decide whether it's worth turning it back on again. Looking at the figures for last year, my CPM figures started to increase a lot from mid April onwards. However in 2015 they were about 60% higher than they are now. So it's hard to know what to expect!

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                  TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  Mine were doing OK until this month but have dropped quite a bit.  However, I'm coming into my season now, so I'll just have to play it by ear.  It's easy enough to "turn on..turn off" that's for sure!

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      theraggededgeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I've just done it. I've noticed that Adsense from HP has increased lately, and I'm almost due an Adsense payout, so thought I'd give it a go.

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         Jesse Drzalposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Do you configure your own Adsense ad layouts or is it done automatically?

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            theraggededgeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            I'm not sure I understand the question. I simply changed my HP Ad program to 'off'. I decide my Adsense layouts on my own site but you can't do that on HP.

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               Jesse Drzalposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               No that answers it..thank you.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Question:  When you turn off your HP Earnings program does this include income you receive from Amazon?

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         eugbugposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         No, it doesn't seem to. I made income from Amazon on Sunday while HubPages ads were turned off.
         For some reason, I also made a few cents from HubPages every day even with the ad program turned off for a week. Must be something to do with ads being displayed the previous week and then a lag before revenue gets added to earnings.

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   Jesse Drzalposted 7 years ago

   Seems people have mixed results switching to Adsense. Some it seems to help, some it hurts from what I gather. After next payout, I'm giving it a whirl.

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   Solarasposted 7 years ago

   I'll try the experiment. My pageviews are still dropping, now down 20-25% and income is off 55%. So discouraging. I tried this experiment a month ago, and it went poorly for me.  Now I am not sure if Adsense could be worse.  I hate giving the b@stards any more income after their stupid Fred update. Bitter.

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      lobobrandonposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      HP Ads are also a big part Adsense if I'm not mistaken.

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         Solarasposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Is this your way of saying, "Whatever you do, you feed the beast."

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   Glenn Stokposted 7 years ago

   I realize the last post here was two months ago but I just found this thread and thought I'd correct something important that most of you have not realized.
   
   When you switch to the regular AdSense program and no longer use the HubPages Earnigs Program, then you are also disabling the HubPages Amazon Program. That means that the only way you will make money from Amazon capsules and Amazon text links is if you have your own Amazon Affiliate account.
   
   Keep in mind that under the HubPages program you earn ~8% on Amazon sales. This varies and is higher or lower depending on the item category. However, with your own affiliate account you may only earn 4% or less.
   
   Amazon recently changed their payment structure and no longer have tears, but it seems that they left  the old payment structure with the HubPages plan. Maybe this is because it is a contract with HubPages. I don't know. What I do know is that my sales still bring me ~8% on sales.
   
   Half my income on my hubs is from Amazon, so I'd be hesitant to test the idea of switching to AdSense only.
   
   My suggestion to anyone considering testing as discussed in this thread is to do so only if Amazon is not a big part of your revenue. And if you have any Amazon ads at all, then make sure you have an active personal Amazon Affiliate account with your Affiliate account number in your Earnings Settings page.
   
   Instructions for using your own Amazon account is at https://hubpageshelp.com/money/Learning … te-account

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      Jodahposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for sharing that Glenn. I had no idea that was the case. I am glad I decided not to change over to Adsense.

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      eugbugposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      If that's the case, why did my earnings show income from Amazon mid way through a week I had the HubPages program turned off?

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         Glenn Stokposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         You might have received earnings from Amazon mid week past the change-over because Amazon delays reporting.
         
         In any case, what I said is confirmed in the learning center at the URL I posted.

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            TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

            I looked at the info you posted and am really concerned now.  I have emailed the team for clarification.  I do not have my own Amazon account...my Amazon earnings are always posted on my Stats page here on HP and the earnings are those that come from being part of the  HP family of writers.
            
            When I hear from the team, I'll post their response.
            
            Frankly, I don't understand why it would matter to the team one way or the other because they earn from Amazon anyhow. 
            
            I sure hope I don't have to drop my Amazon earnings because that would cause me to take a pretty good financial hit...as would leaving Adsense.

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            TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

            I've been receiving Amazon earnings for about 6 weeks now.

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            Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Glenn, I think you are misreading the Learning Center.
            
            People are NOT opting out of the HP Earnings Program.  They are opting out of the HP Ads Program.   If you go and look at your Settings page, you'll see that the Ads and Amazon Programs are clearly separate.
            
            Obviously if one opted out of the whole HP Earnings Program, which includes Amazon, one would earn nothing from either - but that's not what people are doing.  At least, I certainly hope they're not making that mistake!

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               Glenn Stokposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               I see what you mean Marisa. The two options are separate. The way it's explained in the Learning center is confusing. Since it says that the HubPages Amazon Program is available through the HubPages Earnings Program, it makes it sound like it's not available if you opt out.
               
               I realize what you're saying is that one can opt out of the HubPages Ads so that they use only AdSense AND still be in the HubPages Earnings program. If I misunderstood the Learning Center explanation, I stand corrected. I need to know for sure, so I'll check with staff. In the meantime, thanks for bringing this to my attention.

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                  TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  I have already emailed the staff about this and am awaiting their answer.

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                     TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

                     Here is the response I received this morning from the HP team.  Since it is still not totally clear to me as to what they mean about forfeiting HP Earnngs, I have asked for further clarification.
                     
                     I asked whether having Amazon earnings showing regularly met the standard for having the HP Earnings balance change, but wanted to be sure. Will let you know more when I hear back from them.
                     
                     
                     "Yes, HubPages Earnings may be forfeited if the balance does not change for 6 months. You are still enrolled in the HubPages Amazon Program and actively earning. As long as your balance changes once every six months you have nothing to worry about. "
                     
                     Let us know if you have any questions.

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                        Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                        Come to think of it, I do recall something about that.   
                        
                        Basically, if you don't earn anything for six months, you forfeit your balance.  But you only have to earn a cent or two to be safe.

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                           TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

                           But does this apply to CPM earnings only or do Amazon earnings count?

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                              Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                              It is your earnings balance.
                              
                              Remember, this is your earnings balance from the HP Earnings Program.   What does the HP Earnings Program consist of?   HP Ads and Amazon.  Therefore both obviously count.

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                                 TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

                                 OK.  Just wanted to make sure!  Thanks for your help.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Don't  know where you got this info, but I switched to Adsense in April and still get income from Amazon Ads.  I don't think the one has anything to do with the other.
      
      In short, all of my income now comes from advertisements rather than page views.  However, the higher the page views, the more likely it is that people will see ads and buy products.  I get about 8 1/2 percent on my Amazon ads.
      
      So far it is working out well, but if things change, I can always switch back.  Right now I'm not about to do that because earnings are excellent.
      
      If you check your stats page when you drop the HP ad program, you will see that the earnings for Amazon still show but the HP earnings do not.

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         Glenn Stokposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         I got that info direct from the learning center. I posted the link!
         
         You must have your own Amazon account. Isn't that where you are getting income now? It confuses me because the fact that you get over 8% does indicate that you are still getting paid via the HubPages Amazon program, which I find strange since HubPages clearly says that you only can use Amazon under the HubPages program if you opt into the HubPages Earnings program.
         
         See the link to the learning center I posted above. If that information is wrong, then HubPages needs to correct that.

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            TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

            I definitely do not have my own Amazon account.  The only one I have is the one I use from HP.

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   Chriswillman90posted 7 years ago

   What do people define as low CPM? I can see how 2-3 per thousand impressions may be low but 4+ is pretty good I would imagine.

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      psycheskinnerposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      In this case, as lower than it was before traffic increased.  There is a regular pattern here where traffic is negatively related to CPM.
      
      And of course some of us remember when CPMs of 8-10 dollars were the norm.

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         Jesse Drzalposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         That would be incredible.

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            TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Deleted
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               Jesse Drzalposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               Wow. Well, at least there is hope levels can get to that again seeing it was attained before I guess.

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   Chriswillman90posted 7 years ago

   The only time my CPMs were above 8 (max was 11) were in November/December aka the holiday season. Statistically that's the time advertisers are willing to pay the most for the most premium ads.
   
   This time of year and especially the summer months we usually see much lower CPMs.

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   Marisa Wrightposted 7 years ago

   The point is, Glenn, that people are NOT opting out of the HubPages EARNINGS Program, are they?  That Learning Centre article does not mention the HP Ads Program at all, so I don't quite understand what the confusion is.
   
   The HP Earnings Program has two components.  One is the Ads Program.  The other is the Amazon program.  Go to your HP Earnings Program Settings and you'll see that clearly.  You'll see that you configure the Ads program and Amazon program settings (including whether you're opted in or out) separately.

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    Marisa Wrightposted 7 years ago

    Here is a link which is more helpful.
    
    https://hubpageshelp.com/money/Learning … am-and-ads
    
      In particular, note this paragraph:
    
    "Activating the HubPages Earnings Program alone simply means that you have enabled the payment mechanism, but it does not automatically enroll you in any of the revenue-generating programs. We also use the HubPages Earnings Program to distribute contest earnings. Once you have successfully enabled the HubPages Earnings Program, you can pick and choose which programs you want to use to make money."

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       TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Come to think of it, didn't we all have to activate Amazon separately when we became writers here?  That in itself should give us the answer we seek.  Thanks for posting this!

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       Glenn Stokposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Thank you Marisa. That link you gave provides a much clearer explanation than the other Learning Center link that I posted. This one definitely clarifies that the two are separate and can be chosen individually without losing the other. Therefore I retract my prior statement. I brought this to the attention of staff so hopefully they will make this clear in the other section of the Learning Center as well.
       
       Now that we know this, I'm motivated to try a test of using AdSense instead of the HubPages Ad program, while keeping the HubPages Amazon program. I plan to try it throughout next month. I think it will be easier to track its progress rather than switching mid month.

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          Solarasposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          The Adsense has not been good for me, but I only did brief experiments, and Will says it needs time to figure out which ads will do best on your articles. Having said that, my Pethelpful articles are getting a 50% boost in CPM, so I am almost back to normal earnings there.

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          TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

          I know Adsense doesn't work for some people, but I urge you to give it a try.  I tried it for a week and very quickly saw BIG income improvements...and they still continue.  What I like about it is that payment does not depend on CPMs...so if they drop, no problem.
          
          You'll know very quickly whether you want to stay with Adsense or not.  A week will be plenty, believe me.
          
          Good luck!

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             Glenn Stokposted 7 years agoin reply to this

             Thanks Sondra. I actually was doing some research with the AdSense reports and noticed which hub topics get big payouts. I realize this will not work for everyone since it depends on the topic they write about. In your case, RV ads tend to pay well. In my case, I see that hubs on HealDove and PairedLife tend to have bigger CPM. So I decided to give it a try. Not sure why you said it doesn't depend on CPM. Google reports it as RPM. Isn't that the same thing?

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                lobobrandonposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                By that statement, I think she meant that you get paid per click and not entirely based on CPM. Yes, RPM and CPM are the same thing.

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                TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

                I guess I was trying to say that page views don't matter if you use Adsense and that you get paid purely via advertisements.
                
                I do realize that topics make a difference, which is why I advise people to try it and see how it goes.

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          Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          This illustrates one of the problems with the Learning Center - it has become SO big, it's hard to find exactly the information you're looking for.  Also, it's virtually impossible for staff to ensure that every single article in the Learning Center is kept up to date.

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    Chriswillman90posted 7 years ago

    How big are we talking, I know we can't speak in real numbers but I would like an example if possible.

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       jansharesposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Yes, dollars or sense?

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          Chriswillman90posted 7 years agoin reply to this

          Should anyone with a CPM over 5 make the switch, would it be worth it.

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             TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

             You can't generalize like that.  For some people it would be worthwhile, but not for others.  Depends on your topic, the quality of your work, etc.  However, you can try it and if you are not happy, you can easily switch back.

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    RaviTheBloggerposted 3 years ago

    Hi, as going through the posts, i got one question.
    How to link adsense and stop hubpages ad program to my hubs?

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       theraggededgeposted 3 years agoin reply to this

       There's no Adsense on HubPages any more.

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    GwennyOhposted 3 years ago

    Earnings are lagging, but it seems seasonal. I see that earnings tend to pick up in March. Though cpm right now seems low, compared to this point last year earnings are nearly precisely 3x. I have only added a handful of articles, so that's great.

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    PaulGoodman67posted 3 years ago

    This is a 3 year old thread. I hope people know that.

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