Adsense vs HP Ad Program

1. 87

   Sherry Hewinsposted 7 years ago

   A few days ago, I noticed that a lot of people were talking about changing from HP Ad Program to Google AdSense. I had tried that a few years ago, but switched back pretty quickly because I earned better with HP. Recently though, since my earnings have dropped so much, I figured I didn't have much to loose, so I'm trying it again.
   
   In the past few days, my earnings did improve a little going through AdSense, but I am even more interested in something else. AdSense has some great reports that break down where your earnings are coming from. I didn't realize that some the niche sites that my hubs are on are earning more for me, even though they get fewer views.

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      Wesman Todd Shawposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah. The type of content goes a long way towards determining what adverts wind up on a page. Some topics will draw much higher paying ads than other topics, and of course, the amount the ads are paying will change day by day, and month by month.
      
      I've never done a switch myself. If I remember correctly, when the HP ad program started you could switch back to adsense, but if you did you could not then switch back to the HP ad program. I didn't realize we now have the ability to experiment.

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      1. 87

         Sherry Hewinsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         It's just a matter of activating, or deactivating the HP Ad Program.

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         Solarasposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Now that you mention it; I think there was a 30 or 60 day waiting period that made you think twice about experiments.

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            lobobrandonposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            I don't think that rule is in place anymore. Even when it was I switched back and forth twice within a month.

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               ChristinSposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                 You can switch whenever you like.  I ran AdSense, switched back to HP and then back to AdSense again all in a month.

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      3. 75

         TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

         You're right!  I had a very good day with Adsense a few days ago and for the first time actually looked at some of their ads.  On one of my articles that mentioned a major national company, they placed THREE ads...and my money skyrocketed!  I could hardly believe it.

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            eugbugposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            That's an interesting idea to namedrop companies to trigger advertising from them! Did you mention the name in passing or go into detail about one of their products?

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               TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

               I had a photo of one of their resort properties and named it in my caption.  That's all...but I think now that this is a good strategy to use if you can find a way to use it!

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                  lobobrandonposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  Now that's an interesting thing to note.

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            theraggededgeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            That's very interesting. Thanks for the tip.
            
            {scratching chin to work out how to include a big name company in a tarot article}

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   2. 38

      Jasmeetkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      How can I switch?
      The thing I noticed is there are so many clicks but zero earning. I can't understand it. These are the stats of google adsense. Any suggestion?

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      1. 87

         Sherry Hewinsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Just go to the Earnings tab on your My Account page. Click the configure button for Ad Program.

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2. 88

   theraggededgeposted 7 years ago

   I switched around the first week in April. At first it was a little slow, but the longer it goes, the more I'm earning. Earnings are now around what they were before Fred hit, possibly a little more. And I'm still getting Amazon sales, via HP, though they have dropped. I was getting at least one Amazon sale per day but now there are gaps in between.
   
   Edit: I doubt I would have switched if Adsense payout hadn't been so close - I missed by pennies last month. Usually I only get one Adsense payout a year but I can see it happening every month now.

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      Sherry Hewinsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Good point. When I am on the HP program, my AdSense earnings are pennies a day; it takes a long time for them to add up to $100. This will give me a chance to collect them.

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3. 99

   Peggy Wposted 7 years ago

   I am glad that I read this.  Will give Adsense earnings a try.  I have been using the HP earnings for a long time but not earning nearly what I used to earn in the past.  Thanks for starting this forum!

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4. 88

   weezyschannelposted 7 years ago

   Well I've been a member for over 10 years and have only made maybe four dollars in 10 years off of AdSense… Hubpages earnings have a dropped to less than a quarter a day and so I just shut the ad program off and kept with AdSense; in one day, I have earned more money than I have in the last 10 years with AdSense.   It doesn't hurt to try it… If it stays like this, I will continue to write more articles and at least feel like my work is being acknowledged
   
   I don't know how long it will last, but as for now, I will stay with AdSense and shut the ad program off for a while at least I'm having faith again and Hubpages

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5. 94

   jansharesposted 7 years ago

   Is the AdSense pay part of the payout from HP? Or is it given separately via a different account? I don't recall how it's set up.

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   1. 87

      Sherry Hewinsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      It is separate. If you are on the HP Ad Program, you will still earn a few cents on AdSense. If you shut off the Ad Program, your will earn virtually nothing from HP unless you are getting your Amazon earning through their program.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      As Sherry says, it's separate.  You have to go and log in to your Adsense account to see what you're earning.
      
      Believe it or not, I switched to Adsense and forgot about it, and I was thinking my earnings had dropped dreadfully, because I'd forgotten that I needed to go and check my Adsense report!   What a ninny.  Anyway, I have to say I haven't seen the same success that some others have.  I'm finding that the earnings are working out pretty much the same.

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6. 90

   TeriSilverposted 7 years ago

   I haven't really messed with Adsense, partly because I can't understand how it works or how to use it and that it requires a $100 payout.  In the 7 or so years I've been on HP, I think I've accumulated $17 and change with Adsense and it will probably be there long after I'm gone.
   
   I have been happy with HP but yes, lately the drop has been quite noticeable.  Now, I don't want to abandon the HP ads; they need us and we need them.  But I think it's time for HP to get a bit more aggressive so that the ad revenue (for them and us) is more competitive with Adsense, especially now that eBay sales are gone. When I read here that so many writers are looking at the Adsense option, I hope that HP does something to even things out so that it doesn't  negatively affect the writers still using HP ads.

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7. 87

   Sherry Hewinsposted 7 years ago

   I have still been sticking with AdSense since the last week of April. I am committing myself to staying with them until the end of May. The first week I had impressive earnings, much better than what I had been having with HP Ad Program.
   
   During that first week HealDove recovered, which is very good for me. However, even though my views have been good, my earnings have dropped considerably in the last week. I never see this much fluctuation day-to-day with the Ad Program.
   
   I feel that I am gathering information, and the experiment won't really be worthwhile if I don't give it some time. So, I am going to continue through May. It's not like I earn enough money with this, even on a good month, to make a lot of difference in my lifestyle. Besides, I am hoping to hit payout with AdSense by the end of the month, and it would have probably taken years if I hadn't switched.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      My income from Adsense has been consistently good...at least as much as I had been making with the HP program...some days three times that much!  I have no idea how Adsense is figured because on the days when I have the most views, the income drops!  This is just the opposite of what happens with the HP program...but of course the HP program is based on page views, not clicks.
      
      I've been charting the results daily for the past month, and have been happy with them.
      
      One concern I have, though, is that if I don't use HP and my Amazon ads don't bring in over 100 dollars in any given month, I may have to wait until the next payout date to bring in that money.  You have to hit the 100 dollar mark for Amazon to pay I think.  Not exactly sure of that formula...but sooner or later I'd get paid anyhow
      
      I looked back a year to see how many times I missed the Amazon payout and there were only two, so I guess i can live with that lol!

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         Sherry Hewinsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         I am using the HP Amazon program, so It gets rolled into my HP earnings. I'm assuming those will just accumulate until I switch back, or hit $50.

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            TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

            I think you'll have to hit $100 before you get paid, but am not sure about that.  Mine also got rolled into my HP earnings but now there are none.  I have thought of keeping the HP until I hit the payout amount, but as things are, it would cost me too much money in lost Adsense income.  Wish I had a better understanding about how all of this works.  I've read the info in the learning center, but it is not totally clear to me.

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               Sherry Hewinsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               I will probably switch back when the month is over. I'm pretty sure I'd be getting more from HP right now.

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                  TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  I think a lot depends on what you're writing about.  If your topic draws advertisers of expensive products, I think you do better.  That's why I suggested awhile back that you write more about motocycles, etc.  It's a very popular topic that has all kinds of possibilities for article topics.

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                  1. 87

                     Sherry Hewinsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                     Thanks for the advice, I've thought about it. My existing motorcycle articles don't do great. I guess if I was pushing leather jackets and stuff it might be lucrative. I'm kind of into the old days and the old bikes. Now, the young people are into the new bikes which I don't know squat about. The old timers who are around are interested in parts and mechanics, which I don't know much about either.

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                        TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

                        Yes, but there are a lot of people who like reading about vintage bikes, vacations you take with them, where to buy them, how to buy them, the best types to buy, accessories for them, etc.  I really think you should reconsider...it's a great topic.  If I knew anything at all about it, I'd write like crazy on it!

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I emailed the team to find out how Amazon pays out if you are only using Adsense.  Here is their response:  Thought you guys would like to have this interesting piece of info.
      
      When you earn $50 from the HubPages Amazon Program you will be paid by HubPages.
      
      To get paid by AdSense, you need to earn at least $100 for them to pay you.
      
      You can switch back anytime you like.
      
      Let us know if you have any questions.
      
      Thanks,
      Matt
      Team HubPages

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         Sherry Hewinsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         That's what I thought, but thanks for confirming.

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            TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

            I wasn't sure, so thought I'd ask.  Glad I did!

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            makingamarkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks for asking Sherry - I had read the Learning Centre stuff about making money on HubPages and was still unclear
            
            It's a pity this very basic info isn't clearer in the official advice given.
            
            I've switched to AdSense. At least now when I look at the pitiful sum in the adverts column, I'll know it's because I switched off the HubPages ads and switched to AdSense - which perked up straight away.
            
            I'm also finding my hubs a lot more acceptable in terms of adverts run - because of curse I have complete control
            
            I'm wondering whether the difference in earnings that people are experiencing is because HubPages have categories set up for the things they want to earn on - and individuals set up the categories differently?  Just a thought.

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         eugbugposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         I always thought Hubpages Program Amazon earnings were added to "normal" HubPages earnings and this was paid to us the following month (if the HubPages component is above the threshold)? Clicking on "Earnings" just displays a single figure with both types of earnings added together. Do they extract out the Amazon component before payment if it's not above the Amazon threshold, or are the total earnings paid?

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            ChristinSposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Your Amazon payment is paid 2 months after a sale.  So for example if I earn a 10 dollar commission from Amazon today, it isn't going to be added to my next HP payment, but the one after that - 2 months after the initial purchase.  That amount can change if the purchaser returns the item etc. 
            
            It's a little screwy how it's set up.  The settings show what you've earned, but the payout timeframes are different.

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            theraggededgeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Go here https://hubpages.com/my/earnings/history and you will see how the payments are structured. It's the balance history tab.

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8. 94

   Titiaposted 7 years ago

   Like others, I never could figure out exactly how Adsense works on HP. If you switch to Adsense you get other kind of ads on your hubs than with the HP program? I never got a payout from Adsense, it says I have a balance of $5,60. From HP I get a payout about 3 or 4 times a year. I hardly ever promote my hubs and therefore don't get too many views (about 3000+ a month). Don't have the time yet to get serious about it and still have a lot of hubs that need an update. I  could try and switch to Adsense for a while and see what happens.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      That probably won't help much given your current situation.  To make money you have to keep producing and keep updating past work, and you need a good number of hubs to do well.  I wouldn't try Adsense until you update what you have and put more work into what you're doing.

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   2. 87

      Sherry Hewinsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      If you switch, I guarantee you'll get a lot more from AdSense than you're getting from them now, and your HP income will drop to virtually 0.
      
      Whether the AdSense income will amount to more than your HP income does now, maybe, maybe not.
      
      I haven't noticed any change in the ads that are on my hubs.

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9. STAFF

   Paul Edmondsonposted 7 years ago

   If you have a balance of $50 due combined with the Amazon and ads program, HubPages will pay you.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Paul...I was just told, and also posted, a note from the team saying that if you only have Amazon ads because you have switched to Adsense, HP will still pay you at the $50 payout limit if your ads total that much or more.  Correct?

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         makingamarkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Go to Earnings
         Go to the Balance History tab https://hubpages.com/my/earnings/history
         
         They pay you when the sum owing in the "balance" column exceeds $50 - no matter how it is derived. Doesn't matter whether it's all Amazon Program or all HubPages Ad Program or a combination of both.
         
         What they won't do is pay you any money earned direct via AdSense on your AdSense account. For that you have to wait until it accumulates to $100 - and then Google pays you

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10. 100

    Shesabutterflyposted 7 years ago

    Is everyone only activating adsense OR hp ad program? I have earnings activated for both as well as for Amazon. I'm just getting back into the swing of things after being absent for quite a few years. Is it better to have one deactivated? I'm still learning how to read/use adsense as I don't know what I'm doing when I actually log into it, but I saw that I've only made 42.81 in the 3 years that it's been activated. I've been absent for at least half that time, so that probably has a lot to do with. I've only made 1-2 dollars a month this year so far though despite the updates. Anyway I was always under the impression that everything was paid out through hubpages. I'm seeing that is clearly not the case, so is it better to only have one activated earnings account at a time? I usually make the 50 dollar payout from hubpages every 3 months and have for the last 4 years or so, even in my absense. However, I'd love to increase my earnings as I'm revamping/updating all my hubs.

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       TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Regardless of what you choose to do, you must keep the Adsense account.  You can choose to use it alone or with the HP payment plan, but if you do that, you'll make very little with Adsense.  I think most people use the combination of the two but since CPMs have dropped recently, some of us have been experimenting with just using Adsense.  It works for some of us, but not for others, and I can't tell you why.
       
       One more thing...it's against the TOS to provide actual income figures on the forums.  You can be banned for doing that.

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          makingamarkposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          It's very likely that what people earn via AdSense depends on:
          * how popular their content is and hence how much traffic they get
          * whether their target audience tend to be advert clickers
          * what type of adverts they will allow on their hubs
          
          Now the range of options in the three variables identified above are HUGE and it would be entirely normal for there to be a big range in what people earn via AdSense.
          
          They ONLY critical issue for any hubber is whether you are earning more or less than you were before. (although you need to give it probably at least a couple of months before you make a comparison - and for those of us who live outside the USA we also need to factor in the currency conversion (i.e. I got paid $ by HubPages and I get paid £ by Google)
          
          You know how much you were earning each month before because the Earnings History tab on your Earnings profile tells you.

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             TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

             Yes, but what you cannot keep track of is the CPM amounts on the HP program once you move to Adsense.  I made the move because the CPMs had dropped quite a bit and wanted to experiment.  So far it seems things are better, however this past week it hasn't been quite as good.  However, I suspect that when ad income drops on one site, it probably also drops on the other.  Today is Mother's Day, so people probably aren't on their computers, buying things, etc...which would be universally true as a reason for ad income to drop.
             
             Anyhow, so far so good, but you're right, a few months will tell the tale.  At the very least I can compare total last year's ad earnings with this year's, which isn't a perfect remedy, but can give some clues.

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          Shesabutterflyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks! I didn't know that it was against the rules, I've seen numbers thrown around on the forums all the time. Guess most of the numbers I see are general or broad though. Wish I could go back and edit it out.
          
          You are all so knowledgable, I think I'll do some experimenting and see what happens. I know I've made more than last year around this time, but not by much. But my earnings are down from last week by quite a bit. Don't know if it's because of Fred or something else, but I do get mostly Google traffic. The majority of my hubs that earn money are on the first 3 pages, although I don't know what kind of ads are being shown, and I doubt most of my audience are clickers. I don't know if I really write content that would create profitable ads or even ads worth clicking on. Didn't think about Mother's Day. Will compare the last few weeks and see, although I think I'll make the switch to see what happens. This is all so interesting to me. Although, I'm seeing I still have so much to learn.
          
          Thank you both for taking the time! It's much appreciated.

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       Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       @Shesabutterfly, I have a Hub on How to Optimise Your Hubs which you might find useful during your revamp - you'll find it on the slider on my profile.
       
       Your main objective should be to get your Hubs transferred to the niche sites because that's where the best income will be in the future.  If you're not already doing it, start submitting a Hub to a niche site once a fortnight. 
       
       A big thing I notice in your Hubs is that you need to review the layout now that mobile devices are so important.   Always click " Preview"  and take a look at your Hub in Mobile view to make sure it makes sense.  If you use right-floated capsules they often look wrong in Mobile view.

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          Shesabutterflyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks! I've been submitting to niche sites, so far I don't see an increase in traffic or earnings. I've actually seen a decrease which is weird since most of my traffic is from Google. One of my hubs has bounced back a little bit since being moved, but not by as much as I'd had hoped by now. Hopefully with time the niche sites will get better for me.
          
          I've been trying to make the photos full screen when I can. I've been updating a few at time and hopefully will be able to catch them all. I did notice that most of my views are still from desktop at aleast according to google analytics. But I don't understand much when I open the site so I could be missing quite a bit when I go onto the site.

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11. 91

    Natalie Frankposted 7 years ago

    I was under the impression I had them all activated for both as well.  Though at the beginning I earned some money from Amazon and since I believe the first month after my adsense approval I have not earned another penny from Amazon or Adsense only from HP.  Any feedback about this would be greatly appreciated!

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       TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

       There is no reason why approval from Adsense would affect your HP or Amazon earnings.  Totally different things.  Since you must have Adsense,  you can't produce income without it.  If you aren't earning from Amazon it may be because your topic doesn't make people want to buy products, you have placed the ad incorrectly or the ad isn't relevant to your topic.  Maybe it's time to check and see how other writers do their ads so that you can see what I'm talking about.  Marisa Wright is a pro at this, so go take a look.

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12. 87

    Sherry Hewinsposted 7 years ago

    I thought I would check back in here. I concluded my month on AdSense only at the end of May. Since June 1st I am back on HubPages Ad program. Today, June 20, I have earned as much in June as I did in the entire month of May.
    
    I can't really draw any conclusions from that, since June has been a good month for me so far and I earned substantially more on AdSense in May than I did on HP in April.
    
    One interesting thing I will note. I have a second HP account because I had a few things on Squidoo way back when. I switched that account to AdSense at the same time I did my main account, and I didn't switch it back. That account only has a few hubs, and it had been earning less than a dime a month, so I figured I had nothing to lose.
    
    That account has one hub on TurboFuture that is actually earning on AdSense. It doesn't get a ton of views, but has a phenomenal RPM.

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