I noticed a few weeks ago that the Adlogger.org support forum was not working. I assumed that Trevor was having server problems and thought nothing of it. I then read a few references on DP Forums about Adlogger being "dead", and assumed they were referring to the fact that the server was down. But when someone came out and made a post referring to the development of Adlogger stopping I had to find out more, and I did:
It is now official: Adlogger is now is dead
Trevor Fitzgerald made the final entry in the Adlogger blog/site on July 12 that sums it up pretty well:
"Unfortunately the development of AdLogger has been put to a halt. Due to some recent changes in the Google AdSense program, AdLogger has been rendered inaccurate and useless. Despite the best efforts to circumvent these changes and maintain a high level of accuracy, our developers could not come up with a solution."
I sent Trevor an email asking for more information on exactly what did not work any longer, and asking for more information. I figured that since I've worked closely with Trevor in the past helping him test Adlogger and even donating to the cause, that he would answer all my questions. It's been several days now and I haven't gotten any response - clearly Trevor is too upset to respond (or maybe my email went into his junk-folder)..
The death of Adlogger creates a great business opportunity for anyone that can figure out how to accurately track Adsense clicks and block ads based on that information. Because Adsense does not provide any tools to website publishers to help prevent click-fraud this is potentially a huge market for someone to come in and take advantage of. Perhaps in the future Adsense can fill the gap that Adlogger has left by providing tools to publishers like click tracking or email alerts when configurable thresholds are reached. Even the ability to specify what domains your adsense PubID can be used on would also be a welcome change. I've read rumors of Adsense incorporating this type of tools into the Adsense program, but thus far these features remain nothing more than rumors..
I've used Adlogger for a long time and I'm really going to miss it. Although it has never been 100% accurate, it has been a great tool to help combat Adsense clickbombs and other click fraud related activity. Sadly, this morning I removed the Adlogger code from the site and wiped a small tear from my eye as I removed the final table from the database.
Labels: Adlogger, Adsense, The Site
¶ 10:18 AM 1 Comments
Normally a dip in Adsense earnings would not be worth blogging about, but something different is happening this time.
I first noticed a decrease in my overall Adsense earnings in the first week of the month and I made a post at DP Forums. To other members it looked like just another of the endless "my Adsense earnings are down, wahh wahh wahh" thread and I chalked it up to the "summer slump". But a few days later a post was made at Webmaster World, then another at Digital Point, then yet another at Webmaster World. The common thread amongst all of these posts is that a large amount of webmasters around the world are all reporting the same thing: Adsense earnings are down. Even Darren Rowse has mentioned it in his blog. Earnings are the same for many, and even up for a few, but for many more Adsense publishers including myself, earnings are at an all time low.
What is causing Adsense earnings to fall ?
Some webmasters feel this could be the fallout of Google banning the MFA arbitragers on June 1, and yet some others think it may have to do with eBay pulling all of it's Adwords advertising. I personally have no clue as to what might be causing the decrease in earnings, nor am I overly concerned about it. Why? Because I have protection.
Protect yourself against drops in your Adsense income
Regular readers of my blog, and those that follow my posts on DP Forums have seen me say this before, so for give me for repeating myself when I say this:
Most 'old timers' know this all too well, but for many new webmasters just starting out with Adsense, it may not have crossed their minds or maybe they thought it was too difficult.
There are many ways to diversify your website's income. At GrownUpGeek.com we have several income streams including Adsense, Kontera, CJ, donations, subscriptions, AuctionAds, Ask.com Related Search, Yahoo Publisher Network, ClickBank and affiliate sales. We've even tried and sometimes use TextLink Ads, Adbrite and AzoogleAds. It is these multiple income streams that allows us to pull-in upwards of $6,000/month. Even though some of these sources of income may only generate $5-$25/day, they add-up quickly. As Mubin Ahmed would say, "making money $0.10 at a time".
Some revenue streams such as donations or subscriptions require a large member-base and may not be appropriate for many websites. However others, particularly Kontera are incredibly easy to apply for and add to your website, they earn almost as much as Adsense, and on some days even more than Adsense (especially this month!) Others, such as Yahoo Publisher Network do horribly, but even that small amount of additional income per day can help ease the sting when you're having a bad Adsense day. Affiliate programs like CJ and ClickBank are just as easy to put on your website, but require some effort to create a good "sales page". At GrownUpGeek.com we have only two or three CJ and ClickBank pages, but those pages generate over $1,000/month in sales alone.
The moral of my story is that by adding additional sources of revenue you are less reliant on Adsense and can put a few extra dollars into your pocket each month. It's not as difficult as you might think. ¶ 6:21 PM 1 Comments
It seems that not a day goes by that I don't read a post at DP Forums or WMW from some poor n00b that has either had his Adsense Ads temporarily disabled or banned completely for a violation of the Adsense Terms of Service (TOS) that he or she genuinely was not aware of. To be honest, I did not really read through the Adsense Terms of Service and Policies until I had been using Adsense for 4 or 5 months. I skimmed over it when I first signed up and I can remember thinking to myself, "ehh, I'm not going to do anything stupid".. Well, not knowing the TOS and polices is the first stupid thing I did.
The Adsense Polices and Terms of Service pages are huge, and will take a good 10-15 minutes to read - and unless you are a lawyer, most of it is extremely boring. Because of this I have grabbed a few of the TOS and policy points that are most likely to get you into hot-water with the boys over at the GooglePlex if you weren't aware of them.
- DO NOT CLICK YOUR OWN ADS - Yeah, you would think this is common sense, but many Adsense publishers are not aware of this very important rule. Of course more webmasters are very aware of this and try to get away with doing it anyway.
- DO NOT ENCOURAGE CLICKS IN ANY WAY - Most webmasters know that you are not allowed to ask visitors to click on your Adsense for Content ads, but you also cannot place your ads or adlinks in a way that tricks your visitors into clicking them. An example of this would be making your ads appear as menu items. Note that this does not apply to referrals. In the past there was confusion about "endorsing" (or whoring as I call it) your referrals. This confusion was largely due to the wording in the Terms of Service. Google has updated and clarified their stand on endorsing/encouraging clicks on referrals, and it is allowed to endorse referrals. Have a look at Google's own Referrals Endorsement Help page - Notice too that they use our site, GrownUpGeek.com as a shining example!
- WATCH YOUR CONTENT: To most (but not all) webmasters it's obvious that Google does not allow Adsense ads on sites with "Adult" content. Notice that I did not say "porn". There is a difference between porn and simply "adult" so be careful. Google also does not allow Adsense on pages that contain "hate" content, Warez, or anything illegal. But also be aware that content or promotion of gambling, weapons, alcohol, tobacco, prescription drugs (or non-prescription for that matter), fake goods (like phoney Rolex watches), and even term papers or essays are not permitted. A good rule of thumb on content is that if you are not proud to show it to your grandmother, Google probably will not like it. Any kind of black-hat SEO on your pages can also get you banned from Adsense in addition to getting your site banned from the search index.
- COPYRIGHTED CONTENT IS NOT PERMITTED: Unless you own the content. This means that copying and pasting from another website can get you into trouble. This is also true for music and videos, meaning that you cannot display Adsense on pages that contain copyrighted music downloads or videos.
- DO NOT CHANGE YOUR ADSENSE CODE: All your customizations should be done via the Adsense setup page.
- DO NOT PUT YOUR ADSENSE ADS IN YOUR SPAM: Everybody hates spam, especially Google.
- NO CONTENT, NO ADSENSE: Your pages must contain content! Pages with nothing but ads are not permitted.
- ONE ACCOUNT PER PERSON: You are only allowed to have ONE Adsense account unless you are authorized by Google to have more than one.
- YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ADS: It is up to you to ensure that you and your visitors do not violate the Terms of Service. Google is not obligated to notify you of a problem.
- GOOGLE CAN TERMINATE YOUR ACCOUNT WHENEVER THEY WANT: They do not have to give you a reason, but if they terminate your account they have a reason.
- DO NOT DISCLOSE YOUR STATISTICS: This one is overlooked by many webmasters. You are not allowed to post any information such as click-thru-rates, impressions, eCPM, etc in public. You are permitted to disclose gross earnings, but that's all.
- YOU ARE NOT A GOOGLE EMPLOYEE: Nor are you in any "partnership" with Google. As an Adsense publisher you are simply a independent contractor
- Competitors ARE allowed on the same page: In the past you were not allowed to display other contextually based advertising on the same page as Adsense ads. In May 2007 Google updated this policy. You are now allowed to use competing contextually based advertising on the same page as long as that advertising does not have the same "look and feel" of your Adsense ads and as long as they cannot be confused with Adsense.
Adsense Terms and Conditions of Service
Adsense Policies for U.S. publishers
Labels: Adsense
¶ 10:27 AM 1 Comments
This morning I received an invite from YPn (Yahoo Publisher Network) to complete a 10-minute survey.
In return for my valuable time they would reward me with a $25 "honorarium". "Sweet", I thought - fastest way to make $25 I've had in a long time!I started to fill out the survey - mostly basic questions about what is important to me as a website owner, etc. Towards the end of the survey it asked what other advertising networks I participate in. I put checkmarks in Google Adsense, Commission Junction, and Amazon (funny, they didn't have a little checkbox for Kontera!). Then, on the next page they asked me to detail what my "RPM" (that's "Y-speak" for eCPM) for each of the publishing networks I participate in. As I was about halfway through running my Adsense reports to get my eCPM for the last 6-months, it suddenly struck me that Adsense may not appreciate me disclosing this information to their biggest competitor! Just to be sure, I did a quick re-read of the Adsense TOS, which I swore in blood that I would abide by, so help-me-God.
The Adsense TOS states, in part:
" Confidentiality. You agree not to disclose Google Confidential Information without Google's prior written consent. "Google Confidential Information" includes without limitation: (a) all Google software, technology, programming, specifications, materials, guidelines and documentation relating to the Program; (b) click-through rates or other statistics relating to Site performance in the Program provided to You by Google; and (c) any other information designated in writing by Google as "Confidential" or an equivalent designation. However, You may accurately disclose the amount of Google’s gross payments to You pursuant to the Program. Google Confidential Information does not include information that has become publicly known through no breach by You or Google, or information that has been (i) independently developed without access to Google Confidential Information, as evidenced in writing; (ii) rightfully received by You from a third party; or (iii) required to be disclosed by law or by a governmental authority."
Now, I'm no lawyer, nor am I particularly smart, but it seems to me that disclosing my Adsense eCPM to Yahoo would probably be considered as a breach of confidentiality in Google's eyes. Realizing that my boys over at the GooglePlex would probably not be happy with me if I violated my blood-oath, I tried to fill-in some dummy data on the survey form. I entered $99.99 as my Adsense eCPM (ehhr, RPM) and the survey was too smart to accept it. I then tried to enter $0.01, which it also balked at. The survy would not accept $0.00 either.
Knowing who butter's my bread, I decided to forgo the $25 honorarium and bailed out of the survey.
Just a word of warning to all you webmasters that use both Yahoo Publisher Network and Adsense: Don't forget your Adsense TOS - Google knows all and sees all.. Trust no one..
Labels: Adsense, Earnings, Ypn
¶ 8:26 AM 0 Comments
Dan Friedman has further clarified Google's stance on endorsing or bringing attention to the Pay Per Click referrals (such as Firefox and Adwords).
"If you encourage people to download and install Pack on your site and the conversion rate goes up, we're happy to pay the additional cost, because it directly translates to more Pack users for us.Dan had told all this to me the last time I spoke with him on the phone - I even posted about it at DP Forums but I'm sure nobody was going to take my word for it. Now that it is official many publishers should be able to significantly increase their earnings with Google's referral products.
...
Any endorsement or attention drawn to a referral ad must be done in a way that supports the intended use of the product or service associated with it.In short, our policies on endorsing ads are based on our concern for the visitor, the advertiser, and the publisher."
For the entire post CLICK HERE ¶ 4:11 PM 0 Comments
More love from the Google Adsense team (but no links!).
In today's Google Adsense Blog post, they featured GrownUpGeek.com and put a link to their first referrals-based Adsense Case Study which also features us.
To recap: Google has now featured/posted about us on three separate occasions
I wonder if this means our 15 minutes of fame is over now? ¶ 6:47 PM 3 Comments
This post has been moved to our new blog. See this link:
New Adsense Success Story
I've been reading Shoemoney more and more lately. When I first learned about TheShoe at the DP Forums I got the idea that he became successful by having many small sites. Because we don't run a network of sites, and instead have only one real site (ok, and two failed/failing sites about nothing) I didn't think I could learn much from him because of our different methods/styles.
As I read more and more at ShoeMoney though, I think I might be able to learn a lot - heck, I don't know anything, so it should not me hard to learn something! I'm also going to start seeing what I can learn from JenSense. They both seem to know what they're doing.