How Smart Pricing Effects AdSense (TM) Publisher Revenues Written by Dave Lavinsky
I constantly receive phone calls from clients, prospective clients and reporters asking same question – what percent of keyword price does Google pay AdSense (TM) publishers. While AdSense Standard Terms and Conditions explicitly forbid disclosing such information, range I often give is 20% to 50% based on numerous conversations I have had with AdSense publishers.While precise percentage is not clear, what is evident is that percentage that Google pays publishers has gone down significantly since April 2004. It was at this time that Google announced it would be lowering price of ads (i.e., charging AdWords(TM) clients less) that appear on sites of AdSense publishers. Susan Wojcicki, Director of Product Management for Google, stated that this change came from requests of advertisers who wanted different pricing on clicks from search and content ads. Google stated that it considered search-based ads more targeted than content ads, and that they therefore generated more clicks and revenue for advertisers. However, Google did realize that some content ads perform as well as search-based ads. As a result, “Smart Pricing” was born. Smart Pricing adjusts value of clicks based on a number of factors such as time of day, type of content, and conversion tracking. The latter, conversion tracking, measures how often a click on an ad produces a desired action for advertiser, such as a product sale, newsletter signup, etc. The example Google gave for Smart Pricing was that “a click on an ad for digital cameras on a web page about photography tips may be worth less than a click on same ad appearing next to a review of digital cameras.”
| | Good Cop(y), Bad Cop(y)Written by Barry Harrison
It's true-- people don’t want to read much. All more reason to choose your words carefully. I’m convinced that great copy is essential for a compelling customer experience. Here are two samples I came across recently, that carried me from sublime to ridiculous. The first is a description of a “Chenille Throw” from a Restoration Hardware catalog that’s so evocative I practically salivate with desire. The second is an excerpt from a multi-page ad promoting Phoenix as a tourist destination. It’s so pretentious and silly it makes me laugh out loud every time I read it.Go ahead, read for yourself. Then think about what kind of impression copy on your site makes. The 5-lb Chenille Throw "Chocolate truffles. Triple-cream brie. Ice cream cake. All areas where more is, well more… where five extra pounds is a very good thing, indeed. So it is with our chenille throws. Each is five pounds of butter-soft, pudding-rich, rayon-cotton chenille, a guilt-free indulgence, big enough to share." Now that’s good copy! Combined with a lush, close-up photograph of throw draped oh so casually on a tan suede sofa, I don’t know how anyone could resist! Compare and contrast: [I’m not making this up]. "Destination Phoenix Amazing what you can do here."
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