Is AdSense useless?

[Fraggler]

Has anyone tried Google's Affiliate Network that they just reopened up? I'm a bit scared of it now...it sounds like they might be baiting affiliates to register so they can easily ban their websites.

Originally Posted by bgmacaw

It's not so much as conspiracy but an ongoing policy of Google's to destroy affiliate marketing and some other types of online marketing.

The BANS script probably got abused pretty bad so it was easier for Google to chase the footprint rather than looking at each site individually.

Other Amazon autoposters (including WP-robot) still work fine. I use them myself and haven't had one deindexed yet. I use the scripts to supplement original content though.

[Fraggler]

Originally Posted by bgmacaw

Yes, but my point is that a lot of so-called MFA sites you, Fraggler and others around here routinely trash as garbage sites are essentially the same kind of thing.

The only sites I am trashing as garbage sites are the single page (+contact, about, privacy) MFA sites with useless content on the homepage. I have told you this before.

Edit:I just came across this thread at the Google forum. This is the crap I am talking about:

http://www.google.com/support/forum/...eb0e9380&hl=en

Towards the bottom someone has posted a large list of the user's sites. The ones in the OP are the better ones.

[bgmacaw]

Originally Posted by Steve Crooks

The problem is how some people use these tools without offering value to the visitor.

Then we're right back to the bizrate.com problem of automated feeds with keyword stuffed content. They get away with it while you and I, the average guy or gal working alone, can't, at least not as easily.

To a non-IM savvy user, bizrate.com, thefind.com or StevesUnderwaterBasketEmporium.com is simple a listing of the best prices for a product, most likely exactly what they're looking for and thus has value to the visitor and to the advertiser.

Originally Posted by Steve Crooks

I don't understand why you think Google are on a mission to destroy affiliate sites.

Not sites so much as they want to control as much of the online marketplace as they can. To achieve that goal they have to make sure that advertisers and publishers see them as virtually the only game in town. It's a game pioneered by J. D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil over 100 years ago except they traded in oil. It's called "blocking the tracks".

[yukon]

Originally Posted by Fraggler

The only sites I am trashing as garbage sites are the single page (+contact, about, privacy) MFA sites with useless content on the homepage. I have told you this before.

Edit:I just came across this thread at the Google forum. This is the crap I am talking about:

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Webmasters/thread?tid=42f0b076eb0e9380&hl=en

Towards the bottom someone has posted a large list of the user's sites. The ones in the OP are the better ones.

The OP in that link must be high, why would anyone post a link to their pub#/site on a public forum.

[Hyaku_Man]

I`m currently making about $175 a day from Adsense so it isn`t useless. You could say my sites are MFA because I make them to make money, but when people say MFA they`re usually talking about sites that have no value to the visitor and exist ONLY to make money.

My best site makes about $50 a day from 200 pages. I have others that have only 2-5 pages and they make some money, but only like $0.50 to $1 a day even after building backlinks. Why not just make a few big sites rather than a zillion small ones. 90% of my money comes from 4 sites.