adsense payout much lower than expected

[nest28]

i triple checked my keyword in google keyword tool, micro niche finder, spy-fu etc and all of them said that my keywords have an estimated 12.00 per click now today i get 2 clicks and they both only add up to 85 cents , i thought i would at least be seeing a dollar a click or else wound not have invested so much time and effort back linking to this site , another thing thats weird also is the ctr for this sites seems to be 90% its a new site that only get about 20 people a day but they all seem to click on the ads.

[paulgl]

Originally Posted by nest28

i triple checked my keyword in google keyword tool, micro niche finder, spy-fu etc and all of them said that my keywords have an estimated 12.00 per click now today i get 2 clicks and they both only add up to 85 cents , i thought i would at least be seeing a dollar a click or else wound not have invested so much time and effort back linking to this site , another thing thats weird also is the ctr for this sites seems to be 90% its a new site that only get about 20 people a day but they all seem to click on the ads.

You fell under the trap of exaggerated expectations. Your site, traffic, and history
will dictate what you get per click. Google does not operate adwords the way
many people think.

The best performing adwords ads get placed higher. Not the highest clicks.
The best adwords users get rewarded with lower cost per click. Google factors
in your site as well. It is not only niche, but how your site is perceived. If
you get a few clicks without buyers, your score will go down, lowering the
cost of people putting ads on your site.

There is no way of ever telling how much a site should get per click. I don't
know why this myth keeps going around. Low QS adwords must bid higher, but
then you actually get the high QS ads. Kind of catch-22.

The adwords users with the highest QS are the ones getting clicks and
paying less. It may sound backwards, but that is exactly what you want.
You want clicks that lead to sales or action, not a mindless click. The more
mindless clicks you get, the lower $$ your ads will be.

Get targeted traffic with buying on their mind. And lots of it.

You may also not be getting ads for exactly what you think you should.
Even then, there are many, many factors that go into the price of a click.
There is no magic list to tell you. Google gives a range, and for the max bid.
Many times, you don't need to bid the max or anywhere near it.

You built a site exactly backwards from what I tell people. And I fly in the
face of others. I say pick a topic that you are interested in, can devote
time to it, and semi-enjoy it.

Picking a "high paying keyword" as a path to riches is not reality in most
cases.

Over time, as your authority grows and you add more content, it should
improve.

Paul

[nest28]

Originally Posted by paulgl

You fell under the trap of exaggerated expectations. Your site, traffic, and history
will dictate what you get per click. Google does not operate adwords the way
many people think.

The best performing adwords ads get placed higher. Not the highest clicks.
The best adwords users get rewarded with lower cost per click. Google factors
in your site as well. It is not only niche, but how your site is perceived. If
you get a few clicks without buyers, your score will go down, lowering the
cost of people putting ads on your site.

There is no way of ever telling how much a site should get per click. I don't
know why this myth keeps going around. Low QS adwords must bid higher, but
then you actually get the high QS ads. Kind of catch-22.

The adwords users with the highest QS are the ones getting clicks and
paying less. It may sound backwards, but that is exactly what you want.
You want clicks that lead to sales or action, not a mindless click. The more
mindless clicks you get, the lower $$ your ads will be.

Get targeted traffic with buying on their mind. And lots of it.

You may also not be getting ads for exactly what you think you should.
Even then, there are many, many factors that go into the price of a click.
There is no magic list to tell you. Google gives a range, and for the max bid.
Many times, you don't need to bid the max or anywhere near it.

You built a site exactly backwards from what I tell people. And I fly in the
face of others. I say pick a topic that you are interested in, can devote
time to it, and semi-enjoy it.

Picking a "high paying keyword" as a path to riches is not reality in most
cases.

Over time, as your authority grows and you add more content, it should
improve.

Paul

thank you i appreciate your advice, this changes everything, i hope i'm not wrong about the search volume also.

[LarryHaywood]

Good information Paul. Just wanted to add in addition to everything you stated, I also read that even in best possible scenario the publisher only receives something like 68% of the revenue from the click?

I myself have been guilty of trying to build sites around high paying keywords and it never seems to work out for me. Definitely helps to be interested in your subject as sometimes this stuff gets old!

I have a site in a good paying niche that is almost 4 now and is my most steady earner. I didn't set out to build this site around specific kws.

[nest28]

Originally Posted by LarryHaywood

Good information Paul. Just wanted to add in addition to everything you stated, I also read that even in best possible scenario the publisher only receives something like 68% of the revenue from the click?

I myself have been guilty of trying to build sites around high paying keywords and it never seems to work out for me. Definitely helps to be interested in your subject as sometimes this stuff gets old!

I have a site in a good paying niche that is almost 4 now and is my most steady earner. I didn't set out to build this site around specific kws.

thanx for your input i'm still new to the im thing and i can see that i have a lot to learn

[jtpada]

Another aspect to bear in mind is that the spots you place your ads in have a different $ outcome per click. An ad at the bottom of your page would get you less than the one in the top spot.

[nest28]

Originally Posted by jtpada

Another aspect to bear in mind is that the spots you place your ads in have a different $ outcome per click. An ad at the bottom of your page would get you less than the one in the top spot.

i have to blocks at the top, and they are closely related to my content, its just that the pay is so much lower than i thought it would be, i make the same amount if not more from my make up site that cost per click is only suppose to be a dollar

[indihow]

I'm surprised that no one has pointed this out yet:

The CPC mentioned in Google Adwords Keyword Tool is for Google Ads in the Search Engine only!

The rates for ads on blogs and websites are totally different!

[nest28]

i was actually following the adsense 100k blueprint, why do the gurus say to go after high paying keywords if this is what happens

[indihow]

Originally Posted by nest28

i was actually following the adsense 100k blueprint, why do the gurus say to go after high paying keywords if this is what happens

Well the competition patterns are expected to be similar. But the CPC for adsense ads on your blog and that in the search results are calculated differently.

For example, each bid is $0.01 higher than the previous.

If there are 10 advertisers bidding for the keyword A, and the highest bids for each advertiser, the maximum CPC, are $0.25,$0.20,$0.18 ....$0.05.

the second highest bid limit is $0.20, the highest bid would be $0.21.

So, for each click on the ad you will get $0.21.

If there are 50 advertisers who set maximum CPC of $5.00,$4.75,....$0.02.

the second highest bid being $4.75, the cost per click would be $4.76.

Now, the maximum CPC limits for the search ads and the ads on your blog/site are different.

But if A is a high competition keyword, the income per click can be expected to be high, since there are several advertisers bidding for the ad spot!

All the advertisers advertising in search results pages needn't choose to advertise on blogs/sites.

[vvvRASvvv]

life is unfair

[4morereferrals]

Originally Posted by paulgl

You fell under the trap of exaggerated expectations. Your site, traffic, and history
will dictate what you get per click. Google does not operate adwords the way
many people think.

The best performing adwords ads get placed higher. Not the highest clicks.
The best adwords users get rewarded with lower cost per click. Google factors
in your site as well. It is not only niche, but how your site is perceived. If
you get a few clicks without buyers, your score will go down, lowering the
cost of people putting ads on your site.

There is no way of ever telling how much a site should get per click. I don't
know why this myth keeps going around. Low QS adwords must bid higher, but
then you actually get the high QS ads. Kind of catch-22.

The adwords users with the highest QS are the ones getting clicks and
paying less. It may sound backwards, but that is exactly what you want.
You want clicks that lead to sales or action, not a mindless click. The more
mindless clicks you get, the lower $$ your ads will be.

Get targeted traffic with buying on their mind. And lots of it.

You may also not be getting ads for exactly what you think you should.
Even then, there are many, many factors that go into the price of a click.
There is no magic list to tell you. Google gives a range, and for the max bid.
Many times, you don't need to bid the max or anywhere near it.

You built a site exactly backwards from what I tell people. And I fly in the
face of others. I say pick a topic that you are interested in, can devote
time to it, and semi-enjoy it.

Picking a "high paying keyword" as a path to riches is not reality in most
cases.

Over time, as your authority grows and you add more content, it should
improve.

Paul

[Lucid]

Originally Posted by indihow

If there are 50 advertisers who set maximum CPC of $5.00,$4.75,....$0.02.

the second highest bid being $4.75, the cost per click would be $4.76.

Doesn't quite work that way. If the QS of all advertisers were the same, or close to the same, then yes, this would be a good approximation.

But advertisers' QS are rarely the same and there's a wide range. Suppose the first advertiser has a QS of 7, if the second advertiser's QS was 6.5, he would pay about $4.41 (34 cents less). If it was 7.5, he would pay about $5, or close to it. This according to the basic published formula. However if his own QS was 9.0 and the second advertiser one of 7.0, he would pay about $3.69, a big $1.06 saving from your example.

Originally Posted by indihow

Now, the maximum CPC limits for the search ads and the ads on your blog/site are different.

Correct. In fact, my understanding is that they are different for every site. A click on an ad on one site will not cost the same if that ad is clicked on another site, even with the same advertisers in the same positions. There is a sort of "site quality" component that affects the cost.

As Paul pointed out, don't build a site around some keyword you find that the tool estimates is high. Build around something you know and love.

One last thing, and most advertisers know this. Your site is not always going to show ads that are about your page's theme. The reason is partially due to the system (it's not 100% perfect) and partly to poor advertisers that don't understand the system. So a car insurance site may show the occasional car accessories ad or something else totally different.

[mejohn]

Don't forget that January is the lowest advertised month in the year, excepe for niches like weight loss. With less advertisers competing for your advertising space, you can expect much lower Adsense payouts than the rest of the months of the year.