CPA vs. AdSense

12 years ago

you should always click the link yourself to test the offer, if it does ask for anything you like credit cards then just dont put that offer up, there are lots of offers on peerfly that convert on just an email or zip submit.

I get good conversions with these types, i would never put an offer on my sites that asked for cc details simply because i dont want to annoy my visitors or make them feel i am trying to scam them

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Justin Says

12 years ago

Well a lot of the time, those ones that pay you for emails end up selling the heck out of their lists as well. That's why I'm a bit afraid to use them as much as I used to.

I'm starting to focus back more on affiliate marketing, versus cpa marketing on my niche websites because then I have absolute control.

But I like to have alternatives.

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Rageki

12 years ago

Cpa has lots of move advantage than adsense and pays more, but if you choose a good keyword for adsense, you could make a decent profit.

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ChrisBa

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Justin Lewis

If you had to pick and choose between 2 different networks (like EpicDirect or Peerfly against AdSense) and you found that both forms of making money earned you roughly the same conversions from multiple tests.

Which would you go after?

CPA - where you have more control of what shows up on your site, but it involves more work because sometimes offers go stale.

AdSense - where you have less control of what shows up, but it involves much less work because you can simply just place the AdSense up and walk away.

The reason I ask is because even though a lot of the time I really do enjoy CPA (I'm more into affiliate though), in my eyes a lot of the CPA offers out there pertaining to different niche markets are kind of scammy. Maybe not intentionally, but when a CPA offer says "Enter your email to get a free lotion set", that's kind of deceptive when they actually have to enter their email and then their entire billing information, and if they don't cancel in a certain period of time they are charged.

Maybe it's just me, but these are my thoughts.

What do you think?

P.S. I wouldn't advertise something scammy on my websites personally, but AdSense sometimes does as well.

Another way to think of it.. often people are running cpa offers through adwords content network, which would show up as ads if you have adsense on your site, and if they are making money off of it, chances are you could too.. think about it.. if they are paying Google a small percentage of what they are making, and Google is paying you even less.. if you skip as many middlemen as possible you could be making what the affiliate is making, plus what google is making and plus what you could have been making - all combined..

Now, with that in mind, you will need ot put in the work, you will need to test different ads, offers, landing pages, etc.. but in the end you could control the traffic better and make much more money..

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chall vandenbergh 12 years ago

the problem with cpa is that you need mostly us or geo targeted traffic to make money of course the pay out is higher than adsense of course
adsense has accepted al traffic wich is some better it al depends on the traffic no traffic no money
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Justin Says

12 years ago

Originally Posted by ChrisBa

Another way to think of it.. often people are running cpa offers through adwords content network, which would show up as ads if you have adsense on your site, and if they are making money off of it, chances are you could too.. think about it.. if they are paying Google a small percentage of what they are making, and Google is paying you even less.. if you skip as many middlemen as possible you could be making what the affiliate is making, plus what google is making and plus what you could have been making - all combined..

Now, with that in mind, you will need ot put in the work, you will need to test different ads, offers, landing pages, etc.. but in the end you could control the traffic better and make much more money..

I absolutely agree with that and have thought about the same thing previously.

Probably the worst thing about CPA is spending a lot of time working on a CPA offer that converts like crazy and then suddenly having the CPA offer taken offline.

Many times I don't even notice it, causing earnings to go down for that site.

When using AdSense, it doesn't matter because Google handles it. So it's really a choice between maintenance or no maintenance.

But I definitely earn more when offering the CPA advertisements, get better CTR, conversions, and have a ton more control.

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Kenster

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Justin Lewis

I absolutely agree with that and have thought about the same thing previously.

Probably the worst thing about CPA is spending a lot of time working on a CPA offer that converts like crazy and then suddenly having the CPA offer taken offline.

Many times I don't even notice it, causing earnings to go down for that site.

When using AdSense, it doesn't matter because Google handles it. So it's really a choice between maintenance or no maintenance.

But I definitely earn more when offering the CPA advertisements, get better CTR, conversions, and have a ton more control.

Offers going down temporarily (quota) or permanently is a downside of CPA marketing and I hear people complain about it all the time. If you are making money on the site, then it will only 5 seconds a day to check out your site to make sure the offers are still active. If you outsource or have a VA, just have them take a look every morning. For $10 a month you can probably outsource somebody to look at all your sites daily to make sure offers are active.

So, even though it's a downside, it's really not a huge deal, particularly if you are making decent money! The most frustrating part is finding a substitution offer, so that's why it's good to belong to several networks so you have access to plenty of potential substitution offers.

One last thing...I always like to have a backup offer already in mind for any placement that is currently doing well. Again, you can even pass this task on to any outsourcers or employees you may have. If not, it will only take a few minutes a week to do yourself!

So don't let that change your opinion, do a test with cpa and adsense and whatever makes the most...keep that one.

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edwin008

12 years ago

It depends on your audiences. Test before make any decision

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Ezra Anderson

12 years ago

I agree with you that a lot of cpa's are rip offs, and for that reason I tend to side with AdSense.

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Omid

12 years ago

If the traffic is niche targeted I would definitely go with CPA. Most of the times it needs testing and tracking to come up with the best CPA offer.

AdSense, mmmm, is not really profitable compared to CPA (again, if the traffic is targeted).

I usually leave adsense for adsense sites. They are fairly easy to create and get rank on Google.

~ Omid

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Jac0b

12 years ago

I vote for AdSense + several another ad networks at the same time...

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k_rock 12 years ago

A combination of both is always good..As long as they are relevant and targeted.
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Ian Andrews

12 years ago

Sorry to appear dumb. I have been hearing about CPA offers but haven't actually sussed them out yet. Do the CPA networks not notify their affiliates by email if an offer expires? I would have thought that would be a logical thing to do?

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Justin Says

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Ian Andrews

Sorry to appear dumb. I have been hearing about CPA offers but haven't actually sussed them out yet. Do the CPA networks not notify their affiliates by email if an offer expires? I would have thought that would be a logical thing to do?

They do notify us usually, but it's easy to miss. CJ.com has affiliate and CPA offers as well and I miss their notifications sometimes because they appear like advertisements to me lol.

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Ian Andrews 12 years ago

Thanks Justin. What are the best CPA networks to join and which ones are easiest to get approved for? I gather from my research so far and the posts here that some of the offers can be dodgy. Am I correct in thinking that the best ones by far are the ones which only require a zip code or email address? I live in Australia does anyone know of any Australian CPA companies or can Australian offers be found on the usual networks like CJ? Also is the fact I live in Australia likely to preclude me from being accepted by the CPA networks targetting the USA?
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shaddelick

12 years ago

I would go with CPA. With CPA its easier to track and see what converts, that way you can come out with a similar product and make a higher profit.

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williamrs

12 years ago

"you found that both forms of making money earned you roughly the same conversions from multiple tests"

If both were making me the same amount of money I'd certainly go with AdSense, which is "lazier". However, I think most of the times CPA is more profitable if used properly, and it would change my choice.

Regarding the shaddy offers, you don't necessarily need to promote them. There are both good and bad offers and it's up to you to choose which one you wnat to promote.

I myself personally prefer to avoid the scammy offers, not just because I'm a nice guy (this is one of the reasons, though

), but also because I do list building and my lists tend to be profitable for a longer period of time if I don't burn them with scams.

W

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Fraser SellHealth

12 years ago

All i have to say about this topic , is that building your site around adsense profits can be a heart break story. Google doesnt hesitate to ban adsense accounts and it doesnt matter how much you are making, so you could be making a couple hundred a day and then bang no more adsense ,on the other hand promoting CPA's and CPS affiliates give you much more control on which ads you want to promote and there is minimal fear that you will get banned. On the flip side promoting CPA's & CPS's like @justin said you gotta stay on top of your game, gotta switch up your ads when ads go stale etc.. best call is using a bit of both, use a good reliable CPA/CPS network and use Google adsense in your articles for maximum clicks...

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JMac

12 years ago

Personally, I dont have a lot of time to devote to IM so I go the adsense route. I work on ranking the site when I have time and thats it. If I need to take a month off because the family/job get busy, I can and not have to worry too much about losing money.

If you like the CPA stuff and you have time, stick with it. Or better yet, how about doing a bit of both and diversifying those web properties... No need to stick it all in one basket, make several sites of each.

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Tonylee93

12 years ago

I feel like there two different animals these days, Adsenses have to do with how much traffic you get and CPA has to do with how much targeted traffic you get to click on a link. I feel they are both hard and with hard work you can make an Income online. Money doesn`t come easy or fast its all about waiting and working hard.

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mark1230

12 years ago

I think CPA is far better than adsense if you have targetted visitors,you get more share per sale plus you can appeal your website visitors to go for that product or service ...but google organic search is a main source for income for both of these products.

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jahangir87

12 years ago

CPA is better than adsense from the prospect that it pays more but not too much in CPAs for the members outside USA or UK and this is why adsense is best.No matter from where the clicks come you will still make money.

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smartyjohn

12 years ago

I think Adsense is better than CPA for more people as it needs less effort and time to setup and track.

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safexsolutions

12 years ago

Depends on Niche, Traffic source and with a lot testing..No one can give you exact answer..Also depends what work for you best..

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robp12

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Justin Lewis

If you had to pick and choose between 2 different networks (like EpicDirect or Peerfly against AdSense) and you found that both forms of making money earned you roughly the same conversions from multiple tests.

Justin, how has your experience been with EpicDirect? I just signed up after reading your post and checking out some reviews online.

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Kenster

12 years ago

Rob...a good network for sure! Though I'm not Justin but that's just my opinion!

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PPC-Coach

12 years ago

I would got the CPA route. Make sure you put more then one offer in rotation in that spot. That way if one does go down, (which one probably will), you've got others in the rotation that are still working.

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