6 replies to this topic

[Mikl]

Has anyone one else noticed a big fall in the cost per click (CPC) for Adsense recently? (By CPC, I mean the income that the publisher receives for each click.)

I run four sites, which between them target a variety of markets in various geographical areas. Taken the four sites together, the CPC figure for the three months to end of August 2011 is one quarter of what it was for the same period in 2010. The month-by-month figures also show a stready decline over that period.

The overall traffic for these particular sites has grown steadily over the last year, and the clicks per impression is holding up well. It's just the CPC figure that is suffering.

I wonder if other Adsense publishers have seen this, and have any thoughts about whether it's just a normal fluctuation or a long-term trend.

[davidbrett]

I haven't noticed a difference. If anything my CPC's have increased slightly in September vs August.

[Mikl]

Thanks for that, David.

On reflection, my four sites are unlikely to be representative of the market as a whole - and neither are yours. So it's not particularly significant that we are seeing opposite trends. If a dozen or so people in the forum had said they are seeing the same behaviour as me (or the opposite), that would have been interesting - but that's clearly not the case.

[danielmarriott]

Remember that the amount that you receive from a click depends on how much the advertiser is paying for the click. Certain keyword related ads are worth more than others, e.g. ads about dog food could give you about 20p per click where are solar panels give you about 90p per click. There more competition on a keyword and the more that company is bidding on that keyword determines home much you will get from the click.

[trishH]

I've noticed a big drop in the CPC rate this year - many of my clcks are now getting 1 or 2p per click, whereas this time last year they'd be getting 50p to £1 or even more.

[Mikl]

Since I started this thread back in September, I've learned not to worry about fluctuations in CPC. The variations you are seeing, Trish, are not all that unusual. After all, advertisers come and go. Some of them bid inflated amounts, then realise their bids are too high, and go to the other extreme. Sometimes, just one campaign aimed at a niche market can upset your average CPC for a week or so, then things get back to where they were before.

If you are seeing a definite trend over a long period, then that would be something to worry about. But don't be surpised at short-term fluctuations.

[trishH]

Unfortunately it's sustained and not recovering - getting worse if anything. Traffic has dropped about 15%, but earnings from adsense about 50% of what I was getting this time last year. Been a downward slide since January.