Is Google Adsense Gaining a Bad Reputation?

Some may say, it has had a bad reputation for along time, because it is used on so many splogs.

Recently, I posted why I had decided to remove Google adsense from Netwriting. Interestingly many top bloggers are also saying that they are giving up on google adsense. Problogger’s new design is adsense free. Kevin from Blogging Tips writes a post – Adsense good for the lazy blogger. John Chow is also selling his google spot.  Numerous other top bloggers recommend maintaining an adsense free blog. Yet, of course there are top bloggers doing very well out of Google adsense

Michael from Problog design asks a good question does not adsense still have some value, especially for beginners ? I think it always will. However, the crucial thing is that it’s usefulness depends very much on the blog niche.

It seems Adsense doesn’t work particularly well on blogs about blogging.

• There are so many blogs in this niche using adsense that this reduces the value of per click.
• People reading about blogging tend to have a low click through rate.
  Adsense are targetted but maybe not targetted enough. Quite often the ads google provide on blogs about blogging are not particularly interesting or relevant.
• Because many top bloggers are advising against the use of adsense, I think there is an increasing credibility issue of using adsense on a blog about blogging / seo. To my viewpoint, a site free of adsense creates an impression of being a more developed and successful blog. (whether deserved or not.) As Kevin says, maybe adsense really is for the lazy blogger. Gaining other forms of revenue shows resourcefulness and a wider expertise.

Does this mean the end of Adsense?

Absolutely not, I think adsense will continue to be the most popular form of advertising for bloggers. It remains a good revenue maker for many bloggers. It is also easy to implement.

Adsense performs better on different niche blogs, especially blogs about certain products e.g. finance or mortgages.

I have used google adsense referrals on my mortgage blog; initial returns have been very promising, but it still requires more testing.

I will continue to use adsense on several of my blogs, because it gives a reasonable return. Also at the moment, I want to concentrate on creating content rather than spend hours looking for best form of advertising.

Related

• Advertising vs Reader – one or the other at Problog design
• Critique your design – A well designed blog, with thoughtful and informative articles. Take a look at your blog. For example, how much do your ads take away from the looks of your blog?