Adsense Revenue Sharing

Dave · Oct 22, 2008

No worries on that part..the forums are and will be well monitored.....

Lofty · Oct 22, 2008

Sounds good, and as several have mentioned it would need to be monitored to avoid the waffle.

greekislandlover · Oct 22, 2008

You don't need a website "In theory" - you need one in practice, and it's not as simple as it's being made to sound. I've been an Adsense publisher (showing ads on my website) for over 5 years now, and I'm also a founder member of one of the adsense forums. So do know what I'm talking about.

What you are applying for from Google is an Adsense publisher account. In order to get this you have to have a website up and running so that they can see if you are likely to fit with the Adsense program - or not. If your website doesn't pass Google review for placing ads on it, you don't get to be a publisher. So in order to take up this offer you have to have a website in order to get the required publisher ID.

In the case of revenue sharing schemes, although they are not contrary to the Googe TOS, you need to be aware that there are many ways you can lose your account (usually with no warning), and it's your responsibility to make sure that wherever your adsense code is placed complies with the adsense TOS.

If you have an adsense account, you should be carefully considering where your code is placed, and realise that there IS a risk in placing your code on a site you have no control over. Although the mods clearly will do their utmost to make sure the site complies with Google Adsense, clearly that is all they can do, and there still remains a risk in code sharing.

You also have to consider the potential effect of smartpricing on your account if you sucessfully use Adsense to monetise your websites. Possibly going a bit deep here, so I'll leave it here. Needless to say, there are several forums that discuss Adsense if anybody needs further information or advice.

Do you make any money? Forums are notoriously difficult to monetise with Adsense. The main reason being the people are there for the content and simply don't see the ads (ad blindness). CTR (click through rates) are very low, therefore income is not going to be high. So whilst it's true there may be an income, it's likely to be very small. I'd want a lot more information before I joined a sharing scheme personally.

Dan · Oct 22, 2008

greekislandlover said:
You don't need a website "In theory" - you need one in practice, and it's not as simple as it's being made to sound. I've been an Adsense publisher (showing ads on my website) for over 5 years now, and I'm also a founder member of one of the adsense forums. So do know what I'm talking about.

What you are applying for from Google is an Adsense publisher account. In order to get this you have to have a website up and running so that they can see if you are likely to fit with the Adsense program - or not. If your website doesn't pass Google review for placing ads on it, you don't get to be a publisher. So in order to take up this offer you have to have a website in order to get the required publisher ID.

In the case of revenue sharing schemes, although they are not contrary to the Googe TOS, you need to be aware that there are many ways you can lose your account (usually with no warning), and it's your responsibility to make sure that wherever your adsense code is placed complies with the adsense TOS.

If you have an adsense account, you should be carefully considering where your code is placed, and realise that there IS a risk in placing your code on a site you have no control over. Although the mods clearly will do their utmost to make sure the site complies with Google Adsense, clearly that is all they can do, and there still remains a risk in code sharing.

You also have to consider the potential effect of smartpricing on your account if you sucessfully use Adsense to monetise your websites. Possibly going a bit deep here, so I'll leave it here. Needless to say, there are several forums that discuss Adsense if anybody needs further information or advice.

Do you make any money? Forums are notoriously difficult to monetise with Adsense. The main reason being the people are there for the content and simply don't see the ads (ad blindness). CTR (click through rates) are very low, therefore income is not going to be high. So whilst it's true there may be an income, it's likely to be very small. I'd want a lot more information before I joined a sharing scheme personally.

DigitialPoint forums use Adsense Revenue sharing and it's fine. I've used multiple accounts myself before now on a single website, and I do it with my forums quite often to dish out moderators cash.

I hear what you're saying, and thank you for contributing to the convo'.

I've signed up many accounts with unfinished websites, sometimes with the URL sitting on a holding page with the parking host, and still the account has been passed.

I think providing google get some revenue from it themselves, they're happy with it, and this is very niche, so they love it.

Talk has been going on for some time, but really, google just wants their shares to increase.

I've been running adsense for well over 5 years, and I have made more than a wage out of it since the 3rd month I had it running. My tag is g00gl3r (what googlers use to denote an employee of google) and I've been mentioned by Matt Cutts (the google technological scientist (his own words) before now due to me sponsoring and winning an SEO competition, back in 2006.

I'm fully aware of Google TOS, and have neevr known of, or had a single account removed at all. And I've dont some dodgy things with it back 'in the day'.

There's no straight line for this, it's been done before, it'll get done again, so lets split some of the small amount of cash this forum generate between the guys that make it happen, the members.

PM me though with some detail, if I'm missing something.

greekislandlover · Oct 23, 2008

I'm not saying that revenue sharing is a bad thing. Provided that the rules are observed, google allows it. I'm not normally one for following the rules, but with adsense I really would very, very strongly suggest that people do. In the forum I am a co-founder of, two of the other founders are publishers of some experience and have had their adsense accounts terminated despite mostly playing by the rules. Read the adsense forums, and they are littered with "I got banned" threads, and it's always for rule bending. Ignorance being no defence.

Multiple accounts are strictly not allowed. We have heard many cases where they have terminated not only the individuals account, but accounts of anyone they think might be connected. You are allowed to use the code on as many websites as you like on your one account though, if that's what you mean. What google are trying to stop is click fraud, which stops advertisers paying Google, hence google share price. The reason multiple accounts are banned is that if a person signs up for an account, then engages in click fraud (asks everybody to click the ads) and google ban them, they can't simply open another account and repeat the operation. Publishers take money - not supply it, and they have to be careful that advertisers get good value for their money. Google don't give a stuff about publishers, so freqently terminate accounts without warning or appeal. Publishers are expendable, advertisers aren't.

I know you aren't doing this, but a big problem is publishers doing click inducements (Support our sponsors - click the ads). Google prohibits this. Each click is earning the publisher an income from google, but is only supporting the advertiser if the people clicking the ad occasionally flex the plastic and BUY stuff - the reason they are advertising. Google only wants people to click the ad if they are interested in the product, and is possibly likely to buy - as opposed to someone who has no interest in the product, or likelihood of buyinmg it who "Thinks" they are supporting the advertiser. That is click fraud, and it's clear why google can, and do act in a draconian manner when they catch up with people breaking the rules.

As you are aware, you are not allowed more than three ad blocks per page. IF I was to supply my code (which I'm not going to), how can I be assured that this rule is complied with? If you have a discussion page with several contributors adding code, the number of ad blocks allowed could conceivably be exceeded. They system would need to be aware of this, and someone or other would have to have their code dumped. As the pages are dynamic, it can't be a human decision.

Yes, I'm aware that you can try and bend the rules and in some cases get away with it. But when Google catches up with people, they do a good job of it. Not only do you lose your account, others connected will lose theirs and the site takes a nose dive in serps.

Also, people should be aware that minimum payout is $100, and it may take quite some time to get there. Plus, as the pool of shares increases, each individuals share decreases due to less exposure of their ads.

Dan · Oct 23, 2008

I don't want to discuss CTR here, but it's low. But our impressions are high enough to get a return from it, providing the contributors have enough threads active.

I understand what you're saying. And I thank you kindly for taking time out to write such a lengthy details response. I still don't see how DigitalPoint get away with it, and searching the net for 'adsense revenue sharing forum' gives you forums and lists of forums with such a thing in place, some dating back quite some time, some being very big forums, some even having SEO/SEM guys from within the industry on them, even Google / Yahoo emplyee's from what I can make of it.

As for the three blocks rule, we have some pages within our forum that produce 4 or 5 blocks of CODE, though google stops the code running once it has three running already, therefore it doesn't produce more than three blocks.

I still think it's a goer. I'm certainly up for it.

To add to this, on our tileforum I have configured a design that is set on accounts that are used regularly which serves NO google ads at all, aiming to increase CTR and decrease ad-blindness somewhat, and it works well. Members can switch to and from the googleless design as they please, so they can get ads served should they want to on a page they feel will give them ads they want to see, though generally perhaps a regular wouldn't have them served primarily.

I've spent a couple of years configuring that one forum, and of the 12 million hits per month, with an average CTR (optimal being 10% (given the fact that if you have 10% or more CTR you should really server more ads on 'those' pages), poor being 0.01%) it give me a decent income. My heavy contributors of that forum will get a fair decent income themselves if we roll this out well, and we find it doesn't breach the TOS of google.

ian.settle1 · Oct 23, 2008

After you two have finished discussing the pro's and con's can we have it so a layman can understand it please?

wayne · Oct 23, 2008

bit more complicated than dan first portrayed ...................discuss

greekislandlover · Oct 24, 2008

Ok - I didn't post in order to discourage people from doing this. I posted to correct erroneous information that you don't need a website. I'm going to make a few points, then leave the thread.

Google adsense is the part of google that shows ads. It shows ads on search pages on the right, and on individuals websites wherever the owner places the ad. In the case of this thread I can see an ad in your post.

What Dan is suggesting is known as revenue sharing. If someone with an adsense publisher account is allowed by the site owner to place his ad code on the site (he's suggesting in your posts) and someone clicks that ad you get a payment from Google for the click. Eventually, when the clicks have earned you $100 or more, they pay you. However, it's not a free pot of money. It comes with strings.

The money comes from advertisers who are willing to have their ads placed wherever Google sees fit, on the promise that google will make sure they get a return on their investment. IE, enough of the people that click the ad buy the product in order to make the investment worthwhile. If that happens, then fine - advertisers continue to pay, and google pays you a cut. And I'm sure that is what Dan is hoping will happen. If the advertisers don't get a return on their investment, Google will either devalue the clicks to virtually nothing, or show you the door.

The Google terms of service state that you have to have a qualifying website that you own in order to apply. Whilst Dan is correct that they will probably give you a publisher number if you show them you have a domain you intend to use to show ads on, they do not intend you to use the account to mothball your site and show your ads on someone elses. Whilst you can apply for an account in this manner, at some point they will want to see that you are complying with the agreement you signed by seeing the website you applied for the acount on up and running and in compliance with the terms of service. This point is often just before they pay you for the first time, when they will look at your account and your site to make sure that you are in compliance.

Come review time, they may take the view that whilst you don't have a working website, your ads are being shown on this site which they would regard as providing quality content and allow the payment. On the other hand, they may take the view that you haven't complied with the one basic thing they asked you for, and cancel the account keeping the money. Yes, this DOES happen - read the adsense forums. So not having a working website is a gamble, and not one I'd make. If I was signing up for the purpose of ad sharing as suggested, my advice would be to have a working wobsite that complies with google's terms of service to make sure that you get paid. As the revenue would take some considerable time to build to $100, there is the possibility that you might have spent months of posting in order to get the cash only to have the account cancelled.

I'd suggest reading the adsense help pages for further information on what they are looking for, and be aware that not following their rules is a gamble.

To those who already have a publisher account, just check the adsense blog and help pages for Googles advice. Nothing wrong with revenue sharing provided you know the rules.

Hope this helps explain adsense a bit.