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After 20 years I turned off Google Adsense for my websites (2025)

blog.ericgoldman.org

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Re: After 20 years I turned off Google Adsense for my websites (2025)

#151

Post by beej71 »

paulcole wrote: post #10
beej71 wrote: post #7

I had some sites that used it years ago ca. 2006. $500/mo at peak. Then one month it suddenly halved for no apparent reason. And it kept dropping. After a while or just wasn't with the ugliness. And I learned to never count on Google. Since then I've become anti-ad and haven't had any for years. I am sorry for my embarrassing lapse in judgment. :)

Easy to become anti-ad after they stop paying lol Like me becoming anti-my-girlfriend after she dumped me

Ha! In my case, I wasn't actually anti-ad when I dropped them, though. It just wasn't worth it any longer. I worked in marketing for years after that.

And working in marketing--that is what eventually made me rabidly anti-advertising. :)

Edit: I don't eat at Pizza Hut any more either, having worked for them from 1990-91. I was cured!

Re: After 20 years I turned off Google Adsense for my websites (2025)

#152

Post by beej71 »

paulcole wrote: post #81
marginalia_nu wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well it's a trade off right? If the benefit outweighs the drawbacks, you say yes, and when the benefits evaporate leaving only the drawbacks, it's a no.

Well yeah but this guy portrays it like a moral decision

I didn't think it was a moral decision at the time. Now I do. But that's just, like, my opinion, man.

Re: After 20 years I turned off Google Adsense for my websites (2025)

#153

Post by ornornor »

boplicity wrote: post #53
freitasm wrote: post #25

I joined AdSense in 2003. At peak it was generating US$15k a month. Nowadays it will be a miracle if it passes of US$800 a month. I think the shift to a more localised audience (NZ), diversion of ad spend to large social networks are responsible. Our traffic is similar in volume but nowhere near as "valuable" apparently.

I have a similar story -- we peaked at around $20k USD per month for quite a while. However, when ad-rates started declining, we changed our business model, and are now earning much more without any ads at all. I have to say, I'm glad to be rid of Google Ads, as they're full of many, many scammy advertisers.

How do you earn money now? You started charging your users?

Re: After 20 years I turned off Google Adsense for my websites (2025)

#154

Post by b00ty4breakfast »

sanswork wrote: post #67
b00ty4breakfast wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

or at least an explanation. That would of course require a customer service apparatus designed to service customers rather than one designed to force them to become tangled in the abyssal morass.

OP in this case isn't the customer, they are a supplier who has agreed to terms then decided to go against that agreement in a way that allowed scammers and himself attempt to defraud Googles actual customers. OP isn't the good guy in this story. Them breaking a very basic, clearly worded rule assisted in fraud. Of course they deserve to be banned from the network if they can't even follow that rule. Also all the oth…

I don't get the impression that the OP was deliberately breaking the ToS. That doesn't mean they weren't violation but you usually inform someone when they are breaking the rules, even if you are taking punitive measures. It would be like arresting someone and never telling them what they are being arrested for. Not only is it scummy behavior to not tell them but it also doesn't effectively communicate to others that the thing won't be tolerated.

Re: After 20 years I turned off Google Adsense for my websites (2025)

#155

Post by sanswork »

b00ty4breakfast wrote: post #154
sanswork wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OP in this case isn't the customer, they are a supplier who has agreed to terms then decided to go against that agreement in a way that allowed scammers and himself attempt to defraud Googles actual customers. OP isn't the good guy in this story. Them breaking a very basic, clearly worded rule assisted in fraud. Of course they deserve to be banned from the network if they can't even follow that rule. Also all the oth…

I don't get the impression that the OP was deliberately breaking the ToS. That doesn't mean they weren't violation but you usually inform someone when they are breaking the rules, even if you are taking punitive measures. It would be like arresting someone and never telling them what they are being arrested for. Not only is it scummy behavior to not tell them but it also doesn't effectively communicate to others that…

If I hire someone to do a job for me and find out they are breaking rules to try and get additional money from me and my clients I don't owe them anything.

The scummy behaviour is agreeing to only put the ads on content pages then immediately putting them on search result pages to attempt to extract more money from advertisers.

I feel like you're not quite understanding the level of fraud in advertising. There is a reason all the networks are quick to fire publishers/affiliates because the ones that aren't go broke paying out for fraud.

Re: After 20 years I turned off Google Adsense for my websites (2025)

#156

Post by drnick1 »

coliveira wrote: post #95
drnick1 wrote: post #8

Aren't most people using ad blockers these days, making the revenue that one can generate with ads trivial unless traffic is enormous?

I never used adblock because if I don't like ads on a particular website I will simply not visit it anymore. And if I like it enough despite of the ads, I want to support them financially in some way.

Don't forget that ad blockers do more than filtering visible ad banners and other visual annoyances. They also block tracking scripts, fonts, and other cross-site elements that infringe on your privacy.

Re: After 20 years I turned off Google Adsense for my websites (2025)

#157

Post by boplicity »

ornornor wrote: post #153
boplicity wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a similar story -- we peaked at around $20k USD per month for quite a while. However, when ad-rates started declining, we changed our business model, and are now earning much more without any ads at all. I have to say, I'm glad to be rid of Google Ads, as they're full of many, many scammy advertisers.

How do you earn money now? You started charging your users?

We created products they want.

Re: After 20 years I turned off Google Adsense for my websites (2025)

#158

Post by Suppafly »

bombcar wrote: post #105
Suppafly wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

adsense isn't the only ad network around, you could probably switch to another one and make a bit more.

Or find out who advertises on your site and approach them directly about sponsorship.

Yeah, but that's actually hard work, adding in a different network is easy.

Re: After 20 years I turned off Google Adsense for my websites (2025)

#159

Post by marginalia_nu »

beej71 wrote: post #152
paulcole wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well yeah but this guy portrays it like a moral decision

I didn't think it was a moral decision at the time. Now I do. But that's just, like, my opinion, man.

What decisions aren't?

The very open ended core question of the field of ethics is nothing more or less than "what is the best way to act".

Re: After 20 years I turned off Google Adsense for my websites (2025)

#160

Post by orangesilk »

amadeuspagel wrote: post #142
GJim wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heh In the 1990's and for us GenX'ers, selling out was the worst thing you could do; to take the man's money instead of keeping your integrity. Calling people and bands 'sell outs' (sometimes without justification!) was to insult them. Now with the rise of 'influencers' selling out is the norm, and people are praised for doing so. This is a massive shift in the cultural landscape and is perhaps something many born af…

Can you name a "zine" or whatever people had in the 90s that experienced a drop in subscribers after it sold out?

Not quite 90s, but

    * sourceforge.org
    * adblockplus the plugin
I am currently getting off youtube for their agressive anti adblocking behavior and I stopped reading Spiegel Online for the same reason years ago.
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