BlueNosedDog

Google today has sent an email to all its AdSense users (such as this website) to inform them that they will not be offering the referral programme any longer. This is a big step back for many site providers, as although the CPM value for these ads was lower than for general “Ads for Content” they value of each click after conversion was a lot more.

For instance, for each user who clicked, downloaded and installed firefox using one of our referral links would earn the site $0.79, providing they hadn’t installed Firefox in the past. Now although this limits the scope of the ads somewhat, it did earn the site over $20 last month (not bad for the first month of a new blog) whereas the general Ads for Content earned less than $5. Luckily June has picked up, and the ads have paid for the site maintenance making around the same figure as I’m selling the space for, but now that the main source of advertising revenue has been ceased it leaves smaller sites such as this with an issue.

Obviously being part of the internet we’re going to have to adapt to these changes just as any other site does, and for us it means bringing forward one idea - but will not change our core attitude of non-intrusive advertising. All our posts will now have TipJoy buttons, where you can tip the actual post writer - whether a BND staffer or not - meaning that we can free up other spaces for advertising which were originally reserved for submissions. This means that if you like a post, you can submit anywhere from 10c to 50c to that writer, with all money going directly to them. Not only is this a fairer way of rewarding those that wish to contribute, it also means that people will be compelled to write better stories. It has also meant that the site redesign we were testing has been pushed forward, to better promote the content and not the ads.

The biggest change however will be in the quantity of posts. BND will now not rely so much on “Copy/Paste” jounalism, but will instead produce fewer but higher quality original posts. We’ve found in the last 2 months that it is the quality of the posts made, not the total quantity of content which is making us the most in ad revenue - and is also the content which is getting most views! So as from today, BND will be launching the redesigned “Gold” site, removing referral ads, selling ad blocks and producing a lot more original content.

Bet you didn’t expect all that from a google announcement.