AdSense is Google’s contextual ad product for publishers – the one folks can sign up for and have up and running on their own site in minutes. Google’s advertisers have long complained that AdSense ads are far less valuable to them than AdWords ads (the ones that run on Google’s site), as folks who are reading content on any given site have far less intent to buy than folks who are actively searching for something on Google’s site. Google steadfastly mixed the two and would not offer variable pricing, until now. But their plan is not to split the purchase, but rather “monitor performance” and offer a better rate if conversions are low. Cnet reports. Overture already offers a split pricing service.
This move is widely seen as “Google giving in to advertiser demands.” Interesting. Jarvis sees it another way: He says publishers – in particular bloggers – are getting shafted by an ever more powerful Google. He’s hoping to drive interest in alternatives via his session at Bloggercon.
