ok topic like this really doesn't tell much, there was another topic made about january cpc way down and it gets as much replies as this ... as for me i am seeing it dropping like a rock.
google stock has tanked over the last few weeks, so i can't see 'em paying out more money to publishers anytime soon. anybody that's seeing higher epc is getting it for reasons other than google.
Yes, it is paying a lot more for some of my sites. In fact one of those is making more per day than I ever managed to achieve on all the other 80!
They have not even voted on the stimulus plan yet, so I doubt that has much to do with it. Except that retailers will probably bump up advertising just before the checks hit!
Its all about niche and how your site is converting. There will always be some pubs happy and some pubs crying. My CPM sucked the whole month so there is nothing to be happy about.
I believe that increase in keyword competition caused the rise. Or at the same time, its possible that google did wiped out a large number of publisher. High demand + low supply = high price.
Just to give you guys an update on how big January was compared to my now second best month. January '08 was about 170% better than my best month ever. It was well over double my average for a month. Whatever the reason is, I hope it continues.