Is Adsense for search worthless?

Discussion in 'AdSense' started by gary99, Oct 21, 2005.

  1. #1
    Over the last 10 days or so I've gotten maybe 1500 page views on my main site. I'm pretty pleased with my 1% CTR, especially since part of that traffic has been my own hits, and folks from DP, people who aren't going to click on the ads.

    Anyhow out of those 1500 page views I got, exactly zero people tried a google search with the search bar residing on the top of each page. I also tried the search bar at the bottom of the page, which resulted in another whopping zero searches.

    Is AdSense for search just worthless? Am I putting the bar in the wrong place? Do I need to put a picture of a pig next to the search bar?

    http://www.workfromhomespot.com

    Any help appreciated.
    Gary
     
    gary99, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  2. wrmineo

    wrmineo Peon

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    #2
    Gary, even after I took out the extra "t" in the url you posted I got an error trying to access your site to take a look ... ?

    Personally, I've not had ANY luck or success using the AdSense for search on any of my websites, but others seem to like it on there's, so I think it has a lot to do with the genre of the site, visitor demographics et al, and also of course, where and how you're employing it.

    Let us know when your site is back up and maybe some that are having good success can give you better input.
     
    wrmineo, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  3. largeheartedboy

    largeheartedboy Peon

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    #3
    I have Adsense search on my site, and though return isn't much, I see it as an extra service I can provide to my readers. Whatever clickthroughs I get are gravy (and I like gravy).
     
    largeheartedboy, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  4. gary99

    gary99 Guest

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    #4
    gary99, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  5. wrmineo

    wrmineo Peon

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    #5
    Good point largeheartedboy - if you look at it as providing a useful service to your visitors that sometimes help offset expsenses you'll be pleased everytime. If you're looking solely to make money, AdSense for content is a better way to go IMO.
     
    wrmineo, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  6. jlawrence

    jlawrence Peon

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    #6
    I'm sure it depends on the type of site.
    I use the search box on some of mysites once Google has indexed the majority of the site. It saves me having to work out a way for users to search through my pages :)
     
    jlawrence, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  7. AfterHim.com

    AfterHim.com Peon

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    #7
    In terms of my monthly revenue, last month approximately .01% was from search...i removed it this month...it "looks like an advertisement" one member told me.

    Brandon
     
    AfterHim.com, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  8. gary99

    gary99 Guest

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    #8
    I was thinking my site would indeed look better without the sily search bar at the top. Maybe I'll just put it back at the bottom and call it good enough.
     
    gary99, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  9. Nokia999

    Nokia999 Guest

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    #9
    There are some programs out in the market which pay $0.06 for each search.
    But usually search boxes don't get high CTR :)
     
    Nokia999, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  10. just-4-teens

    just-4-teens Peon

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    #10
    my adsense for search does not bring in nearly as much as adsense for content does, but its usefull just for the fact it gives you users the ability to search from your site and it can make you some extra $$
     
    just-4-teens, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  11. dvduval

    dvduval Notable Member

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    #11
    I always find the space on the page is more profitable when filled with Adsense Ads. If they ever allowed us to link to search result pages, I think it might change things a little.
     
    dvduval, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  12. Lynn Terry

    Lynn Terry Peon

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    #12
    I use the Adsense for Search feature, though I have to admit the search box didnt get as much response as using it as a text link. I do have the search box strategically placed with little captions like "Didnt find what you were looking for? Search our site, or search the web:" etc.

    How I use the text link to Adsense Search:

    I go to the page on my site where I have the search box displayed. I click the radio button for "web" (to search the web - not my site) and then type in the topic. For example, Web Hosting. I copy the URL in my browser's address bar and then make a text link like this: Google Search for Web Hosting.

    I use text links like that in reponses at my discussion forum, and sometimes link to search results in content throughout my sites (when it works). Since I started doing that, I've been seeing a little cash each month in the "for search" section of my Adsense stats ;)
     
    Lynn Terry, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  13. Lynn Terry

    Lynn Terry Peon

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    #13
    Oh! Am I not allowed to do that?? (see post above)
     
    Lynn Terry, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  14. Acer

    Acer Well-Known Member

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    #14
    Doesn't look good:

    "If You have elected to receive Search Results, You will display on Your Site(s) a Google search box (a "Search Box") in accordance with the specifications provided by Google."

    Your text link is not a search box, and might be construed as putting words in the search box automatically, which is verbotten later in the paragraph.

    That's my reading. Anybody else have a more favorable one?
     
    Acer, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  15. gary99

    gary99 Guest

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    #15
    I'd say your reading is correct. They probably don't want you specifying searches that you've intentionally modified to bring certain people to the front. That's my guess anyhow.

    I took my search box down, seems pretty useless at this point. Once my site is indexed a little better, maybe I'll add a "search the site" box somewhere.

    Does Google get fussy about modifying the layout/size of the search box? I'm just thinking it might look better off in a corner somewhere, instead of a full width deal.

    -Gary
     
    gary99, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  16. perdrix

    perdrix Peon

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    #16
    Nokia, I've made $1000's of dollars a month from search boxes, on one site. It all depends on the purpose of the site you're putting them on. I use the Google search way way down on very long pages, and can eek out a mere $1-$2 a day with the same site. But I'm not trying to promote Google search to offsite pages, I'd rather them stay with me.

    I would love to know who's paying for 6 cents a search anymore (not for a resulting click AFTER the search). I haven't seen anything that good since 4everything.com (or was it 4anything.com ???) closed up their program several years ago...
     
    perdrix, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  17. Acer

    Acer Well-Known Member

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    #17
    I have a small box in the right column.

    I modified it to its present size using the options on the adsense for search code page. Selecting "logo above" and "search button below" really helps reign it in. I also reduced the text box size to 20 characters, again an option on the code page. I did not touch anything within the google-provided code after generating it. Honest!
     
    Acer, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  18. baseballcube

    baseballcube Peon

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    #18
    I'm not a fan of Adsense Search because it requires user to do a search and click thorugh on an ad. I made about a penny a day for it about 2 months and then decided that it wasn't worth my time.

    Maybe one day I'll look at it again and see how I can incorporate it properly.
     
    baseballcube, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  19. Jarodboy

    Jarodboy Prominent Member

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    #19
    I tested adsense search but with lousy results...
     
    Jarodboy, Oct 21, 2005 IP
  20. gary99

    gary99 Guest

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    #20
    Seems to me using it to search you own site can be a good thing, once you have enough content to make a search bar useful. Then anything you get from it is gravy, and as was said before, gravy is good. If no money comes in, at least you got a free tool out of it.

    Thanks for all the info.

    Gary
     
    gary99, Oct 21, 2005 IP