RJM62
Touchdown! Greaser!
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2007
- Messages
- 13,157
- Location
- Upstate New York
- Display Name
Display name:
Geek on the Hill
I've decided to cancel my Google Adsense account and am considering alternatives.
I've been pondering doing this for some time because the earnings have dwindled to the point that they're basically pocket change. I attribute this mainly to Google's increased reliance on user history and similar factors in selecting the ads, rather than context relevancy. The ads are simply irrelevant to the content nowadays, and my CTR has nosedived. So have my revenues: Whereas Adsense was once my best revenue producer, it's now my worst.
What had me ready to press the button on the cancel form today, however, was the utter impossibility of getting in touch with anyone at Adsense Support -- by email or otherwise -- unless you're reporting a policy violation. All the old contact pages I had stored now redirect to the "Help Forum," and the email addresses I had come back undeliverable.
So what's my big problem? I've been trying to get a 1099 out of them since February. Because I moved near the end of the year, I assume that they sent it to my old address. That post office is a black hole. Nothing sent there gets forwarded in a timely manner. I'm still getting mail forwarded that arrived at my old address last December. Seriously.
No big deal, I thought. I'll simply ask Google to re-sent the 1099. Yeah, right.
The URL in the "Support Forum" article about re-sending 1099s is 404. The 1099 re-send form on Google's Adsense site errors out. And there is no way (at least none that I can find) to actually contact a human being -- or even a robot, for that matter -- in Google's accounting department, so I can ask them to re-send the blasted 1099.
I had the same problem with Amazon: They sent the 1099 to my old address. I'd changed it in my profile, but apparently too late for the change to make it to the Accounting department before the 1099s went out. So I contacted Amazon through the contact form on the Amazon Associates site. They sent out a duplicate the same day.
Amazon also outperforms Adsense by leaps and bounds money-wise, which is pretty amazing when you consider that with Amazon, people actually have to buy something before I get paid. With Adsense, they just have to click an ad -- and they're not even doing that anymore because the ads are so completely irrelevant to the sites' content.
I really want to divest myself of all things Google. I have grown to hate them as a company and as a "partner." I don't even like them as a search engine anymore, to tell you the truth. I get more link farms than relevant results half the time I search using Google.
But before pulling their ads and telling them where to stick their Adsense program, I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a replacement.
I already have accounts with Linkshare, Commission Junction, Amazon, and Clicksor (although I rarely use that one), DigitalPros, and some British outfit whose name escapes me at the moment. I think I also still have an AdBrite account, although I haven't used AdBrite for years.
Anyone have any other suggestions?
-Richard
I've been pondering doing this for some time because the earnings have dwindled to the point that they're basically pocket change. I attribute this mainly to Google's increased reliance on user history and similar factors in selecting the ads, rather than context relevancy. The ads are simply irrelevant to the content nowadays, and my CTR has nosedived. So have my revenues: Whereas Adsense was once my best revenue producer, it's now my worst.
What had me ready to press the button on the cancel form today, however, was the utter impossibility of getting in touch with anyone at Adsense Support -- by email or otherwise -- unless you're reporting a policy violation. All the old contact pages I had stored now redirect to the "Help Forum," and the email addresses I had come back undeliverable.
So what's my big problem? I've been trying to get a 1099 out of them since February. Because I moved near the end of the year, I assume that they sent it to my old address. That post office is a black hole. Nothing sent there gets forwarded in a timely manner. I'm still getting mail forwarded that arrived at my old address last December. Seriously.
No big deal, I thought. I'll simply ask Google to re-sent the 1099. Yeah, right.
The URL in the "Support Forum" article about re-sending 1099s is 404. The 1099 re-send form on Google's Adsense site errors out. And there is no way (at least none that I can find) to actually contact a human being -- or even a robot, for that matter -- in Google's accounting department, so I can ask them to re-send the blasted 1099.
I had the same problem with Amazon: They sent the 1099 to my old address. I'd changed it in my profile, but apparently too late for the change to make it to the Accounting department before the 1099s went out. So I contacted Amazon through the contact form on the Amazon Associates site. They sent out a duplicate the same day.
Amazon also outperforms Adsense by leaps and bounds money-wise, which is pretty amazing when you consider that with Amazon, people actually have to buy something before I get paid. With Adsense, they just have to click an ad -- and they're not even doing that anymore because the ads are so completely irrelevant to the sites' content.
I really want to divest myself of all things Google. I have grown to hate them as a company and as a "partner." I don't even like them as a search engine anymore, to tell you the truth. I get more link farms than relevant results half the time I search using Google.
But before pulling their ads and telling them where to stick their Adsense program, I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a replacement.
I already have accounts with Linkshare, Commission Junction, Amazon, and Clicksor (although I rarely use that one), DigitalPros, and some British outfit whose name escapes me at the moment. I think I also still have an AdBrite account, although I haven't used AdBrite for years.
Anyone have any other suggestions?
-Richard
they already have a copy of the 1099, they don't need yours, the return just has to match their number.
