Google Launches Cost Per Action AdSense

rustybrick writes "Google has launched an invite only test of CPA (cost per action) AdSense ads. So instead of getting paid per click or per impression, you now can get paid for an action, such as a sale or lead referral."

Comments

Advertiser Fraud

[numbsafari]

I worked for a company back when no one cared about making money and we were looking at building something similar. One of the chief concerns we had at the time was how to prevent fraud on the part of the advertisers: ie, if a user clicks through and ultimately makes a purchase, did the advertiser properly track that and then report it back?

There are a couple of ways publishers can also loose out: for instance, if a user clicks through but doesn't make a purchase only to return to the advertiser's site the next day or week and make the purchase, will the publisher be compensated appropriately?

This is definitely a great opportunity for publishers and advertisers by increasing quality over quantity. However, there are a lot of potential pitfalls for the publisher.

Will google be able to properly intermediate? or will they tend to side with their big advertisers when issues/complaints arise?

Re:Advertiser Fraud

[leonmergen]

Well, since the CPA ads are in a separate pool... will this pool also work in a similar way as the "other" pool, as in, that the highest-revenue ads are the most likely to be picked?

If this is a case, an advertisers who frauds will logically be picked less and less, so the damage done will not be that big. Something along this line sounds like a "natural" solution to the problem, /me thinks..

Re:Advertiser Fraud

[panaceaa]

If a point-of-sale site pushed their transactions through Google's new GBuy service, advertisers would have no way to hide actions resulting in revenue. Perhaps the invite-only aspect of the launch is designed to focus on businesses that are planning on using GBuy?

Re:Advertiser Fraud

[Breakfast Pants]

Other obvious though(because surveys might be a bit too intrusive, and unreliable): simulate paying customers in a statistically relevant way yourself and see if the sales are getting reported.

Re:Advertiser Fraud

[Ark42]

I'm more worried about the 3rd party advertiser committing fraud, since that is basically all Commission Junction seemed to be back when I tried it. I paid lots of good money to sign up for a service where 3rd parties would place ads linking to my website on their webpage via CJ, but almost every single sale that results from that channel was the 3rd party themselves using a stolen CC and placing an order so that I pay CJ, CJ takes a cut of the money, and the advertiser who placed the fraudulent sale gets a cut of the money, then I get stuck with a bunch of chargebacks. CJ really didn't have any incentive to stop that kind of behavior, or weed those people out, since they still get a cut of all the sales themselves either way.

This is something I've been waiting for

[Orange Crush]

Working at a company that manages pay-per-click ads, pay per action is something we've been waiting for a long time to come over the horizon. I'm so glad Google's rolling it out, even if it is only on a test basis.

"Clicks" are abstract concepts and very difficult to sell to less tech-savvy business people. They want a better measure of their return on investment for their ad campaigns. A number of companies offer call tracking, which is easier for businesses to grok . . . but a call != a sale . . . or even an actual lead.

This is a welcome step in the right direction, IMHO.

Time without Pants!

[drewzhrodague]

This is awesome news for me. This means I can spend more time at home without pants!

Every time Google comes out with a new way to pay people like me to do advertising, is almost an entire additional month that I can spend at home without any pants on. Who needs a recruiter, when I don't ever have to leave the house?

Re:Time without Pants!

[IWannaBeAnAC]

Hmm, there should be a moderation for +sqrt(-1): weird

Trust issue

[crummyname]

How do I trust that the advertisers will accurate report sales generated by my leads?

Step 1) Profit!!!

[StikyPad]

you now can get paid for an action, such as a sale or lead referral.

I'm in. How much for the names and addresses of my soon-to-be-former friends?

Re:That's where the money is.

[TubeSteak]

I'm sure that Google would deem a direct referal to a sale to be worth more too.

Google would, but their valuation will be reflected in the minimum price, not the market price.

What's curious is that they're putting these ads in a separate network, such that you can put both types of Google Ads in a website.

It'll be interesting to see how the mix works out.

Re:Oh crap...

[Anonymous Coward]

That's exactly what I was thinking.

With a pay-per-click I don't really care what gets advertised on my site as long as its relevant to the content of the site (which, thanks to Google, it is). I'm getting paid for sending folks there way.

With a pay-per-action system, I'll have to care about what gets advertised on my site, because if no sale is made, I don't make any money. So I'm not going to want to advertise (say) $3,000 hottubs, because even if it does result in a sale, its probably not going to be purchased immediately after follwing my link. Likewise, I'm not going to want to advertise for sites that make it difficult to make purchases or don't effectively sell their products.

And when you think about it, why shouldn't I be paid for helping spread brand recognition, regardless of the immediate results? Billboard space isn't leased based on the number of people who make a purchase after viewing the billboard. It is leased based on the number (and demographic) of people expected to see it.

Re:Who on earth clicks on ads? Do you?

[DragonWriter]

I still don't get it! (and sorry for nagging about it, again) Is there a single Slashdotter here who clicks on ads?

Yes, especially on niche hobby forums where the ads are very often for things that both meet my interests and with which I was not previously familiar. Ads, in any medium, can be useful; OTOH, they can also be stupid. I don't block ads (I do block popups) -- if I site has ads that annoy me, I avoid the site.

No Pants...

[Seoulstriker]

Please, the man has no pants on. Please don't bring up "squirting" things...

+4?

[mnemonic_]

This is one of the least insightful posts I've ever read. Yes, sales make money; this is true. "It will be interesting" ok, anything else?

It already does work

[NineNine]

It already does work better than per-click for many reasons. The porn industry switched from per-click to per-sale, for the most part, about 5 years ago. Of course, as always, the porn industry online is ahead of the curve.