After Google’s stock took a hit based on reports that Google ads are not being clicked on as much as they use to be, comScore is reporting today that the market may have got it wrong

the evidence suggests that the softness in Google’s paid click metrics is primarily a result of Google’s own quality initiatives that result in a reduction in the number of paid listings and, therefore, the opportunity for paid clicks to occur.

In part this might be right, but what’s being ignored by most is a little decision in November that changed the way Google ads worked:

Google has made a small change to AdSense that may make a big difference in cutting out errant clicks and even your AdSense revenue. They’ve redefined the clickable region for Google AdSense from the entire boxed region, to just the text link.

I’ve been hearing first hand reports since then from publishers who have experienced a big downturn in CTR and Adsense revenue since that change was implemented. Well regarded online marketer Jeremy Schoemaker even recently told me in a podcast that Adsense was dead as a monetization strategy. It’s happening to big sites and small sites. Markus Friend from Plenty of Fish, one of the more famed and bigger free-making money from Adsense sites (January):

The CTR on text ads declined about 60% in the last 2 months with googles changes, Image ads on the other hand stayed the same. If you take a screen shot of a text ad and then run it as an image ad it will get 2 times the click thru rate.

You read that right, image ads with double the CTR of Google ads when showing the exact same thing.

SEO BlackHat gets it right February 27:

4 months later, that little back and forth in the Google Rec Room shaved about $85 Billion (with a B) in market capitalization.

But it wasn’t as stupid an idea as it might seem. You see, Adsense works in a Quasi-market place environment. The market will bid up the cost per click once the adjustment for accidental clicks is readjusted. Right now, marketers should be getting a better value per click as a higher percentage of the clicks are “real” or intentional. That will lead to higher bids per click and ultimately should be close to a break even for GOOGs bottom line.

The short story: the changes to the clickable area in Google ads has resulted in a decline in accidental clicks, resulting in the overall click rate to decline. If Google is seeing a decline in CTR it’s at least in part due to its November decision.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

A

FC Barcelona, més que un club, tore apart Levante UD at the weekend, with Cameroon international Samuel Eto’o scoring a hat-trick (that’s three goals for the uninitiated) in the process. After he scored his third goal, Eto’o raced toward the touchline and grabbed a digital camera. What brand of digital camera, you ask? Thanks to today’s Marca, we now know it was a Nikon. It looks to be a D2 or D3, sorta hard to tell.

And how good a photographer is Eto’o?

Here we see Bojan Krkic on the left and Carles Puyol on the right. Yeah, it’s a little blurry, but not too shabby for Mr. Eto’o. Here’s a reverse angle of the moment.

Yes friends, anything even tangentially related to tech I will write about. It’s what I does.

Sin piedad [Marca]

Blurry Eto’o pic from Sky Sports’ Revista de la Liga

ShareThis

A big thank you to everybody for filling our tips at crunchgear dot com inbox with wonderful, unique, and newsworthy items. Here are five that we just couldn’t get to this week.

special order

HELLO
I am Phillip Markman from florida and i will like to know if you carry in stock Cafeteria Tables for sale? if yes please do email me back with the price range and the types you have in stock and also i will like to know if you do accept credit card as your payment method.

Thank you and hope to hear from you soon

CG RESPONDS:

Credit cards? You serious, Phillip Markman? Here’s some free advice about the cut throat world of the cafeteria table game: no dough, no show. Credit is for weaklings. If I showed up at the Saturday cafeteria table dealers market with a credit card, it’d be snapped in half and used to slit my throat, capiche? Don’t mess, man. The phrase “go big or go home” originated at the Pasadena Caf-Tab Conference back in ‘82. This is for real, boyo.

Att: General Manager

Good morning,

We would like to know if there is a possible opportunity to quote your company the next time in need of Promotional items ( Pens, Giveaways, T-Shirts, Apparels, ect ) We are located in Florida and offer over 600,000 products that we can add your company logo to.

Sincerely,

Gloria
Account Executive
Guatemala

CG RESPONDS:

Hello there Gloria. That’d be great! Maybe you could send us a sample T-shirt with the CrunchGear logo on it that says, “I work for CrunchGear and I sent a bunch of money to a promotional items company that told me it was based out of Florida except ‘Florida’ actually meant ‘Guatemala’ and now I can’t get any of my money back because all the phone numbers have like seventeen digits and nobody speaks English in the non-existent customer service department of the company that isn’t real.”

If you can fit that on a t-shirt so that it’s legible enough to be read by someone standing on the sidewalk while I ride by on my sweet dirtbike, then you’ve got yourself a deal.

Still feel down or tired

I hope this makes your day a little brighter.

I wish you to know that you are very important to me, and that is why I wish you to possess this special little present for yourself.

We don’t always get to have those things that mean so much to us.

It is time that you had something that I know you like so much.

This site offers checking to you, so you can keep an eye on your shipment progress.

I look forward to you wearing it with great pleasure.

http://www.only-medications.com/gm/

Dominique Toborg

CG RESPONDS:

Wow, thanks Dominique. I definitely WAS feeling down or tired until I got your e-mail. What a warm person you are. You made my day a lot brighter, not just a little brighter. You’re important to me too. It’s not every day that someone brings the light of an internet pharmacy into your life, especially when that internet pharmacy features order tracking.

What a wonderful and uplifting sentiment for you to send this over. Thanks again.

HELLO,

HELLO,
MY NAME IS AGNES IN SEARCH OF A MAN WHO UNDERSTANDS THE MEANING OF LOVE AS TRUST AND FAITH IN EACH OTHER RATHER THAN ONE WHO SEES LOVE AS THE ONLY WAY OF FUN BUT A MATURED MAN WITH NICE VISSION OF WHAT THE WORLD IS ALL ABOUT SO PLEASE REPLY  ME WITH THIS BOX IF YOU
ARE INTRESTED IN ME.(onlyagnes@yahoo.co.in ).

CG RESPONDS:

HELLO, OH MY GOD AGNES I’VE SEARCHED MY WHOLE LIFE FOR SOMEONE LIKE YOU WHO LIKE ME HAS AN UNDERSTANDING AND UNDYING PASSION FOR THE LONG LOST ART OF THE HORRENDOUSLY LONG RUN-ON SENTENCE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS I THINK YOU’LL FIND ME TO BE MATURED LIKE YOU SAID ALTHOUGH MAYBE NOT WITH A MATURE NAME LIKE AGNES BUT DOUG IS KIND OF AN OLDER SOUNDING NAME I ALWAYS FELT THAT IT DIDN’T REALLY FIT ME AS A KID AND WORRIED THAT I’D BE EXPECTED TO GO BY DOUGLAS WHEN I GOT OLDER BUT NOW THAT I’M MATURED I DECIDED THAT I AM WHO I AM AND WHO I AM IS DOUG NOT DOUGLAS I DON’T HAVE TO CHANGE MY NAME TO FIT ANYONE BUT MYSELF E-MAIL ME BACK AT DOUG AT CRUNCHGEAR DOT COM IF YOU WANT TO MEET FOR A HOT TODDY BUT DON’T TELL MY WIFE OKAY.

The person was a good dancer

Every night will be a hot steamy night once you have your 10inch sch10ng! Satisfy your girl in bed, make sure your tool is like a power drill!

Kendrick Bond

CG RESPONDS:

Like a power drill? Have you ever…you know…before? That would NOT be pleasant for the girl, what with you constantly spinning around and around like that.

You’d probably get sick, too. A 10inch sch10ng, sure, we can all get on board with that but you really lost me with the power drill thing. Just seems like a lot of spinning, is all.

Click here to read previous Back Burner posts…

ShareThis

Looking for a job? We’re here to help.

Over 40 positions in technology have been posted to CrunchBoard since we wrote about it last week. Your dream job could be in there somewhere.

Here’s a sample of those posted:

• Business Development Manager
  MySpace, Beverly Hills CA
• Software Engineer
  Sugar Inc., San Francisco CA
• Director of Business Development
  Howcast Media, New York City
• Web Developer for Social Platforms
  RockYou, San Mateo CA
• Java Engineers
  CBS Interactive, Berkeley CA
• Front End UI Designer
  TripAdvisor, Needham MA
• Code Ninja/Pirate
  Reble.FM, San Francisco CA
• Senior Software Engineer
  Stealth Startup, San Francisco CA
• Interactive Product Manager
  nFusion Group, Austin TX
• Flash Developer
  UVLayer, New York City and San Francisco

Also, we’re still soliciting candidates for two positions here at TechCrunch:

• Events Expert
• CrunchBase Analyst

Employers: we’re extending discounts for bulk listing purchases another month. Please email jobboard@techcrunch.com for additional details.

In other news, I had the distinct opportunity to check out Box.net’s TechCrunch reading room in person, and it is indeed glorious.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Filed under: Gaming

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox/worst_parents_in_the_world_Xbox_prank';When you were a kid did your parents ever do anything mean to you for their own amusement? Whatever it was, something tells us it wasn't as evil as what Jonathan's (above) family did on Christmas morning, having him unwrap an empty Xbox box with some shirts inside -- while on video, mind you -- and then everyone laughing at him when he got upset and cried over being hoodwinked. For the love of all that is holy in the gadget-loving world, that is so wrong. Despite the fact his family told Jonathan multiple times in the video, "C'mon, you know we can't afford an Xbox!", the kid's shining example of an older brother (who uploaded the video) claims that they actually did get him the console, and that he'd eventually upload the video of the "real" unwrapping. He never did. Right.

Jonathan, you out there? Screw those people, they clearly don't understand what it is to be a kid and to want an awesome gadget so badly you can taste it. We've been there our whole lives. Since, as a publication, we can't just adopt you and raise you as our own, I will personally send you an Xbox 360 and some games -- but only on the condition that you swear to you'll never let your douchebag family play with it. Hit me up at engadget at gmail dotcom, make sure you can identify yourself so I know I've got the right person.

Continue reading Worst parents in the world punk kid into thinking he got an Xbox 360

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

What it does

Based in Mumbai, ClearTrip aims to make travel simpler. The site specializes in travel within and from India. You’ll find the usual search parameters: round trip or one way, from and to, departure and return dates and number of adults, infants, and children. New flight deals are listed on the homepage. There’s a calendar feature which lists bargain fares by day. You’ll also find a daily graph indicating departure times for various Indian airlines. Although, they don’t cover international destinations, Cleartrip does include a section called Small World in which they provide facts and descriptions of countries around the world. International hotel booking is available. Cleartrip also has a section devoted especially to train travel in India.

In their own words

“Cleartrip is dedicated to making travel simple

But it’s hard to make things easy, so we’ve put together an experienced team with oodles of global experience in travel and ecommerce. Cleartrippers come in all shapes and sizes; and we’re all passionate about just one thing - Making travel simple.



Cleartrip.com is the travel site that gives you what you need without any annoying fluff. Who needs banners, pop-ups and blinking glitz? Search, book, go. That’s what we’re about - Making travel simple.”

Why it might be a killer

ClearTrip offers a no frills travel operator. It’s basic, without any gratuitous extras. Users will find it easy to use.

Some questions

Will ClearTrip expand beyond India? Will they add RSS feeds? What about price comparison tools?

Updates


 » original news

What it does

PreCydent is a new legal search engine in alpha. It was developed with the aim that everyone—law students, lawyers, and the public at large—should have free and easy access to legal resources. This legal Google, provides information that spans the judicial sphere. You’ve got opinions, statures, legal questions, congressional records, and links. Advanced search parameters allow you to search as per most authorative cases and by chronological order—ordered by decade (after or before X decade), most recent, and by last years of importance meaning you can give more weight to cases that have gotten more citations in any given period. Most files are available as PDF and for download.

In their own words

“The PreCYdent Team is very happy to welcome you to the "alpha" version of our new legal research website. By "alpha" we mean that our site is still in its early development. Thus we would value highly the comments and suggestions regarding our service.



PreCYdent is based on two fundamental principles. First, we at PreCYdent believe that all lawyers, law librarians, law students, and the general public should have access to state-of-the-art search technology to help them navigate through the large and complex body of legal authority. We have heard law students ask, as perhaps you have, about online legal research: "Why can't I just do my search with a few search words, like I do on Google?" PreCYdent has an answer to that question: Now you can. Second, we believe judicial opinions and statutes must be in the public domain, in practice as well as in theory. To us this means that effective legal research in all of these materials should be free to the user -- not expensive, not inexpensive. Free. We believe this principle is of vital importance not only to the United States, but to all nations that practice or aspire to practice the rule of law. “

Why it might be a killer

This site opens up the legal arena to everyone, not just highly paid lawyers. Anyone interested in learning more about the law can easily search the site and find relevant and useful information. It’s got powerful filtering capabilities too.

Some questions

You can tell that the site is still in alpha. It’s got a sterile, nondescript interface. It seems to be unstable, as the links don’t work at all times.

Updates


 » original news

What it does

PreCydent is a new legal search engine in alpha. It was developed with the aim that everyone—law students, lawyers, and the public at large—should have free and easy access to legal resources. This legal Google, provides information that spans the judicial sphere. You’ve got opinions, statures, legal questions, congressional records, and links. Advanced search parameters allow you to search as per most authorative cases and by chronological order—ordered by decade (after or before X decade), most recent, and by last years of importance meaning you can give more weight to cases that have gotten more citations in any given period. Most files are available as PDF and for download.

In their own words

“The PreCYdent Team is very happy to welcome you to the "alpha" version of our new legal research website. By "alpha" we mean that our site is still in its early development. Thus we would value highly the comments and suggestions regarding our service.



PreCYdent is based on two fundamental principles. First, we at PreCYdent believe that all lawyers, law librarians, law students, and the general public should have access to state-of-the-art search technology to help them navigate through the large and complex body of legal authority. We have heard law students ask, as perhaps you have, about online legal research: "Why can't I just do my search with a few search words, like I do on Google?" PreCYdent has an answer to that question: Now you can. Second, we believe judicial opinions and statutes must be in the public domain, in practice as well as in theory. To us this means that effective legal research in all of these materials should be free to the user -- not expensive, not inexpensive. Free. We believe this principle is of vital importance not only to the United States, but to all nations that practice or aspire to practice the rule of law. “

Why it might be a killer

This site opens up the legal arena to everyone, not just highly paid lawyers. Anyone interested in learning more about the law can easily search the site and find relevant and useful information. It’s got powerful filtering capabilities too.

Some questions

You can tell that the site is still in alpha. It’s got a sterile, nondescript interface. It seems to be unstable, as the links don’t work at all times.

Updates


 » original news

What it does

PreCydent is a new legal search engine in alpha. It was developed with the aim that everyone—law students, lawyers, and the public at large—should have free and easy access to legal resources. This legal Google, provides information that spans the judicial sphere. You’ve got opinions, statures, legal questions, congressional records, and links. Advanced search parameters allow you to search as per most authorative cases and by chronological order—ordered by decade (after or before X decade), most recent, and by last years of importance meaning you can give more weight to cases that have gotten more citations in any given period. Most files are available as PDF and for download.

In their own words

“The PreCYdent Team is very happy to welcome you to the "alpha" version of our new legal research website. By "alpha" we mean that our site is still in its early development. Thus we would value highly the comments and suggestions regarding our service.



PreCYdent is based on two fundamental principles. First, we at PreCYdent believe that all lawyers, law librarians, law students, and the general public should have access to state-of-the-art search technology to help them navigate through the large and complex body of legal authority. We have heard law students ask, as perhaps you have, about online legal research: "Why can't I just do my search with a few search words, like I do on Google?" PreCYdent has an answer to that question: Now you can. Second, we believe judicial opinions and statutes must be in the public domain, in practice as well as in theory. To us this means that effective legal research in all of these materials should be free to the user -- not expensive, not inexpensive. Free. We believe this principle is of vital importance not only to the United States, but to all nations that practice or aspire to practice the rule of law. “

Why it might be a killer

This site opens up the legal arena to everyone, not just highly paid lawyers. Anyone interested in learning more about the law can easily search the site and find relevant and useful information. It’s got powerful filtering capabilities too.

Some questions

You can tell that the site is still in alpha. It’s got a sterile, nondescript interface. It seems to be unstable, as the links don’t work at all times.

Updates


 » original news