from the March 29, 2006 edition -
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0329/p13s02-stct.html
Google's hidden payroll
In developing nations, people boost their incomes by running ads by
the popular search engine on their personal websites.
By Carolyn O'Hara and Travis Daub | Contributors to The Christian
Science Monitor
WASHINGTON - Jayant Kumar Gandhi, a former software engineer in New
Delhi, is one of hundreds of thousands around the world on Google's
shadow payroll.
In his spare time, Mr. Gandhi runs a free computer help website and
recently began running ads by Google on his homepage as part of Google
Adsense, a program that pays website publishers for advertising
space. When visitors click on the ads on Gandhi's site, Google makes a
small profit from the advertiser, and in turn, pays a percentage of
that profit to Gandhi.
Such clicks can translate into pennies - or dollars - a day for a Web
publisher. "I had no intentions of using it for more than a week,"
Gandhi says. "I didn't believe the stories that Adsense paid decent
money. I ignored them as a marketing gimmick."
But Gandhi's Adsense profits have exceeded his wildest dreams. He now
earns about $1,000 a month from the program, the same salary he
previously earned as a software engineer. His new income has allowed
him to leave his job and return to school. "Today I am able to sponsor
my higher studies because of Adsense," he says.
Since its launch in 2003, the Google Adsense program has
revolutionized Web publishing, turning blogs and personal websites
into potentially lucrative ventures.
It is easy to join. A Web publisher or blogger simply completes an
online Adsense form. Google then places ads on the site, similar to
those that appear next to search results on Google. The ads are
contextually matched to content on the host site, so a blog post about
having a headache might attract ads for pain-relief medicine.
Anyone with a site is eligible, and Web forums are awash in success
stories of small online entrepreneurs placing ads on their sites,
sitting back, and watching checks from Google roll in.
But it is Web entrepreneurs in the developing world who are reaping
the greatest benefit from the program.
Because Adsense earnings can vary widely depending on a site's traffic
or subject matter, many Web publishers in the developed world don't
bother participating. Whereas a $25 monthly payout may not be worth
the trouble to a blogger in Manhattan, it can mean the world to a
blogger in Manila.
Andrew de la Serna runs a small search engine in Davao City,
Philippines, and derives about 40 percent of his monthly income from
Adsense. "It's great to do what you love to do and earn money from it
at the same time," he says.
His earnings have allowed him to purchase a cellphone, develop new
websites, and build up his savings account.
Dr. Rodolfo Rafael, who owns a small medical clinic in San Fabian,
Philippines, says the Adsense earnings from his medical website allow
him to "dream big" and reinvest in his medical practice.
Their experiences are shared across the developing world. In Cairo,
Mohamed Sallam was grounded for health reasons from his job as an
airline steward, and he now spends time maintaining a Web forum
devoted to discussions of Islam. He earns most of his income, about
$500 a month, from Adsense.
"The low cost of living here allows us to live comfortably on that
income," he says. "My two sons want to try their luck. We have a high
unemployment rate here and making money from Adsense would be the
perfect solution for them."
Deepesh Agarwal, who runs a small cybercafe in Rajasthan state, India,
draws about 90 percent of his income, or $1,500 a month, from his
Adsense earnings. It is a princely sum in a state where the average
income is just $300 a year.
"Adsense has changed my life," Mr. Agarwal says. "I can afford things
that I was not able to before. I am planning to buy a new car. I can
save for my future."
The program is a big revenue generator for Google, too. The company
earned some $2.7 billion in Adsense revenues last year. Google refuses
to disclose the exact percentage it pays out to Adsense member sites,
but recent news reports have put that figure as high as 78.5 cents on
the dollar.
"We do not disclose [the revenue share] for different reasons," says
Brian Axe, an Adsense group product manager at Google. "But it is more
than fair. [These success stories] bring a smile to our faces."
Still, many hurdles remain for Adsense users in the developing world,
not the least being access to the Internet.
Payment checks from Google can be difficult to receive due to
inefficient or non-existent national postal systems, and they can be
even more difficult and costly to cash.
There are also legitimate concerns about people attempting to defraud
the system, causing many to wonder whether the program has real
sustainability. Some website owners try to increase their earnings by
clicking on their own ads, and some create automated sites that exist
solely to make money from Adsense.
"Google is actively looking for those kinds of sites," and removes ads
from them, explains Eric Giguère, author of "Make Money with Google:
Using the Adsense Advertising Program."
Google has a clear interest in protecting the program that last year
accounted for nearly half of its advertising revenues, and is quick to
play down the threat of fraud. "Many times [the fraud] gets blown out
of proportion," said Google's Mr. Axe. "I don't think it's an issue
that would unravel the business."
For the time being, that "business" offers a rare opportunity to Web
users in developing countries to participate on a level playing field
with other websites all over the world.
Thanks to Adsense, a blogger in New Delhi can earn the same 5 cents
for an ad-click as a blogger in Detroit. For many Adsense users in the
developing world, that opportunity has become perhaps the most
unintentional -- and most successful -- development program to spring
from the online revolution.
http://www.csmonitor.com | Copyright 2006 The Christian Science Monitor.
Csrolyn O'Hara & Travis Daub (csm@telecom-digest.org)