• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, November 2, 2023

Google AdSense will roll out two changes for publishers. The changes are scheduled to take effect early next year.

The company says it will pay publishers per impression, and split the AdSense revenue-share into separate rates for buying and selling.

The idea is to offer publishers consistency in comparing fees across different monetization technologies. It also should improve transparency in the media-buying process.

Dan Taylor, vice president of global ads at Google, in a post wrote that publishers, based on tests, should see a change in earnings as a result of these updates.

AdSense, which is 20 years old, will transition from primarily paying publishers per click to the display industry standard of paying per impression. Taylor said this update will provide a more consistent way to pay publishers for their ad space across Google’s products and third-party platforms.

The change should not influence the type or quantity of ads that publishers can display on their websites. The update is expected to go into effect early next years, along with a new revenue-sharing structure.

Previously AdSense processed fees in one transaction. That will change.

Google will now split AdSense revenue share into separate rates — one for the buy side and one for the sell side. Publishers will receive 80% of the revenue after the advertiser platform takes its fee, whether that be Google’s buy-side or third-party platforms.

When Google Ads purchases display ads on AdSense, for example, Google Ads will retain on average 15% of advertiser spend. Expect variations because Google Ads does not take a fixed, per-impression fee.

Many advertisers choose to pay based on user actions, such as a click or conversion. Taylor estimates that publishers should continue to keep about 68% of the revenue.

If advertisers use a third-party platform to purchase display ads on AdSense, publishers will keep 80% of the revenue after the third-party platform has taken its fee. Taylor explained that Google does not control or have visibility into the fees the third-party platforms charge advertisers or how they calculate them.