Does Google favor "Adsense only" sites?

[jebriordan]

I had a web site with adsense + affiliate banners + text ads + other advertising. And eventually got it to Google page 1 position between 5 - 8 for a really competitive search phrase. Really chuffed.

Then I stripped off all the advertising except for the adsense ads.

And within a day my site was in position 1.

Coincidence?

Jeb Riordan

[micronet]

Coincidence? I think probably yes.

Google is ...Well Google.

I have seen when good content sites have dropped down and spammy adsense sites ranked better
on some keywords for a short time and then everything changes back.

Maybe Google just trying to make some more revenue??? Who Knows

In most cases though "Sites built for Adsense" usually/eventually get slapped because of lack of good content.

Nothin concrete here just my take on it.

All you can do is test and this is not to say sites with Adsense are all bad.

It still boils down to creating a quality content site and using advertising sparingly.

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[jeppo]

I've heard Ed say before that google doesn't like affiliate links, so I'd guess it was more about them than the adsense (and adsense doesn't count as affiliate links). When you removed the affiliate links google liked the site better so moved it up, it wouldn't have mattered if you had adsense ads or not. But then, no one really nows what goes on with google.

[DeanRichards]

You have to remember that a spammy Adsense site can give the appearance of being highly relevant. If a site manages to grab your attention (even if you're just marveling at how bad it is) for a full minute, that's actually a decent time on site... and if you click any link out of the site instead of bouncing back to Google, then the site will also have a low bounce rate.

Good time on site + low bounce = high rank.

Great content usually means a good time on site, but spammy pictures of drunk celebrities can have the same effect. Google usually catches on, but obviously there are lots of people who are willing to make a quick buck and then move on when they get sandboxed.