*nods* A click-a-thon would be a great idea if it raised funds for Solo without us having to purchase anything, but yes, we'd have to suss out any downsides first.
davidt?
David might not be able to respond to such an inquiry directly - probably a bit unethical to tell people "go and click but don't need to buy anything" Google may not look favorably on that.
I did a little web searching and from Google own ad page it says:
How do I get paid?
You get paid whenever someone on your site clicks on one of the AdSense ads. Advertisers can also bid to appear on your site on a CPM (cost per thousand impressions) basis. Both CPC and CPM bids compete in our
AdWords program to ensure that you optimize your ad revenue.
anther article says:
"CPM vs. CPC Campaigns
CPM is a type of advertising that pays per impression, which we know from the
previous article on ad terminology. For instance if the campaign states
$10 CPM, you would be making $10.00 USD per thousand impressions, or 1 cent per
ad view. CPC stands for cost per click, and payment is based on the number of
clicks delivered from your site. CPC payments do not depend on number of impressions.
From a publisher's point of view, all campaigns, even if it is not sold in
CPM form, should be measured in CPM. For instance, one can measure a CPC campaign
in virtual CPM. Based on the revenue generated, the equivalent
CPM amount for this ad or campaign can be calculated. For example, if a site displays CPC ads at 25 cents per click,
and the average click through rate (CTR) is 0.5% (5 clicks per 1000 impressions), the
equivalent CPM rate is 5 x 25 cents = $1.25 CPM.
CPC campaigns are good for targeted ads such as those delivered by
Google AdSense.
These ads are relevant to the web page content and often related to the visitor's interest.
Click through rates are usually high in these cases. However, some advertisers are
clever enough to distribute their low CTR ads in CPC campaigns and high CTR ads in
CPM campaigns. The result is that the advertiser benefits from the cheap exposure (branding)
or cheap visitors, whereas, the publisher tend to lose from such campaigns."
which means, I think, the site will get paid by the click, but will get paid more if you actually buy something after the click.
perhaps someone in the know could send someone a PM off the record?