Why Does Google Hold Your Adsense Earnings?

April 26, 2006 | By Gobala Krishnan |

If you’re an Adsense publisher, you’ll know that you only get paid when your balance reaches $100.00. The question is, is that normal business sense or dirty tactics by Google?

Erick Schonfeld blogs about Nick Carr’s article that seems to blame Google for setting a $100 payout limit and implying that they use this pool of money to invest and get interest gains. Here’s an excerpt:

“He becomes another Google sharecropper, one of the thousands working the rocky soil of the AdSense plantation. And all the while Google gets to hold onto the poor sap’s meager earnings, using them for its own purposes. In many cases, I’m sure, the less-than-$100 balances never get collected, and Google gets to pocket them for good.”

My 2 1/2 Cents: I think these guys should start their own publisher program or affiliate program to see things from the other side instead of implying foul play. I set a $25 cut-off limit for my affiliates not because I don’t want to pay them, and I’m not using the money for investing either. It’s just common business sense. If I paid out checks for $2.00 I will be (1) attracting the wrong type of people (2) wasting my time (3) running a business risk in case of fraud

Come on guys, making more than $100 a month isn’t really that difficult. Instead of coming up with conspiracy theories you should spend time improving your Adsense income