Google AdSense referrals to change

Google has announced that it is to change the terms of its referral units for AdSense.

The nature of the changes, which are due to take place in the last week of January, will vary depending on where the referral publisher is based.

Those located in North America, Latin America or Japan will be subject to a change in the pricing structure.

Under the current payment plan the service is potentially lucrative, with referred users who earn $100 in 180 days generating a $250 bonus for the referring site.

At the end of January the payout will be reduced to $100.

For publishers located in all other regions, the referral service promoting Adsense will be withdrawn.

Talia Brodecki of AdSense Product Marketing explained why Google was ending this service on the Inside AdSense blog.

"We´ve found that this referral product has not performed as well as we had hoped in these regions," she said.

Referrals to other Google products and services remain unaffected.