Last Updated on June 22, 2023 by Kari
I’ve had AdSense on numerous websites throughout the years, but YouTube AdSense is a brand-new thing to me.
In December, I made some videos on something that had my interest, and I started getting followers. I made some more videos and got more followers. And then I gave up for a few months because I was too busy to make any kind of content, videos, or blog posts.
Then, in March, I made a couple more videos and got enough followers to get accepted into the YouTube partner program. That was exciting and I was interested to see how much money I could make with AdSense through YouTube.
I had a ton of hope for my channel. I figured I was fortunate to get so many views and subscribers in such a short period of time and I really thought I had something good going on.
My First Few Months Have Been Great (But The Payments Don’t Match The Estimate Revenue)
In the first month with the YouTube Partner Program, I got 99,705 views and made $457.96… or so I thought.
From what I understood, at the beginning of the next month, they update your earnings in AdSense with the finalized balance from the previous month, so when I saw that it was the exact number as the estimated revenue, I was stoked. The potential to earn a lot of money was exciting.
However, when I got paid on April 24th, I only received $336.42.
I lost $121.54.
That’s a huge loss!
On my websites, earning $100 on AdSense isn’t easy, but apparently, with YouTube AdSense, it’s really easy to lose $100!
This turned me off from making videos in April. I’ve had so many bad experiences with losing what I thought I had made online that the effort of making videos didn’t make sense to me if I was going to lose the money I made from them.
However, a couple of my videos just kept climbing in views, so they made me money and I swore that if I got the estimated revenue, I would work hard on my YouTube Channel.
The next month, in April, I earned $310.19 of estimated revenue.
Again, when the AdSense for YouTube balance was updated at the beginning of May, it still said $310.19. I thought that was supposed to be the adjusted amount with all deductions taken off.
But, at the end of the month, I only got paid $226.89
This time I lost $83.30.
How Can Adjustments Be So Large On YouTube AdSense?
I don’t understand how there can be $80+ in invalid clicks or earnings. How can the estimated revenue be so wrong?
In short, that is a huge discrepancy between the estimated revenue and it just doesn’t make sense to me.
I tried finding someone to contact about this, so I could ask questions, but I kept getting sent to a community forum which wasn’t very much help. Members just told me that adjustments were made.
I Guess This Is Just How YouTube AdSense Is
I now realize that my estimated revenue in YouTube Analytics and the balance that shows in AdSense for YouTube in the actual AdSense dashboard is not accurate and I will likely be paid less than that balance at the end of the month.
I wish they could just adjust at the beginning of the month and put the actual balance that will be paid out in the AdSense dashboard so you don’t have to try to guess what your payment might be at the end of the month. (Which, by the way, is what I read happens, so I’m not sure why it’s not happening. Is it just me?)
I’ve Never Experienced This Problem With AdSense For Websites
I should say that I’ve never experienced this problem with my websites.
At the end of the month, the balance that shows for AdSense is always the balance paid out to me at the end of the next month. I never get any money taken off. I never have to guess or wonder what the payment will be. It’s always accurate.
I’m not sure why AdSense for YouTube is so inaccurate, but that’s been my experience so far.
If you’ve had experience with this or know why the updated balance doesn’t reflect the actual payment, please let me know in the comments.
Update: June 22, 2023, I Finally Saw An Update Before Payment
For the first time, my actual amount was updated in AdSense before I got paid.
For the last few months, I was paid less than the actual b balance amount without warning. But this month, I saw the initial balance stick for weeks and then suddenly I lost about $75 dollars on the balance, and then I was paid that updated amount.
I still don’t understand how I can lose $75 on a $250 balance. It seems like a lot of mistaken clicks. But, at least it was updated before I was paid.
Going forward, I will just naturally take off at least 1/3 of my balance as my guestimate for my actual payment.
