Google AdSense: How do they get away with it?

I had a conversation this week with ValueClick, a mid-tier online advertising aggregator listed on NASDAQ that distributes ads through their network, a la Google.  They called me because they are interested in "being where Google is" as the provider of sponsored search results on ZoomInfo. 

The experience was enlightening.  Unlike Google, ValueClick discloses what they earn per ad, tells what each ad brings in revenues, gives a minimum revenue share commitment, and provides a minimum CPC.

In contrast, Google AdSense is like a secret society.  We're not told what Google earns per ad, how often a particular ad is clicked, what our earnings are per specific click, or what the revenue share is.  What we can tell is how much we've earned to date, the aggregate CPM, and most importantly that we would be making significantly more if we were using ValueClick.

How does Google get away with it?  My feeling is that they make it phenomenally easy for an average site to get started; there is no need to ever talk to a person in the process.  We are using them because it was a quick way for us to test CTRs and different contextual advertising models.  But we won't be using them for long...

Battelle's SearchBlog pointed out yesterday that the situation is just as mediocre for the advertisers, and that competition would force Google to change their practises.  I agree.  Further, it makes me think that a well designed service by Yahoo!, MSN or anyone else with decent distribution will put tremendous price and revenue-share pressure on Google.

Dust off the stop orders; Google is getting away with it, but not for long....  and their profit growth will suffer.