I guess the reasons for RSS being killed are
1. Search engines do not want it.
2. Advertisers do not want it.
3. Its only use by people who are tech savvy.
Exactly. Also, why isn't he trying out with different keywords. Placing all the eggs in a single basket wont get you much. If he diversifies ad campaign across different categories, he will see better results.
If he not happy with cost per click mode, he can switch to CPM advertising where ther are lesser chances of fraud.
Tech Bloggers seem to focus more on hype than content. Also, traditional writers do a lot of reasearch before publishing anything. The fact that they have more resources at their disposal helps them.And, Bloggers have limited time from start to the publish point.