AdSense
Hello and welcome to my review where I will be discussing everything that encompasses AdSense and just how you could make money from this advertising tool. Before I begin explaining the simple ways of how this advertising technique could be very profitable for you, let me first give you some background info. on what exactly AdSense is and what it entails. Feel free to skip this part if you are already familiar with the concept!
What exactly is AdSense?
To put it simply, AdSense is a way that you can make easy money by displaying targeted advertisement next to the content on your webpages. These ads are deliberately made to be eye catching and attractive, and you can even customise them so that they fit into the design of your website. A technical way to describe it would be that AdSense is a terrific way to monetize your traffic – i.e. make money from all the people that regularly visit your site.
Where do I get the ads from?
You get them from Google.com! Google earns most of its revenue by allowing other website owners to advertise on their search results pages. All this is managed through a program they call AdWords. This is an auction-based system that allows advertisers to compete for those spots and whomever has the highest bid at the end of the auction gets the top spot and so forth. Nowadays you can earn a share of the revenue that Google earns from AdWords by displaying these same text or image ads on your site. This program is called AdSense!
But how do I get paid?
It is simple. If someone comes to your site, sees your ad, or clicks on it, then you will receive a small payment each time! It is as easy and as straightforward as that. There is literally no effort or maintenance on your part once the advertisements have been set up on your web pages.
How Much Can You Earn With AdSense?
The amount that you can earn really depends on how much advertisers are paying Google for the particular ad that you are using on your site. Earnings really can vary anywhere from 2 cents to $15 per click of the ad. However, you will find that most of your earnings will be on the lower end of the spectrum. Remember, though, that you are going to making this money for doing no work at all once the ads are set up on your site. Also, it’s key to note that the amount you will earn also depends largely on the amount of targeted traffic you receive to your own site, how well the ads match your audience’s interests, the placement of the ads on your pages, and of course the amount you receive per click.
How do I set up a website that I intend to be fully focused on AdSense?
The real key is to base such a website on something that you A) are knowledgeable about B) enjoy writing about and C) think that people will enjoy reading. The more quality content that you write will result in more people being drawn to it which will then mean more clicks on your AdSense ads and thus more money will be earned. Once you have set up the website, you can then simply add AdSense ads by either using a free AdSense plugin or you can use the WordPress Text widget to easily add ads to your sidebar.
How do I qualify to join AdSense?
Once you have 20 to 30 pages of good, solid content on your site, go tohttp://adsense.google.com to apply. When you are accepted, simply copy and paste the provided HTML code into any page that you would like to show the ads. You can opt to display text ads, image ads, or a combination of both. It is all in your hands as to the extent you want to incorporate AdSense into your site. You can either display the ads vertically alongside the page like Google does or in a banner-like formation horizontally across your pages. You can even customize the colours to match your site’s theme.
My tips for succeeding with AdSense
1) Building traffic – this is key as you are not going to make anything with AdSense if you don’t have enough traffic. So be patient, write good content, and the people will come!
2) Experiment with everything – whether this be ad sizes, images vs. text, fonts, ad positioning, fonts, colours, everything! Test and try out everything – it is the only sure fire way to know what works on your site and what doesn’t. Also, remember that every site is different so what works for one site may not work as good for another.
3) Create Channels – channels allow you to see what units are working best. So if you are adding an AdSense unit to your header, you should create a channel name (name it Header, for example) so you can track its performance in your reports. This is just simple logic and organisation; otherwise you will end up confusing yourself! It is simple enough to create a channel – when you are creating a new ad unit, you are presented the option of creating a custom channel on the first screen. Just click “My Ads” from your account, then select “Custom Channels”. Click the channel you want to target and click the box for targeting. Simples!
How come my AdSense earnings are lower than what I thought?
I often get asked by people as to why they are not making as much as money as other marketers. To be honest, there are a whole load of reasons as to why this could be the case. Here are a few of the most common ones:
1) You mightn’t have enough traffic visiting your site which will obviously result in fewer clicks on your AdSense ads. Remember that only a small percentage of the people that will visit your site will actually click on the ads. AdSense really is a numbers game so make sure that your content is good enough to attract as many people as possible.
2) There are not enough relevant ads displaying on your site. Some niches have more, relevant ads that Google can display. This will drastically impact your click through rate. If the ads aren’t relevant to your content then your visitors aren’t going to click. That’s why it’s important to make sure your site has a lot of content so you can help Google display the most relevant ads. Granted, sometimes there aren’t relevant ads available, and there’s nothing you can really do about that.
However, just having a few sentences with some images is not helping Google find the best ads because you have so little content.
3) Your site is targeting a low paying niche. This is just the brutal realism of online marketing – some niches are more popular than others and therefore will attract a bigger audience. This is why it is so hard to judge how well your site will actually do. Even if you know everything about a niche, there are just so many variables to take into account to gauge what kind of traffic you will be able to generate.
Why is the AdSense program no accepting me?
There are several reasons why Google may reject your application to AdSense. Some of the most common one are as follows:
1) There may not be the required amount of pages on your website. Google won’t be interested in anyway if your website is less than 20 to 30 pages of good content based on a certain niche. So get typing!
2) Your site is too varied. When you choose your niche market, then try to stick to one topic from that niche. Google doesn’t like sites that cover too many different topics because it is hard to target ads. The more focused your content is, the better.
3) Your content is weak. This is, in my opinion, the number one reason why Google reject people’s applications to the AdSense program. Articles on your site should be hitting 7 000 words of quality content. This why it is vital that you are writing about something that you have an interest in and that you are knowledgeable about. Take my warning when I say that you do not want to spend your days writing about something that you dislike – it is not fun!! Also, check your grammar, spelling, layout etc. Remember you are partnering with Google and they don’t like to see messy sites with poor/confusing navigation structures.
Getting Disabled From AdSense
If you do indeed get your account deactivated then the terminology that Google will give as the reason will sound like “fraudulent or potential fraudulent click activity.”
Now, as far as I am concerned, these terms are impossible to get an understanding from. I certainly don’t know, nor do I know anyone who does, what these terms actually mean and how Google reaches the decision that you are engaging in “fraudulent or potential fraudulent click activity.” Remember, Google earns most of its money from advertising. The ads that appear on your pages are costing someone money every single time a click is registered so therefore Google monitors clicks very closely – especially if your account is new. So, with that said, Google will no hesitate in the slightest to ban you from AdSense if they think that your website is in anyway endangering their clients. How to avoid being banned, though? All you can do is to follow the guidelines that I have already laid out for you and hope that Google doesn’t decide to pick on you! It’s important that you realise that AdSense is one of those business ventures where nothing is guaranteed.
My final word
Well there you have it; I have shared all the experience and knowledge that I have of AdSense. I have been working with Google and the AdSense program for 18 months now and I highly recommend it as a secondary source of income for anyone looking to bump their income stream – it really can drive additional income to your website; especially if it’s mostly content based. So, if you are one of those people that doesn’t like the idea of paying for a site, this is an excellent way to earn your money back and then some.
It is key to keep in mind that the AdSense program is not a get rich quick scheme and that it does take a certain amount of knowledge and work to successfully make consistent money. Don’t think that just because you join, you are guaranteed to make big bucks with no effort on your part.
Thank you for reading my review and I hope that you found it informative. Best of luck with your AdSensing
