if you have quality content, the
right keywords, and the right AdSense ad layout. Many people complain they
can't make money with AdSense or that it cheapens their site. I will show it
how it will not only increase the value of your site, but how it will start
building you monthly income.
I monetize my web
sites and blogs in many different ways. I see many web sites missing out when
it comes to non-invasive ways to monetize your web site or blog, and they don't
have to be ways in which you anger your visitors. In fact - good monetization
will always compliment your web site, not "cheapen" it. I have also
read many articles that debate when to monetize, and there are still some
hold-outs that say build up traffic on a site first and then monetize once it
gets to a certain level. I'm sorry - that's just BS in my book, and I have the
experience to back it up. Monetize your web site from day 1 - PERIOD
Why? Every post and
page is an opportunity to make money. Making money with a web site is like
planting a garden. Why would you want to keep plowing the field for 6 months
and and keep waiting to plant the seeds? Also monetization is marketing, and
marketing takes time and skill. Yes - skill. The more you do it the better you
become, so do it from day 1.
Making money online
is like a sport or a professional trade.
1. Competent Trainers
and Mentors
2. Passion and Drive
to Succeed
3. Organization and
Work Ethic
4. Ability to make
10,000 mistakes and keep going
5. Good Communications
Skills
6. Practice, Practice,
Practice!
Today we're going
to talk about monetizing your web site with Google AdSense. If you're already
using Google AdSense - read this article anyway and learn how to make more
money using AdSense. Click the banner above to join AdSense if you haven't
already. By signing up with AdSense you can build code snippets and place ads
on your web site.
·
To make any money you need thousands of visitors per day
·
Ads will make a percentage of your visitors leave and not come
back
·
AdSense cheapens the look of your web site
You would be
surprised how much more money you could be making with some very basic and
simple changes to your web site. Think about how much you could be making per
day. Just $1 per day is $30 per month, which should more than pay for most basic
hosting plans (and then some). Only $5 per day and you're making $150 per
month, $10 per day is $300/mo. It adds up quicker than you think. Especially if
you have more than one blog or web site to monetize.
·
You can make $1-$3 a day on as little as 20-30 visitors per day
·
A percentage of your visitors quickly leave anyway (the bounce
rate) - you can make money on that dead traffic
·
AdSense is so targeted that it's less of an intrusion and more
of a service compared to other ads
The first thing you
need to understand is where the ads come from. AdSense is fed by Google's other
product AdWords. If you haven't used AdWords before - it's where you can pay to
drive traffic to your web site - you "pay per click". In the AdWords
marketplace - people "bid over keywords". The more competition there
is for a keyword, the more it costs and the highest bidder wins the top slot,
the next bidder the next slot, and so on. For example it may cost 50 cents per
click to get the keyword "designer handbag", but I bet you can get
"clay flowerpot" for under a nickel. It's all about supply and
demand. The most searched for terms are fought over pretty fiercely. Once
keywords are purchased, the AdSense algorithm places the actual ads on web
sites - matching them up with keywords and content on web pages. The algorithm
is pretty amazing, and in most case will be serving highly target ads to your
web site within minutes. If the ads are way off target or inappropriate - you
need to re-think your web site setup.
So once a keyword
is purchased and an ad is written - it's matched up with a highly targeted web
page where it should perform well. It doesn't matter how "busy" or
popular that web site is, well performing and paying ads are placed on
appropriate pages getting from a dozen to thousands of visitors per day. If you
are using high paying keywords in your web site content, you will attract high
paying ads. Did you understand that statement? Go back and read it two more
times and think about it a minute.
That's right - the
key to making money in AdSense is attracting well paying ads. If I have a web
site that gets only 30 visitors per day, and 3 per day click an AdSense ad
paying 35-50 cents, I can easily make $1 per day from this very low-traffic web
site. Of course everyone wants to get more than 30 visitor per day, but all
sites have to start somewhere. I'm illustrating how easy it is to make money
from day #1. I do this in nearly all the sites I setup. Many of you that have
used AdSense for a long time won't believe it, because in my example my AdSense
clicks pay extremely high and the click-through-rate (CTR) is 10%. Most sites
are lucky to get a 2-3% CTR on AdSense ads, and the clicks usually pay a nickel
or less on average.
I said earlier that
if you received off target ads your blog or web site layout was possibly not
"AdSense optimized". If you want to attract high paying ads and make
the most AdSense revenue possible from your existing traffic - I'll give you
some very simple rules to follow when writing articles, pages, and posts. If
you follow these very basic rules you will not only get more revenue per click
with AdSense, but (in the long run) you will also get more visitors, and better
search engine listings.
·
Obtain a URL with very important keywords in your niche: I can't
say enough about this. The #1 reason I have so many domains is because when you
build a niche site if the domain has your top 2 or 3 keywords in it - you
immediately start getting traffic from post #1. This is very important.
·
Use permalinks, pretty URL's, etc: This is second most important
whether you are using WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Mambo, or whatever. As soon as
you setup your software turn on permalinks, pretty URL's, or whatever it's
called so you posts have "site.com/this-is-my-post". Having great
keywords in the URL past the top level domain name is only second to keywords
in the domain name itself.
·
Find the Best Keywords and Phrases: DO YOUR RESEARCH! Find out
how to do keyword research. If you don't know what the best keywords for your
niche are - there really isn't much point reading any farther than this...
·
Create a Great Title: When you write a post the title controls
much more than you think. Everyday I read great articles with crappy titles.
With every title you need to be thinking of using keywords that will be
searched for while linkbaiting a title enticing people to click. This can be
harder than it sounds, because the best titles are 6-8 words or less. I've
gotten better at this over time, but it's just practice, practice, practice to
become a master at it!
·
Have an H1 Title first: WordPress natively takes your html post
title tag and puts it into an H1 tag as the textual title on the post's web
page. If you use another CMS like Drupal, Joomla, Mambo, or something else make
sure your Content Management System does the same. Keywords in header tags
(especially the first header of the page) carry much more weight than laster in
the content areas.
·
Start with a Synopsis Paragraph: Unless you are writing custom
meta description tags for every single page the most important area of any post
or page after the title is that first paragraph. This paragraph ultimately
becomes your description under you title link in search engine results pages.
You want to stick to 2 or 3 sentences when possible, or at least place your
important keywords there. Remember - what you type will not only determine how
well this page comes up in search results, but also how your page is described
and why people click!
·
Bold important keywords as you write: As you write your post or
article bold keywords and phrases when you are making points. These keywords,
combined with your title and synopsis help target ads (and traffic!).
·
Link relevant sources: This is a given, but should be mentioned.
Be sure to link only relevant items in your post - it helps target everything.
·
Organize sections using h3 and h4 headings: Using h3 and h4
headers in longer pages and posts is a great way to "sub-title" the
page with even more targeted keywords. It's also easier to organize information
(and for more people to follow and read).
·
Use keyword laden categories and tags: Just before you publish
that page or post, be sure to use great keywords to both categorize and tag it.
So you're ready to
place that ad? Not so quick - you need to "blend" it into the look
and feel of your page. When you create it in AdSense setup make the background
color the same as where it will be placed on your page. Make the font color and
size the same, make the link colors the same too. I personally would never use
video ads for any reason - only text. My reasoning on this is that in a 336x280
text ad you normally get 4 text ads, and that's 4 chances to make money. If a
video takes up the entire 336x280 block - it's only 1 chance to make money, and
it's images and video that can be intrusive to many visitors. IMHO - you would
need some type of pop-culture (music, movie, celebrity, joke, media based) web
site to be successful with image or video ads. Place one 336x280 AdSense ad
directly before your content and one directly after. If you use Google
analytics to track your web site - you many already be aware of your
"bounce rate". When people come to your site, and quickly leave
because they didn't find what they wanted they "bounce". To me a
bounce rate of 20-30% is normal. Over 50% is incredibly high.
If you've placed
the 336x280 blocks before and after the content your are placing highly targeted
ads to soak up your bounce rate. In other words - if 20-30% of my customers are
going to leave my site quickly anyway to find what they want - I'd prefer that
they click on one of my AdSense ads to find it. I help them find what they
need, and I get a "referral fee" for the click. Also visitors that
stay awhile on my site many click an ad because they're in the same niche. It's
like being in the library and finding the book you need, but seeing others on
the same shelf you might also like.
Beyond the two
mandatory AdSense blocks I use before and after the content - I often also add
a 4 text link unit in a sidebar or a 160x600 skyscraper. How you feel about
this is up to you and your layout. If you have other ads or sidebar content
that could be earning money - it might be better placed there. But if all you
have is the latest posts and some categories - these types of AdSense ads can
help you not "leave any money on the table". That means - you might
only make a few extra pennies or nickels per day - but if that money was just
laying on the table would you just leave it there? Probably not. It adds up
over time. Again - especially if you are monetizing multiple web sites.
I learned this term
(money on the table) from Joel Comm, whose AdSense eBook I read a few years
back just after setting up my AdSense account for the first time. For the first
6-7 months I used AdSense I made no money at all. After I read Joel's book I
quadrupled my CTR and went from making pennies per day overnight to $3-$5. One
month after reading that eBook I received my first ever Google AdSense check,
and I've received one every month since.
So - if your web
site or blog consistently using my techniques above you should have no problem
earning more money from AdSense. A lot of times you read a great article like
this and you wonder how successful it was for the author. Well, it worked for
me - last year I made more than $10,000 from AdSense on just a few web sites...
