Why Adsense Sucks

There are a few mistakes I have made as a blogger trying to make money online, and the biggest one I've made on the monetization front has been using Adsense. There are multiple reasons not to use it, and I think they apply to both new bloggers and veteran ones.

Once you shake that hand, you are screwed!

1. By the time you make the $100 withdrawal threshold, you will have found better ways to monetize you blog. Yes, Adsense is easy to use, but you wont get a penny unless you get all 100 dollars they require you to get before sending you a cheque. I personally like using Project Wonderful because you are connected directly to the advertisers, and you instantly scoop up any sort of money they're willing to throw at you. Because you get paid first, and because the advertiser can place whatever bid on your ad spot they feel it is worth, you will be able to monetize your blog at any stage.

2. The ads make you look tacky. Darren Rowse explained why he stopped using Adsense as being because 'other advertisers did not want to be associated with the Google Adsense program'. By the time you've made that 100 dollars, you will be trying to court private advertisers. If they see Adsense on your blog, they may wonder how committed you are to your blog, or whether you're just in to make a quick buck.

3. Your pay relies on clicks, not traffic, not quality, not Alexa Rank or Page Rank. You don't earn very much unless people are actually clicking on the ads. That means if your blog about something other than consumer products, or something otherwise useful or insightful, you aren't going to do well.

4. Because you're stuck with them until you get that damn 100 dollars! Google knows they win either way - either you leave and they don't have to pay you, or you choose not to leave and they earn more money off of you. Doesn't sound very fair, does it? I would much rather deal directly with advertisers than with Google each and every time.

If you're a new blogger - steer clear of Adsense! You will regret it.

So then, Peter, why on earth do you still have Adsense on your blog? Because I haven't gotten my 100 dollar cheque yet. Once I do, that's the last you'll see of it - probably.

Your Guide to Making Money with Adsense: Part II

Although all of the ads are text ads, there are currently four layout options to select from. And although all four ad styles can be effective, the “skyscraper” ads placed toward the top right side of your page or the “Leaderboard” ads placed at the top of the page generally will provide a higher click-through rate than the other two styles.

However, each page is different and will produce different results. For this reason, you may want to test your pages and display the style that produces the highest click-through rate.

You are probably thinking the more links the increased likelihood that someone will click on the link, but the opposite is usually true. If a visitor visits your site/blog only to be inundated by ads, the likelihood that the visitor will stay on your site dramatically decreases. The visitor is looking for good content/information about the topic they are interested in, they don't want to see a slew of ads.

Another interesting placement of the ads comes with the Adsense for Content Link Unit. Reports have been made that a horizontal link unit below the banner does extremely well. What this sounds like, however, is that the user is confused into thinking the Ad unit is a menu for your website. This could have positive or negative results, however what is clear is that it yields strong profits and is in fact labeled by Google. Your call whether this will be a good idea. You should take notice that I am currently trying out this technique.

Some small pieces of useful advice:

Add a picture next to each Adsense ad. Choose some small pictures that are related to the subject of your blog/site and add them next to each Adsense ad in order to draw the viewer’s attention to an image which is clearly not an ad. This way the ads really blend into your site/blog.

Switch your account to the Onsite Advertiser Sign-Up setting. What this will do is remove the text below the ad which reads ‘Advertise on this Site’. Most people reading your ads will not be advertisers, they will be readers. Removing this text will make your ads blend in more – and this a higher Click-through rate (CTR). On the other end, advertisers to your website use Google Adwords to target their ads to your site. To sum it up, all the ‘Advertise on the Site’ button is meant for is to get more advertisers to sign up for Adwords.

I hope you enjoyed this edition of Adsense tips. Come back soon as I will go further into detail on ways to manually make money online via a website or blog.

Your Guide to Making Money with Adsense: Part I

Before you even think about using Adsense, there are a few basics we must run through. You can skip these if you feel they don't apply to you. But if you're already making money on Adsense I would highly recommend you read this useful guide anyways.

Money
1. You must own or decide to make a website.
Not everyone is a webmaster, not everyone can create wonderful layouts and pages of their own with code, but pretty much everyone can make a website these days.

2. You must generate traffic to your website in order to give Adsense a chance at making you money. There are multiple ways of getting traffic. It can either be earned or bought. To earn it, you must obviously have good content, and lots of it. Your website must be 'sticky' in that the visitor has a reason to come back whether it's to sort through all of your material or to get updates. This is the way you go about maintaining traffic levels instead of busting your wallet. You don't have to, but you can add your website to directories and request link exchanges with other websites. And, you absolutely must make it easy for your viewers to find your website on search engines. But these are things for another day. The alternative is for those who are confident that an investment in marketing will bring them a sound response and net profits.

So you've got your site and you're ready to convert your traffic into earnings. Good job getting this far. It should be a cruise from here, right? You'd like to think so, but most people make careless mistakes in how they advertise on their website, and this is the place where you will find advice. Onto the Adsense tips!

Sites are limited to three units on a page so as to not overwhelm readers. Positioning is crucial. Studies show that the most viewed area of a page is toward the top and left (where the majority of English language writing begins). Placing ads right after the content or embedding them in the articles are also effective techniques. Google has examples of placement to guide you once you join AdSense.

Adsense allows you to customize the ad colors to match the look of your site. Use this ability to make the ads look like the rest of the links on your site and be sure to match the background color as well. Visitors will respond better as they see will give the text a chance instead of unconsciously rejecting them as advertisements. Most advertisers make the mistake of drawing the reader's attention to their ad with vibrant colours and perhaps an animation or sound. That certainly catches your eye, but does it make you want to buy something from them if you know they're just out to grab your attention? The customer feels better knowing that it was them who was interested in the actual content of the ad, not the flashy colors that drew them in.

1. Ads at the top of the page and on the left of the page perform better than any other ads.
2. Ads without background colour and borders perform better than ads within borders with background colour.
3. Ads within content pages perform better than any other ads.
4. A search box on every page gives you another chance for earning Adsense income.
5. Your link at the top of the ad should be blue like a normal
link, the ad should be black, and the URL should also be black so that it blends in with the ad copy. That makes the link stand out and gives you a better chance of someone clicking on it.

Stay tuned for Your Guide to Success with Adsense: Part II.