Google AdSense has been around the block quite a few times receiving both rave reviews and harsh criticism–the reality lies somewhere in-between.
AdSense is known for accepting just about anyone; allowing them to post contextual ads for help paying server costs or a lot more. Over the past two years, AdSense has grown out of its shell and become much more than just a contextual advertising program: PPA ads, video ads, advanced search.
I have read blogs/forum posts about the ’suckitude’ of Google AdSense. The writers believe AdSense isn’t a good way to earn money. In most cases, the problem doesn’t rely with Google, but with the publisher.
People fail because
- They have unreasonable expectations. What they should do: Think about how to improve it and improve it, not just the ads but also their website(s). Not every blog/site will earn $10,000 or even $1,000 a month.
- They give up too easily. What they should do: Stay with the program for at least a week. Some days are better than others and with smart-pricing one week can defer from another week greatly. The important thing to remember is to continue testing and analyzing.
- They don’t play with the control panel. What they should do: Take an hour or two and look through all the features AdSense provides. Google has many features that can easily be overlooked: query stats (for the website search), different ad sizes, channel advertiser targeting, ad links, account access, and many others.
- They aren’t investing the time/money needed for a business. What they should do: Take a day and start writing, testing, analyzing and then testing some more. Improve the website/business first, then worry about the ads.
- They don’t continue learning. What they should do: Read, test, analyze. Not only should they continue to read about ad types, colors, etc., but they should try different combinations. Keep a journal and continue to check back on previous results.
- They try ’shortcuts’ What they should do: Stop looking for shortcuts! I know, I know, this is the ‘now’ generation, but not everything is instant. These methods will lead to a ban.
There are some cases in which AdSense just doesn’t cut it, at least not as a solo advertising program. Many sites within the entertainment industry fair far better with CPM than CPC. It is always good to remember that testing is always the best answer.
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Written: Dec 8, 2007Tags: adsense, adsense tips, google adsense, tips
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You also need to consider the fact that traffic plays a roll in this. But I liked this post greatly, you’re right indeed.
Thanks for this article, gave me a little boost to try harder
Of course traffic plays a large roll
#1 and #4 will both help create traffic to allow for better earnings.
You make some very valid points Gary. But, as I’m sure you’ve read on my blog, sometimes though you have to take into account aesthetics. For me, its all about how they look, and personally I think adsense ruins the quality of the blog. Yes, I have seen some blogs incorporate Adsense quite nicely where it fits in perfectly with the overall design. For me, I am staying away from adsense and sticking with affilates and individual advertisers.
Brian, you are right. AdSense does have problems by itself. I believe much of it is about taste however. I will say this though, when you don’t know what ads are showing it is hard to create a design around it which will please the audience.
Also a lot of people do not realize, that adsense business needs to be done in a mass way with automation that works and creating many niche keyword sites according to the adsense TOS!
[edit: please no urls]
Stop Being Such An Adsense Loser!
With everyones focus on content, layout is often over looked. This post addresses how to fix that.
Each blog needs to see what works best for them however. Gary can’t give a generic layout that works for everyone.
What he has done works well for most.