AdSense is a nice way to monetize your traffic, and it's very easy to implement. It's one of my top earners and has been since 2003. (See the video about my earnings below.)
 | Untold Facts About AdSense you need to know in order to succeed with the program!
Yes, the money can be great, but if you don't learn how to build a site that attracts targeted traffic then you won't make much from AdSense.
Don't pay a cent for these "Get Rich Quick" books on AdSense. Many of them are all hype. Learn all you need to know for free.
Right click and "Save As" to download this book. |
What is AdSense?
Google.com earns most of its revenue by allowing other website owners to advertise on their search result pages. All this is managed through a program they call
AdWords.
Now
you can earn a share of the revenue that Google earns from AdWords by displaying these same text ads on your site. In other words, you're helping Google advertise and they pay you a percentage (roughly 60%) of what they earn.
This program is called AdSense.
Every website owner should at least consider the program. Even if your site is just for information purposes, you can still participate and make decent money with AdSense -- or at least enough to fund your website.
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.
How AdSense Works
Don't like to read a lot of text? Watch my 4-minute video on how AdSense works.
How Much Can You Earn With AdSense?
The commission you receive per click depends on how much advertisers are paying Google for the particular ad. You will earn a share of that amount. I've heard of earnings anywhere from 2 cents to $15 per click.
So it is logical to believe that keyword phrases like
debt free,
employment,
make money,
mp3, sex, etc. may earn you more per click since these are highly competitive keywords that are searched for quite a bit on the web.
Advertisers generally pay more for popular terms because they are searched for more.
Even though Google will not reveal how much you are earning for each ad that is clicked from your site, you can still login to your account at any time and see the total amount of revenue you've generated that day, week, month, year, etc.
For example, if you see that you've made $12.60 today from 9 clicks then you can calculate that your average click-thru commission was $1.40 per click. That's as detailed as their stats will get. Also remember, that's only an average. You won't know how much each specific ad brought in.
The amount you'll 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.
Ideally, you should create a site on a topic you know a lot about. That way you'll have a much easier time creating a generous amount of content on that subject.
My Google AdSense Earnings
I have been receiving monthly checks from Google since 2003, and I've read numerous success stories of websites earning 5 digit incomes per month with AdSense.
Now, I will admit, a 5-digit commission in a single month is probably not the norm for most participants.
I promote AdSense on 5 of my websites (2 blogs, 3 static sites) and my monthly checks are usually around the $6,000 mark.
My sites have been around for a long time and I have a great deal of traffic so that's a big reason why I earn so much. I
promote my sites on social media, create YouTube videos etc. Making a lot of money with AdSense is all about numbers. The more traffic you have, the greater the earning potential.
My checks weren't always this large. I think my first month's earnings in 2003 totaled less than $20. However, as my traffic increased, so did my checks.
Watch Video About My Record AdSense Month in July, 2009
Update: Sept. 2011: For the record, my earnings are still very strong in 2011.
See this post I wrote about my AdSense earnings breakdown for August 2011.
Creating Your Website for AdSense
Before you even begin your site, make sure you've come up with a topic that you feel you know plenty about. That way it will be easiest to write a lot of content.
The more content you have, the better chance you have getting accepted into the program. Also, the more content, the greater the earning potential. AdSense is nothing but a numbers game. If you want to make a lot of money, prepare to write a lot of content and learn how to market your site.
Now let's talk about building your website. There are two ways you can approach this:
1) Do it Yourself (DIY) from scratch
2) Use Site Build It! (SBI!)
The Do It Yourself Method
I've actually used both methods for building my site and there are advantages and disadvantages to both.
If you use the DIY method, you will have to go and
register a domain name (yoursite.com) and then sign up for a
web host and build your pages.
Decide if you want a static website like this or a blog. If you don't know the difference,
this article will help you out.
Averaging between $3 and $10 per month, the DIY method is usually the most cost friendly of the two but you are mostly on your own in terms of learning how to create your web pages and adding the AdSense code to your site.
Web hosts are generally there to house your site. They don't specialize in helping you market and optimize your site for the search engines to help you get traffic. So don't expect a lot from them in terms of helping you market your site and making money with Google AdSense.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. I had to learn how to build this site on my own and it wasn't very difficult.
I now manage all of my static sites with
Dreamweaver. My blogs use
WordPress.
Use Site Build It
! - A Web Host Made for AdSense
This is a revolutionary web host like no other. I use it for my site,
flat-stomach-exercises.com, and after only 11 months the site was earning over $700 per month for AdSense alone.
Two years after launch, the total monthly earnings shot up to $2,000 to $2,500.
Today, the site continues to earn money from AdSense yet I have no products to sell. I'm simply offering information on a topic I know a lot about and SBI showed me how to rank high in the search engines for various keyword phrases. Over 90% of traffic comes from the free search engines.
The reason SBI! is different from the other do-it-yourself hosts is that first it provides all the web page building and marketing help all in one place. Your domain registration, web hosting and marketing help come with the price..
Successful SBI Websites
Be sure to also
take a peek at all the successful SBI websites created by mostly beginners who have never created a site before. Every site listed on this page is in the top 3% in terms of amount of traffic received on the web - thanks to the SBI search engine help.
Find out why I think SBI! is best for AdSense.
How to Join AdSense
Once you have 10-15 pages on your site, go to
http://adsense.google.com to apply.
When you are accepted, simply copy and paste the provided HTML code into any page that you'd like to show the ads. If you've done a good job of defining the content on your web pages, the ads that show should be relevant to the content of your page...increasing the chances of click-thrus by your visitors.
You can either display the ads vertically along side the page like Google does or in a banner-like formation horizontally across your pages. The placement is up to you. You can even customize the colors to match your site's theme.
Tips on Succeeding With AdSense
Here are some tips for achieving success with Google AdSense.
1. Build Traffic
AdSense is all about targeted traffic. The more people you have on your site that are actually interested in what you have to offer, the more you will potentially make.
Learn more about traffic building here.
2. Experiment
Test ad sizes, images vs. text, play around with colors, ad unit sizes, you name it. I personally like to have my ads match the background of my site so they blend more.
Read a blog post I wrote where my readers and I discuss our
best performing ad units/sizes.
3. Avoid Free Hosts
I know times are tough economically and a lot of you don't want to pay for a website. But the facts don't lie. Successful website owners invest money. Period.
I have yet to open up a magazine and see a successful site featured hosted on Blogger.com or another free host. Never. And I've been out here since 1998.
If you want the search engines and people to take your site seriously, you have to own your site. And if you don't do this, I question your dedication. Even if it means you have to wait and save your money for 6 months to buy a domain and hosting. I'd rather you do that then take shortcuts with free hosting.
I cannot tell you how many e-mails I receive monthly from people who regret the decision to start off free. Once they realize the limitations, they decide to move to a paid host and are left with the intimidating task of moving all their files over. Don't put yourself in that situation.
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Just remember, success with AdSense is all about how well you bring in targeted visitors to your website.
