Rated 2.59/5 1 2 3 4 5

Print article     Send to Friend    Comments

You can do everything right. You can optimize your AdSense placement, put your ad blocks above the fold and next to graphics. You can match the ad text and background to the colors of your website. You can use section targeting and meticulously track keyword density. You can all that and still only earn a couple random clicks a day. You can advertise your site in forums, with AdWords, on MySpace and Facebook. You can find your pages in the first five search results for some keywords, and capitalize on the long tail. You can do all that and still never see a marked increase in your traffic patterns. Maybe it's me, but more than likely, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Success with Google AdSense is measured by one criteria, the money you earn per month. If your click traffic is high, and your revenue per click is low, you have an easy analysis: either Google thinks your site is crap, or your site's content is targeting low paying keywords. If your traffic is moderate, consistent, and your clicks are moderate and consistent, but the content of your site is above par, then you, like myself, are stuck in the Google rotary, unable to maneuver and getting no where fast.

Part of the frustration is the propriety system that Google uses to reward higher commissions to websites with higher quality content. Given the unending stream of new websites whose sole purpose is to pilfer content and republish it with AdSense ads, it's nice that Google is willing to acknowledge that some sites are truly intent on bringing quality, or at least original, content to the web.

But being one of those quality sites (with original, interesting content) is not much of an indicator of future success. And therein lies the problem for the average website owner. Moderate amounts of traffic mean moderate amounts of income. And unless you have been focused all along on topics whose keywords bring in higher commissions, not only are you doomed to fairly unremarkable click thru rates on your ad blocks, but you will typically be paid only pennies for each click. The rare exceptions are individuals who manage to turn their websites into brand name products.

That means for the rest of us, it can take months, if not a year, to ever see revenue payout from Google (reaching that $100 threshold.) That is not a viable model for running a business, even if your only profit goal is to break even on your overhead costs. And let's face it, nobody ever goes into business to break even.

Reaching break even isn't even that much of a milestone because you can circle the Google rotary endlessly; the system encourages you to do so. To break free and end up on the road to profit, you have to consider which of the following options is viable for your enterprise:

1) Review your AdSense optimization on a regular cycle
You can do a complete site analysis on the placement and the design of your ad blocks. It means testing variations in size and colors and location, and tracking the changes you make to see if they are produce higher click thru rates. You can always go with what the gurus tell you to do, but the industry's standards for best practices are always in flux. Which means you can never optimize just once.

One of the best books I ever read on AdSense optimization was written by Joel Comm. I occasionally get e-mails from him and I should pay better attention because I think his book is clearly written, direct, and thoughtful. The AdSense Code: What Google Never Told You About Making Money with AdSense is aimed at beginners and intermediate AdSense users but it gives you a solid starting point for reassessing your ad blocks.

2) Monetize your site with other affiliate programs
Google allows you to do this, as long as your other ads don't mimic Google's style - which means no other content ads. But you can advertise products and services that match the subject matter of your site. (See The Good and Bad of Monetization Options for Your Website)

3) Focus your energy on driving traffic to your site
I tend to deter people from believing that if you simply have enough traffic, the conversions will come. First off, more traffic is not the same as more targeted traffic. And second off, Google puts a lot of stock in return on investment (ROI) which in this case, means that people who click through the ads convert to customers. So it's not enough that people click, they must be invested in the product being advertised. Of course, you can better assure this by doing #1.

4) Blackhat tricks
Blackhat is a buzzword in internet proliferation of bypassing the system rules to achieve your goals. Most of these tricks are underhanded, some are blatantly against the rules, and some just bend them. I won't detail them here, but suffice to say if you're interested in the dark arts, you will find mentors who will willingly take you down that path.

So maybe the truth is, given these four options, that you really are better off doing some combination of them. And if you're like me, you probably already have with small success. Does that mean that the empire you want to build with AdSense is dead on arrival? Not necessarily, but it does mean that the road to profit is longer than you might have supposed, with a lot of stop lights along the way. Just make sure you skip the rotaries.

---

Comments to date: 3. Page 1 of 1.

Billy Boy	Posted at 7:52am on Thursday, February 14th, 2008
PLEASE, PLEASE always ship with tracking number and drop off at the post office and get a confirmation receipt that you dropped it off and post office has it. I got burned really bad and was out both the package and the money. Post office lost the pa... read more »
Money Man	Posted at 9:53am on Monday, February 11th, 2008
Yea, the thing about click amount and payout is so true. Sometimes I get lots of clicks but only pennies worth of commission while my other sites get low clicks but dollars worth of commission per click.
Ryan	Posted at 4:26pm on Sunday, February 10th, 2008
You really need to focus on traffic though. Also make sure you have a good layout. Good article, but ease of use and layout is really big.

Add new Comment