Saturday, August 8, 2009
Top 5 Ways to Make Money with Google Free Blogs
1. Pay per click advertising programs - one of the easiest and most used method to make money from blogs is using pay per click advertising techniques. There are many advertising companies available on internet like Google Adsense, Yahoo Publisher Network, Adbrite, Bidvertiser etc that paying you for every click made on their ads that are placed on your blog. But Google Adsense and Yahoo Publisher Network (YPN) are most popular and most used networks.
So apply for an account on Adsense today if you don’t have an account on Google Adsense by now. You can even apply for YPN if you are staying in US as YPN is currently open to US citizens only. Once you got approval for your account from any of advertising networks, you have to just paste java script code into your blog template where you actually want to show the advertising widgets. And once you have added the advertising widgets, you are ready to start making money with these pay per click networks where you surely will be paid for every click made by your blog readers.
2. Affiliate programs - Another good way to make money online with free blogs is with affiliate programs if your blog is focused about a particular topic or product. So visit some of popular affiliates sites like Amazon, Clickbank or LinkShare and see if there is something for sale which is someway related to your blog topic.
3. Get paid to blog networks - You hold a good chance to make money with paid blogging networks if you have an active blog. Some of paid networks that you can try to make money with your blog are ReviewMe, Pay per post and Smorty. You need to have an active blog with some real page rank to make decent money with these paid blogging websites.
4. Text link ads selling – there are many text link selling networks available on internet that you can use to sell text links on your blog. Some of popular text link selling networks are text link ads, TNX and Linkadage. You need to have a decent page rank and good alexa ranking to be able to earn any revenue from these networks.
5. Private link selling – try this technique if you have a very popular blog in your niche. If you have a established blog in your niche, create an advertise here page on your blog and mention all advertising option you are open for on your blog.
Make Money With Google Adsense For Domain
Google provides a code that web publishers can add on their undeveloped pages or parked domains so that they may serve Ad’s, Links and Search Results on those particular domains. You may have heard of Google Adsense for Domains before, however, you may know of it by another reputation. This concept was rolled away before nevertheless it was known as Domain Park. In the past this program has been very controversial owing to it delivered poor quality search results and traffic.
* More Informations From Google:
AdSense for domains allows publishers with undeveloped domains to help users by providing relevant information including ads, links and search results.
With AdSense for domains, users can find relevant information rather than see empty pages or “page not found” errors. To ensure positive user experience and the quality of our network, these sites are monitored for policy compliance and prohibited from using text and images designed to confuse users.
AdSense for domains provides advertisers with additional opportunities to find their customers, and ads on these pages convert well. In addition, we regularly receive requests from advertisers who have found domains to be an effective way to reach their users.
If you have undeveloped domains, then AdSense for domains can help your users. To get started, check out our setup instructions, and visit our Help Center for more information.
Q: What domains are eligible for AdSense for domains?
A: AdSense for domains can be used on any domain that adheres to Google’s policies.
Q: Is Google involved in the selection or registration of the domains in the AdSense for domains program?
A: Google is not involved with the selection or registration of these domain names, and is not in a position to arbitrate trademark disputes between the registrants, our partners, and trademark owners. Accordingly, we encourage trademark owners to resolve their disputes directly with the registrants or registrars. As a courtesy to trademark owners, Google provides a simple publicly available complaint procedure and, once notified of a legitimate complaint against a specific domain, Google will no longer serve ads to that domain. For instructions on how to file a complaint, please refer to the Trademark Complaint Process page. Additionally, a copy of our publicly available trademark policy is available online.
Conclusion
If you already have a site getting decent traffic, then AdSense will be an instant success for you.
However, if you’re just getting started then yes , you do have some work to do. But the good news is, the more you work at building and marketing your site, the better the rewards. You can make a ton of money with AdSense, just remember the following points…
1) It’s a MUST you learn how to manage/update the Web site yourself. If you pay someone to build one for you, make sure they educate you on further maintenance and updates. Buy CoffeeCup or Dreamweaver and learn the basics. Or if you use Site Build It! to create your site, you won’t need any software.
In order to maintain your traffic levels and keep your AdSense revenue coming in, your site should be updated frequently with fresh content and you do not want to rely on a 3 rd party for the site updates.
2) Only choose topics that interests you. Don’t worry about the earning potential because the money will come once your site generates enough traffic. You will enjoy this process so much more if you are passionate about the subject matter. Plus, it will be much easier to come up with fresh, useful and informative content
3) Understand this will not happen overnight. It could take months before you start seeing any real traffic and income from AdSense. Thanks to all the junk and spam sites out here, Google and other engines are very slow and careful about ranking sites.
You have to earn a good ranking by building a useful site and getting other quality, related sites to link back to you. You want people to recommend your site voluntarily
4) Marketing is everything when it comes to success with AdSense!
a) Do a Google search for forums in your niche (topic + forums) and go where your target audience hangs out. Become a member of these forums and put a link to your site in your signature file.
b) Find other Webmasters in your niche and see if there’s a way for you to submit articles for their site, blog or ezine. These days, networking is everything.
c) Check out my search engine ranking article to discover how to optimize your site for higher rankings in Google, Yahoo, etc.
Remember, success takes time. And unless you already have a well-trafficked site or blog, the AdSense revenue is not going to be instant.
But if you start with a topic you are passionate about and learn the basics of building a Web site, you are well on your way to success.
Once again… AdSense is not just about launching a quick site or blog with ads and the money rolls in. It’s about building a long-term site with useful information targeted to a specific audience or group.
No matter what topic you chose, there will be competition, so your goal is to be THE BEST in whatever niche you choose. Think outside the box and come up with creative ways to deliver your content.
Two of my sites are in very competitive niches, but I worked hard to offer content that my competitors don’t. As a result, other sites to link back to me voluntarily. The search engines notice this and reward me with a lot of free traffic everyday.
Study existing sites on your topic (or potential topic) and think of ways you can expand upon what they’ve done to make your site more useful.
And if you still need to create your Web site, go to my Web Site Creation Options page .
Good luck and here’s to many big AdSense checks coming your way . Cheers to your success!
Getting The Most Out Of AdSense
Of course that traffic number will vary from site to site, so please don’t use that as a benchmark. If you have a very well defined niche and the ads Google displays are EXTREMELY targeted to your audience then your click-thru rate (CTR) may be higher than average, thus earning you more per visitor.
Note : The click-thru rate is simply the percentage of ad views divided by number of clicks. So you if you have 400 page displays and receive 40 clicks, then your click-thru rate is 10% (400 divided by 40).
While Google does not disclose how much you earn per ad, you can login to your account anytime to view your CTR.
What’s a Good Click-Thru Rate?
In online marketing, an average click-thru rate is between 1 and 2%, however with AdSense, people have reported much higher numbers. In fact, my flat stomach site has recorded click-thrus as high as 8% on some days, but my Web site creation site usually averages around 2%.
Experiment With Ad Placement
If want to improve your CTR try playing around with placement of the ads.
Many AdSense gurus will tell you that one of the best places to put the ads is vertically along side your text. See the following screenshot…
See how the ads flow with the main content on the page? It’s natural for the eye to just wander to the right of the page to view them.
In order to achieve this layout, I simply added a table that was right aligned on the page and placed the AdSense code inside the table.
I just pasted the code below at the top of my page right before my content…
INSERT GOOGLE ADSENSE CODE HERE
And if you want to change the width of the ad area, change the 120 attribute in the HTML code to whatever suits you.
Another good place to display the ads is right at the very end of your articles in a horizontal view like this…
This makes the ads look like they are part of the article, so when your audience finishes reading, they are naturally drawn to the ads at the end. My CTR went up when I started using this placement.
To get this ad format choose the horizontal 468x60 layout when getting your ad code. This ad layout also works well underneath titles and sub titles on the page.
Get Colorful
Switch up the color of your ad’s links and text. I personally prefer to use the same colors that I use on my site, but many have found success by changing them up. So it’s good to experiment and see what works best for you.
Use Meta Tags & Focused Content for More Relevant Ads
Meta tags are descriptors that go into the HTML of your pages and it tells the search engines what your pages are about.
Here is a sample of code that should be at the top of your HTML code on every page right after the opening tag and before your tag…
Insert Page Title Here
Remember, this code needs to go in the HTML of every page. So if you’re using an editor that does not allow you to edit the actual HTML code directly, you should switch immediately to a program like CoffeeCup or Dreamweaver.
Not only does this information help the search engines rank your pages and provide information about your site, but it also tells Google what your page is about to help serve the most relevant ads for AdSense . And the more relevant your ads are, the greater the chance someone will click on them.
Your content should also be focused. Each page should have one main topic that is related to the overall theme of your site. If you talk about several different things on one page, Google will have a difficult time determining what the page is about so your ads may not be as relevant to the content.
And the more relevant the ads are to your content, the better the chance people will click on them and earn you more money.
So keep your content focused!
Signing Up With AdSense
Here are some last minute things to check for before you apply…
1) Make sure your site has a clear theme/topic. Remember you are partnering with Google to help them advertise and they are looking for sites that have a defined theme. Plus, the more focused your topic is, the more targeted the ads will be, thus increasing your click-thru ratio.
Don’t submit a junky site with everything from horoscopes to online games. If your site looks too busy with no clear focus, you could be rejected.
2) Check your spelling and test your links. Since you are going to be partners with Google and hosting their ads, they are not going to want to team up with a sloppy site that has obvious typos and broken links.
3) Do not put up any “Under Construction” messages on your site. Google’s TOS (terms of service) state they do not accept sites that appear to be under construction. Your site should look complete even if you still have more content to add later.
Now you’re all set! Head on over to http://adsense.google.com to apply.
Site Build It! - Another Web Site Building Option
Why?
Because people who make good money with AdSense understand the importance of driving targeted traffic and how to market their sites. Site Build It! is the only host I know that actually coaches you on all these aspects AND provides the tools and software to build your site.
If you choose SBI!, you don’t need to buy any of the software I mentioned earlier like Dreamweaver or CoffeeCup. Everything you need to build your site is included with the package at$299/year. That also includes the domain name (yoursite.com).
I actually used SBI! to build my site www.flat-stomach-exercises.com and by the 3 rd month I began making decent money with AdSense. To this day, AdSense remains the primary source of income for this site.
Another important component of SBI! that you are not going to get with any other Web host is the brainstorming tool. It’s a built-in tool that literally helps you research topics so you get an idea of which topics are in demand and would make a good candidate for your site.
Say for example, you’ve narrowed your site ideas down to 3 choices: managing stress, healthy eating and horse breeding.
Well after using the brainstorming tool, SBI! tells you that out of the three topics, “horse breeding” has the highest profitability index. What that means is that there are fewer sites on this topic but pretty good demand (searches done in Google, etc.) than the other two topics. In other words, you’ll have an easier time getting this topic ranked high in Google.
This is such an invaluable tool, and as I said, you will not get this kind of help with a $3/month Web host. You’re on your own doing the research and they do not help you build and market your site like SBI! does.
To learn more about why Site Build It! is tailor-made for AdSense, go to SiteSell’s Web site to learn more about how it works.
If you can afford it, I’d highly recommend you choose this option instead of the do-it-yourself method.
I’ve actually made money with AdSense using both Web site creation methods. But the reason I recommend Site Build It! is that most beginners are overwhelmed with all they have to learn about building and marketing their sites.
It’s nice to have a solution like Site Build It! that provides all the tools you need right from your Web browser, in one convenient location.
Below is a screenshot of the home page of SBI!’s Site Central. This is the actual page I see when I want to go and update my site, www.flat-stomach-exercises.com .
Once you login, you’ll have access to edit/create your pages, view your traffic stats, quickly change the complete design of your site in minutes, manage your images, add a “contact me” form, get help for marketing your site etc.
As I said, it is not necessary to use Site Build It! to make money with AdSense, BUT people who use it generally have a higher success rate because they are taught the proper ways to build a site that is found in the major search engines.
Never underestimate the challenges of getting enough traffic to your site. SBI! will help you with that.
When you’re a beginner, there is nothing better than having a step-by-step tutorial to tell you what to do next. SBI! comes with a 10-day Action Guide (in text and video) that guides you along the site building process.
See some sample SBI! sites here .
Below is a screenshot of an online bulletin board created by SiteSell, equipped with pictures of many successful SBI! owners. You can read more about these individual stories here
How to Create Your Web Site?
1) Decide on your topic. As I mentioned before, topic is everything. Don’t worry about what can make you the most money. Remember, almost any topic can make a lot of
money if you learn how to drive traffic to your site. And you MUST learn to do this if you want to make money with AdSense.
Choose something you are passionate about and wouldn’t mind writing pages and pages of content on. It can be anything from dating advice, knitting tips, how to fish, to
weight loss help, acne help, gardening tips, you name it!
2)Learn the basics of building a Web page . You can do this by buying a software program like CoffeeCup or Dreamweaver . I highly , highly recommend investing in one of these programs. It’s much easier to learn Web page building through a program than on your own.
You may be thinking that you just want to hire someone to quickly build a site for you, but if you decide to do this understand you still need to learn the basics of updating and managing the site yourself.
So make sure your Webmaster sits down with you and explains how to make updates going forward.
You don’t want to be dependent upon someone else to update your site. You need to have the freedom to make changes whenever you want.
Remember, this is a BUSINESS and you need to be in complete control of your Web site at all times.
3)Get your domain name . You can register a domain name (yoursite.com) at WebsitePalace.com . The great thing about this site is that they provide free design templates for you to use for your site.
So if you buy CoffeeCup or Dreamweaver, you can open these templates in the software and you’ll have a head start on the design part. Creating your site will be so much easier this way instead of starting from scratch.
4)You need a Web host . This is the company that provides you with the space to publish your Web site to the Web. So once you’ve created your site, your host allows you to save those files to the Internet.
WebsitePalace.com has some very economical hosting plans starting at $3.99 per month. You won’t find hosting much cheaper than this.
Or you can also go with Powweb Hosting . They offer more space for your money, but to be honest the plans at WebsitePalace.com will be enough for most people.
The great thing about both of these Web hosts is that if you do buy Dreamweaver or CoffeeCup , you’ll be able to save your files right to the Web using the software in conjunction with your Web host. Both companies will provide instructions for doing this. It’s very simple.
Start With a Blog or Web Site?
You need traffic and lots of it.
Just because a blog is free, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have an easier time making money and generating traffic than you would with a Web site.
I personally prefer starting with a Web site, but that’s not to say you can’t make just as much money (or more) with a stand-alone blog.
Blogs are quick and easy to setup, especially if you use Blogger.com, but Web Sites provide you with so much more flexibility when it comes to design, functionality and growth.
Remember, this is a business and you want to think long-term.
1) What if you want to add a chat room or message board at a later date? You couldn’t do this with a blog. You’d need a regular Web site.
2) Blogger.com is free and free is not always guaranteed. What if Blogger shuts down your blog all of a sudden? Since you aren’t paying for it, you have no real rights to it.
I heard a story once of someone having their Blogger.com account removed. The publisher was accused of spamming, but claimed he never sent out any spam. So it was his word against Blogger’s. Well guess who won?
Yup.
I had a free blog on Blogger.com, but I switched to WordPress and now host the blog and content on my own domain. See it here .
As you can see, the blog address is now http://blog.2CreateAWebSite.com . In other words, the blog is hosted on my own domain, not Blogger’s.
HostGator is a web host that makes installing a WordPress blog on your own domain extremely easy. Your blog will be up and running in 2 minutes.
I’m glad I did this. The story about the gentleman losing his Blogger account scared me a bit. It’s always better to own your own land out here instead of renting. Free is never guaranteed and always a risk.
Topic Choice Is Everything!
The biggest mistake I see people making is choosing site and blog topics like making money online or making money with AdSense . First of all, any topic surrounding
“making money” is so heavily saturated out here that it is easy to get lost in the shuffle.
At the time I am writing this, Google tells me there are 401 million sites in their index that potentially focus on the keyword phrase, make money .
On the flip side, when I did a search for parenting advice , there were only 2 million sites . What a huge difference when it comes to having a chance at getting your site on
that first page of Google results.
Now 2 million may still sound like a lot to you, but it’s much, much easier to get a site ranked on the first page of Google with a number like 2 million than it is 401 million.
Of those 2 million, there are probably only about 300 sites that are extremely relevant to that keyword search. So you’re not really competing with 2 million people. It’s really
much less than that.
Remember Google is counting nearly every page that mentions that keyword phrase at least once so that’s why the number of results is so high. Another reason you should
avoid the money making topic is it’s a mistake to create a site or blog about making money if you haven’t walked down that street yourself.
People want to learn about making money from people who are already successful. Not from people just getting started who are just promoting the latest money making
scheme or product. They are looking for credible sources with proof on how to make money.
So if you are not successful with the topic you chose, it will become apparent in your delivery. Your content will look like so many others around the Web and you’ll get bored
with your site very quickly.
Passion Drives My Site and My Income
I would have never created www.2CreateAWebSite.com if I didn’t enjoy teaching others how to build their own sites. Not only would that have been a chore from hell, but I don’t think my site would have been as useful or successful.
After all, I would have had to get the content from other sources and paraphrase the articles myself instead of writing from my own experiences. Being interested in this topic has helped so much because I am never at a loss for new content, and I love coming up with creative ways to teach people what I’ve learned.
I am constantly visiting my competitor’s sites and dreaming up new ways to explain things better. It’s definitely an ongoing process because keeping my content fresh is a must for long-term traffic.
Through my writing, my audience can tell I have experience with the information I’m writing about, so they see me as a credible source. Much of the information on my site cannot be found anywhere else on the Web so they often bookmark it and come back later or tell their friends.
(Yup… more free traffic on the way!)
I would never been as motivated to maintain my site if I had chosen something like stock investing. Even though it sounds like a profitable topic for AdSense (Stock related ads may earn you more per click), I would have been bored to tears developing content for something I know very little about.
I cannot stress how important it is to choose topics you are knowledgeable on and have a passion for. You’ll make the process 10 times harder than it needs to be if you go around using other people’s ideas or choosing topics you think have a better chance of making a lot of money.
But the reality is… the topic that has the best chance of making the most money, is the one you can write the most about.
Ignore Other’s Success
As I’ve mentioned before, this can be a very lucrative program, but your earnings will vary depending on many different factors…
1) How well you understand the process of Internet Marketing Whether you want to hear it or not, in order to make money online (even if it’s just with Google ads), you are going to become an Internet Marketer in some sense.
2) How much traffic your site/blog receives
3) How much you earn per click (Google never discloses this sensitive information)
4) How many hours you devote to this everyday Remember you get out of this what you put into it. If you want to make $100,000 per year but only want to devote 5 hours per week to it, that’s not a very realistic goal .
What happens is, people get so caught up in how much other people are making and what topics can make the most money, they wind up using someone else’s success story as a benchmark for their own.
Just because someone has a site on car repairs that makes $5,000/month in Google ads, doesn’t mean you should go out and create the same kind of site.
That person is making that kind of money because they created a site on a topic they know a lot about. They have a lot of useful information on the subject, and over time, other people began linking to them and blogging about them. Slowly but surely the site begins to build traffic. And as the traffic begins to grow, so does the AdSense revenue.
So while it’s good to be inspired by others, don’t feel you have to mimic their ideas to become successful. You should choose topics that interest you. That way you’ll enjoy what you do and you’ll be motivated to work on your site consistently.
I get emails all the time from people asking me how long it took me to make X amount of dollars.
I very cautiously tell them that my success has very little to do with how quickly they will make money. People learn at different speeds and the amount of time people can devote to this venture will vary.
I know it’s a very difficult to hear that you could spend hours upon hours building and marketing your site before you start seeing any decent earnings. After all, it’s natural to want to get paid for the hours you put in.
When you apply for a new job, they tell you how much your salary will be so you can calculate exactly how much you’ll be making per day, month and year. You know what your time is worth.
However the Internet is much different and some have issues with not being able to measure their time.
And while I understand that, it goes back to what I said about treating this as a business and knowing your hard work will pay off in the end.
If you were to start a business offline, you wouldn’t know how long before you’ll see a profit. But you hope that the hard work you put into developing and marketing your biz will pay off in the long-run.
I remember back in 2000 when I was spending hours in front of my computer and feeling like I wasn’t getting out of this what I was putting into it when it came to time spent vs. income.
Fast forward today when I’ve quit my full-time job and can go on vacation for months and still come back to the same income without even turning on a computer, I realize the hard work paid off.
So while money was slow in the beginning, all that learning, trial and error was critical to my success now.
Consider yourself lucky. Now, there are a lot of “Net-preneurs” making money online that you can learn from.
When I got started in 1998, there was no AdSense, and not a lot of people making money online… period.
Take this advice I’m providing and use it to your advantage. And while I cannot tell you how much you’ll be making in any given amount of time, I can tell you that if you follow the advice in this book, you’ll see success much quicker than I did!
Not For The Lazy and/or Desperate
.
Some people are so desperate to make money that they are willing to find any shortcut they can to make this work as quickly as possible.
I hate to tell you, but there are no shortcuts to success online. Even if you take advantage of Google’s free blogger.com service and create a blog, you are still going to have to work to get enough traffic to make money from AdSense.
I often get emails from people who want to know the quickest way to make a certain amount of money. Unfortunately these people are often so focused on the money they aren’t patient enough to learn the ins and outs of Web site creation and marketing. So they fail.
Nor do they want to hear that this takes time. And the longer you put off learning how this works, the longer it’s going to take you to make the money you want.
Just because the concept of Google AdSense is simple, the process of making money from it is definitely not. If it was, you’d know several people getting regular Google checks. And my guess is, you probably don’t, right?
So if you are in it to get rich quick, you will be disappointed.
But the good news is, once you’ve done the hard work upfront, the money will begin to come in on auto pilot. As your traffic grows, your site will begin earning from AdSense while you’re sleep, at work, on vacation, you name it.
But you have to get to that point… first .
Treat AdSense Like a Business
rich with as little effort as possible.
After all, it sounds much better to hear me say you can easily make money by putting Google ads on your site or blog than it does to say, “You have to build a ton of content,
learn how to optimize every page for the search engines, and market your site or blog like crazy.”
Who wants to hear that ?
But the truth is, the reason most people never make much with AdSense is they don’t realize this is all about learning how to draw enough targeted traffic to your site or blog
to make any worthwhile money. And that’s purely marketing. If you can’t generate at least 100 unique visitors per day to your site, you’re probably not going to earn enough
AdSense revenue to make this process worth your time.
People aren’t just going to stumble upon your site or blog just because you created it. It’s not like offline, where you can throw up a Lemonade Stand in the middle of a busy
street and thirsty people will just find you and buy your lemonade.
The Web is much different. People find websites and blogs by searching for information in a search engine like Google. And Google only “recommends” sites that provide
useful information and are recommended by other related sites.
And when I say “Google recommends sites” understand that I mean ranks . So when you see a site ranked #1 for a particular keyword phrase in Google, it’s because Google
can tell how many other related and authority sites are linked to them using the keyword phrase that was searched.
What do I mean by authority sites ? These are sites that have been deemed popular by Google because of their high traffic and quality inbound links (other sites linking to
them.)
So if you are building a site on how to negotiate a new car deal then it would be beneficial for you to get recommended by (or linked from) the popular site
CarBuyingTips.com.
At the time I’m writing this, they rank #1 for the phrase car buying tips in Google so that lets you know they must be a pretty popular site for keywords related to car buying.
And they earned that number 1 rank by years of building useful, unique tips on car buying that no other site offers.
Over time other sites and blogs related to buying cars thought this was a useful site so they link back to them, many of them voluntarily. Part of Google’s formula for ranking
sites is to calculate how many other sites link to a certain Web site and what keywords are used to describe that site.
For example, do a search on Google now for gardening tips .
What shows up? Generally sites that have a great deal of information on gardening. The sites closest to the top are probably sites that are linked from many other respected
sites related to gardening.
Those people on the left side of Google’s results (the natural results) are not paying Google for that rank. They earned it through their useful content and by other sites
linking to them.
So your goal with AdSense is to become THAT site people recommend in whatever niche/subject you choose to focus on. You want people to say “Hey, this is a cool site. I’m
going to tell my visitors about them.” Voila! They’ve provided you with a free link without you having to ask.
Not only is this free traffic, but Google looks at it this way…
Site A is linking to Site B . So that must mean Site A thinks Site B is a pretty useful/interesting site on “topic X”. The more links you get to your site like this, the greater
chance Google will rank you higher for whatever keywords your site focuses on. Any time a related site links to you, it’s sort of like a vote for your site in the search engine’s
eyes .
My site, www.flat-stomach-exercises.com gets found every month for over 25,000 different keywords related to fitness and flattening the stomach. A big reason for that
traffic is because people voluntarily link to me from their sites, blogs, etc. Often times I don’t even know they’ve done it until I check my traffic stats.
That’s the importance of building unique sites that offer a great deal of useful information on a specific topic. People will want to link to you.
So while I would love to tell you that making money with AdSense is about quickly slapping some ads and publishing your Web site or Blog. It’s so much more than that
because without the traffic, you’ll never make any money.
And you definitely have to earn that traffic.
1) After you’ve created your site, you have to take the time to learn how to generate that wonderful, free search engine traffic. That means going to sites
like www.seomoz.org and reading about how to get ranked high in the popular engines. Don’t ever pay anyone to submit your site to any of the search engines. You can
learn all you need to know about search engine optimization (SEO) for free on the Web. Submitting is free too.
2) Get creative and learn how to market your site in social networking sites like Twitter , Digg , StumbleUpon , etc.
3) Or if you’ve created a blog, you can join a site like www.technorati.com to help drive more visits to your blog. Also read up on Darren Rowse’s great site ProBlogger.net .
4) Do a search for forums/message boards related to your topic. If you’re doing a site for stay-at-home moms, it would be beneficial for you to join the ivillage.com forums,
create a profile and promote your site in your signature file. Now every time you go and post a message on that forum, your link will be attached to your message.
You can do this with any niche. Whatever your topic is, do a search for your topic + forums in Google to find message boards related to your topic.
Every little bit helps, but you have to remember, this all takes time. For example, it generally takes a few months for the search engines to start giving you that free traffic
and that’s assuming you’ve done your homework and learned how to optimize your pages for the search engines.
Treat this as your business, and remember businesses take time and work to develop.
My Personal AdSense Story
Now, I will admit, a 5-digit commission in a single month is probably not the norm for most participants.
I promote AdSense on three of my websites and my checks have been as high as $4,500.
The more information you have, the greater chance you have of attracting free search engine traffic. That's why it's so very important you choose a topic you have an interest in so you can keep building and building.
My checks weren't always that large. I think my first month's earnings in 2003 totaled less than $20. However, I kept getting more and more search engine traffic by adding more content and the checks slowly began to increase. I had no idea it would grow to anything like this.
"How Much Can I Earn With AdSense?"
Google does not disclose exactly how much you'll earn per ad that is clicked.
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. will 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.
Why I Believe AdSense Works So Well
For years, website owners have tried to make money from their sites by putting up banner ads in hopes of visitors clicking them. The problem with banner ads is that the Internet audience is so immune to them, people do not click on them anymore.
When's the last time you clicked a banner ad?
...Exactly!
Second, in order for the web site owner to earn money from that banner ad, usually the web surfer that clicks has to purchase something. With AdSense, your visitors just have to click the ads. They don't have to purchase a single thing.
Third, most people that use banner ads do not do a good job of matching the ads to the website's content so the click thru percentages are dismal.
With Google's AdSense, not only are you displaying text ads, (which tend to receive a much higher click-thru rate than banner ads), but you are displaying contextual ads that match your website's content....thanks to Google's advanced technology.
Lots of times people think the ads are part of your site's content so they click because the information is relevant to your site. Whereas with banner ads, they often have little relevance and people tend to ignore them no matter how much they flash and fly across the page.
How AdSense Works?
"Is Google Crazy?"
I know what you're probably thinking...
"What's the catch here? Why would Google just give away money advertisers are paying them?"
The answer...
Because Google is very smart.
If you understand how AdSense works, you will see that it's a win-win situation for everyone involved, and the bottom line benefits Google. Let me explain...
Since the advertiser's ads are now being displayed on more web sites all over the internet (instead of just Google's site), they are getting much more exposure. More exposure means more clicks and even more traffic for their site over a shorter period of time.
This is good news for Google because the more traffic the advertisers receive, the faster their advertising funds are used up.
Remember, they get charged every time their site gets a visit; and of course, it is Google's hope that they'll continue to keep funneling more money into their account for more ad exposure.
What an ingenious way for Google to increase the amount of money they earn from advertisers while building loyalty with website owners (like us) who are now getting paid to help them advertise.
Of course, I'd expect nothing less from the most popular search engine on the web. :)
What is Google AdSense?
AdSense is a hybrid of Google’s Webmaster advertising program called AdWords. In a nutshell, Webmasters are paying Google to promote their ads on Google.com. Every time an ad gets clicked, Google deducts a pre-determined amount from their advertising budget.
You can see these AdWords ads by doing almost any search on Google and the ads show up in the far right-hand side of the page. See the screenshot below :
Now, AdSense is a program derived from AdWords that allows publishers (other Web site and blog owners like you and me) to promote these same AdWords ads on our own sites.
Then Google pays us, the publishers, a certain percentage of what the AdWords customers are paying Google for those ads.
In other words, as an AdSense publisher, you are helping Google advertise these AdWords ads, and Google is paying you a share of the revenue they earn every time your visitors click on your ads.
So let’s say you have a Web site on chocolate cake recipes. When you join AdSense, Google will supply you with a few lines of JavaScript code that you paste into your site (It’s very easy to do!).
And because of their savvy technology, Google can actually read your page title, content, etc. and interpret what each page is about. So the ads that show up on your site are relevant to the topic on your pages.
This increases the chance that people will click on your ads and of course that just means more earnings for you.
Google will never disclose how much you will earn per click, but you can earn anywhere between .01 and $10.00 per click, and perhaps even more. Keep in mind these numbers are just estimates. Google has never supplied any specific data on how much you can earn. They keep this kind of information very close to the vest.
So once your account reaches $100.00 , Google sends you a check. And you can even have them direct deposit the check right into your bank account.
I’ll go into how to apply for AdSense at the end of this book, but first I want to go over some things you need to know and understand before you even create your blog or Web site.
Untold AdSense Facts
The inspiring Google AdSense stories continue to pile up.
From the teenager of WhateverLife.com who earns enough from Google to employ her own family members. To the retiree and owner of NaturalHandyman.com whose earnings totaled $120,000 in one year.
These stories and countless more have gotten the public talking. Everyone wants to get in on their share of the Google AdSense pie.
After all, it doesn’t get much better than receiving a fat paycheck every month when all you do is build a Web site or blog and slap a few ads on it right?
You’re right. It doesn’t get much better, but like every rags to riches story, there are always truths that are ignored and overlooked.
First of all, let me say this. Google AdSense is one of the best solutions for any blog or Web site owner who wants to earn a little extra cash. And yes, that extra cash can turn into thousands of dollars over time! It has for so many people.
Here’s the downside. People are often so wowed by the earning potential, they are led into a false sense of security when it comes to understanding how much work is truly involved to make decent amounts of money.
Nothing In Life Is Completely Free
I’ll be the first to tell you that I am one of those fortunate people who was able to say “bye bye” to Corporate America a while back thanks to Google AdSense and other online affiliations with my Web sites.
I work from home, get up when I want and set my own hours. Life is pretty good, and there’s nothing better than doing what you enjoy and getting paid well to do it. I literally make money while I sleep.
That being said, I would never tell you making money online is easy. If I did, I would be lying to you.
But…
Because I thoroughly enjoy what I do, the amount of hours I’ve put into this over the years has never felt like work.
And the day it starts feeling that way, I’ll quit .
My story may sound inspiring to you. But perhaps you don’t want to hear about the not-so-inspiring events that happened on my road to success…
-- The numerous days I spent 5-6 hours in front of my PC ( after coming home from my 9 to 5) and learning about this “Internet money making stuff.”
-- The many Friday nights I spent glaring at my PC trying to figure out how to do different things on my Web site while my friends were at home getting ready for a night out on the town.
-- The weekends I spent engrossed in Internet Marketing books written by other successful people, as I try to learn and understand how all this works
-- The nights I spent scratching my head trying to figure out how to get my site to ranked high enough in Google to get all that wonderful free traffic other Webmasters bragged about.
After all…
If you don’t learn how to build a website that generates targeted traffic… There will be no money from AdSense.
I can guarantee you all the other successful people have very similar stories. None of us made a profit overnight.
My point…
Even though signing up with Google AdSense is free from a monetary sense, there is still work required. And while it’s inspiring to read stories about people making a lot of money with the program, you have to remember that nothing happens instantly. Every single person worked hard to earn those checks.
I want you to have realistic expectations. So in this book, I’m going to go over many of the facts about AdSense that are often overlooked, and tell you the best way to begin if you are really serious about generating some extra income.