Perhaps you've noticed the AdSense bars at the bottom of the page and on the right-hand sidebar. They're part of my non-salary income initiative--I certainly spend enough time on this blog that it could be considered a part-time job, and I run the Prosper ad, so this seems a logical next step.
I can't bring myself to give them more prominent placement--they're ugly!--so they may not even be worth it. I'm going to give them a try for a week or so, see what kind of earnings I'd be looking at, and go from there. (Unless my readership hates them passionately--if you do, tell me so!) The other reason I'd cancel them is if they were consistently displaying ads for stuff I'd feel terrible bringing to my readers' attention--payday loans and the like. So far, though, it's all money market accounts and informative sites (I've seen ads for ING, Bankrate, and Mint) so I'll see how that plays out.
Friday, January 11, 2008
I'm Trying AdSense
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10 comments:
I foresee you having a chicken-and-egg type problem. You're looking to see if adsense will make you money to justify their ugly presence, but your placement isn't really optimal for making money.
Sooner or later something is going to have to give.
You're probably right, Him. But ultimately my pride is less flexible than my desire to make a buck off the blog, so they probably won't be around very long.
I've not had a lot of luck (at least yet) with Adsense on my blog, but hey, every bit helps. :)
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Ryan
http://uncommon-cents.net/
AdSense is contextual advertising. So if you use words like "payday loans," that is what will show up in your ads.
They're actually not too bad looking, you've done a good job of incorporating them. Adsense hasn't earned too much for me, but I've passed $25 in the 2 months I've had it up, so that's not too bad either.
As long as ads just sit there and aren't obscene, I don't have a problem with them. If you move on to something that wiggles around and is distracting, then your readers might get annoyed.
I use them on my blog too - even though I don't make much money on them. It's better than nothing, right? And honestly, I don't think they're all that ugly, especially if you incorporate them with the colors and all.
Hi EMM,
I understand not wanting your blog to resemble a logo-infested NASCAR racer. I had similar qualms when I started playing with AdSense placement.
Google AdSense offers a heat map that generally identifies high and low performance areas on a web page at
https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=17954
Initially, I placed ads on the lower right column and bottom of my blog. After seeing Google's heat map, I realized that I had located my ad placements in dead spots.
As a test, I switched Google Ads to appear in two prominent places. First, I moved them directly under my blog masthead. Second, I allowed Google to sprinkle two text ads among the eight posts that appear on my blog home page. After the placement changes, I consistently garnered more AdSense revenue but nothing earth shaking. Over time, I got used to the ad placement.
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GGG
http://www.giftgivingguy.com/
I had to get rid of Adsense when the ad at the top of the page read: "Married men seeking married women." It took one of my blog posts WAY out of context!
After a year on Adsense, I never made enough money to reach payout.
I've had much better luck with Linkworth. I make between $60-80/month with them. I like them because they're not pay-per-click. You get paid just for posting the ads on your site.
Always happy for a referral!
http://www.linkworth.com/?a=2527
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