Can I Really Make Money with Google AdSense?

March 22, 2005

Can I Really Make Money with Google AdSense?

Well, things are finally looking up on the technology front. Not everything is resolved...but I'm working on it. Man, that was too crazy. So, I'm getting a bit more back on track and working on the projects I left at a standstill. Phew!

I thought I'd drop in and talk to you about Google AdSense a bit. I've had a few questions submitted about AdSense and here's just one of them:

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"Alice, Can I really make money with AdSense?"

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For certain! AdSense is just about the biggest no-brainer when it comes to getting your website to make money. If you don't know what AdSense is, it's those Google ads you see on
websites and you can apply to put them on your website too. If someone clicks on an ad -- you get paid. The amount you get paid varies depending on how much the advertiser is
paying for the ad, but all you need is clicks to get paid.

STILL -- If you don't do it right, you are "leaving money on the table" as my friend, Joel Comm says. Joel earned $18,834 from Adsense in just one month last December...and he
regularly earns such handsome figures each month.

And he's right (Well, duh - he must know something if he can achieve those results, right?. Using AdSense is not as simple as copying and pasting the standard AdSense code onto
your website. So, even if you are using AdSense now and think you've reached your maximum potential without getting more traffic...think again.

Here are a few of the things I've discovered in my 21 months as an AdSense publisher:

Your main goal is to get your ads to blend in with your content and NOT look like ads or banners. Because what do people do when they see ads? They ignore them, right?

What do users like to read online? They like to read and gather information. Think of AdSense as "additional" useful information. Here's some tips that have worked for me. You
may want to see if they'll work for you:

1. Don’t use borders
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Google allows you to use a colored border of your choice. If you use this colored border, your
ad block just looks like a banner. What do people do when they see banners? Well, they tend to ignore them. So, if the background of your website is white, choose a white border
and it will look like there is no border.

2. Make the link color the same as the links on your website.
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Don’t get cute with colors. If you have a standard blue for your link text, use that blue. It should blend into your site. People will click links that look like links, so don’t change the color.

3. Don’t use the towers and put them off to the side of your content.
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There are some people that tell you that these are the most effective choice for your website, but I’ve tested it and these towers produce low clickthrough rates. WHY? Because they look like banners or ads off to the side of your content. They get ignored.

Sure, if you’re talking about graphic banners, the tower may get more clicks, but we’re not talking about banners. We’re talking about TEXT and information that compliments your
content. Make it part of your content.

And I was doing all right. I was making more in a month from AdSense than many people make from a J-O-B (but no, NOT making as nearly as much as my friend, Joel). I thought
there was nothing I could learn and I read the ebook Joel put together for AdSense publishers and I told him, "You know, I already know all this."

But then, I second guessed myself -- Do I really know it all?

So, I read Joel's ebook again and I said -- Holy smokes...what's wrong with me? There are tips
in this ebook that I just completely missed the first time through.

Here's just a few of the extra tips:

- More tips on drawing attention to your ads, without making them stick out like a "sore thumb" banner.

- Testing and tracking advice, so you REALLY know what produces better results for your various audiences. Don't just assume you know what works, like I did!

- How to get the best results with multiple ad blocks. Google allows you a maximum of 3 ad blocks per page, but that doesn't mean putting three will give you the best income result.

- Using your email newsletter to increase your AdSense clicks. This trick works wonders and increases my income each week for a number of mailing lists.

- How to optimize your content for the highest paying clicks. Google does NOT pay every publisher the same amount for each ad.

I encourage you to start applying the tips I've given you here (they'll make a HUGE difference), but also pick up Joel's ebook to take it to a whole new level.

If you start applying these strategies now...you might just find yourself with a fatter check at the end of April. ;)

Get Joel's ebook:
===> http://www.aliceseba.com/adsensesecrets.html

Take care,

Alice Seba
Your Partner in Online Success