April 5, 2007 22:19
Category: Blogging
[]
[To Blog Main]
In an earlier post, I've given an outline of what - according to me - constitutes the essential steps for making money from blog. Though content is by any stretch of imagination the heart and soul of any blog, I've placed Google AdSense at the top.
The reason is rather simple. Compared to any other form of earning, making money from blog with AdSense is more real and easy to start. This I feel has to be the priority number one.
Look at it this way. Since you need ads on your blog pages, which when clicked will earn you money there is no universally accepted and better way to do this than AdSense. I prefer AdSense for making money from blog for a variety of reasons that perhaps are already known to you. Let's revisit some important aspects of AdSense:
Relevance
AdSense ads are relevant to the content of your blog page. This increases chance of invoking interest in your visitors, who may feel compelled to click on them. Among all those who allow you to display text ads (for example Yahoo!'s YPN, Microsoft's adCenter, and others) AdSense seems to have the largest and most comprehensive repertory of ad givers.
Content Ad Formats
There are several AdSense formats to choose from. One may choose a small one (180x150 pixels) or a large one (728x90 pixels) or any of the other sizes in between. Select those that comfortably fit in the space you provide and tweak the colors to merge them aesthetically with the page design.
If you choose the large ones (Google allows 3 content ads), you're in fact displaying multiple options for your visitors to feel inclined to click on. In my opinion, it's better to display text ads instead of image ads for increased chance of making money from blog with AdSense, though the ultimate choice rests with Google. Now, there is a choice for displaying video ads too.
Ad Types
Another plus with AdSense is that you can choose various types of ads to be displayed on your blog-page. My favorites are content-based ads and search box. Both are very rewarding. Google offers AdSense users to customize the search function. You may even have the search result page as just another page of your website, so that the visitors never actually leave your website.
Location
Locating or positioning AdSense ads is an important aspect that to a large extent determines the quantum of making money from blog. Opinions vary as to which areas are most likely to find favor with visitors' urge to click. Google has an excellent help page on this subject. It's titled 'Where should I place Google ads on my pages?'
Experts who are at it for long time suggest that for higher probability of making money from blog with AdSense, at least 2 ad displays must appear above the fold. I usually include a 728x90 pixels content ad and the search box above the fold. Just below the main content comes a 336x280 ad, and one or more content ad comes alongside the main page content.
Transparency
Google's AdSense reportage is very transparent. I haven't tried ads of many others, so it'll not be wise for me to pass expert judgment on them. Yet from what I've seen thus far, I feel I can reasonably proclaim that the way Google provides reports and helps with tools to improve click-through have few parallel.
Money For Clicks
Unlike other affiliate ad, where you make money after a visitor clicks on it and make a purchase, you start making money from blog with AdSense for 'every' click. True, Google has a 'convoluted' way of deciding which clicks must qualify to fill your coffer. Still the chance is decidedly more compared to other ads.
Summing Up
The jury may still be out as to whether AdSense is the 'ultimate' money-earner for your blog. Many people have resoundingly succeeded making money from blog with AdSense. Yet I've come across many opinions where the site-owners are said to make more money with other affiliate ads (for example by promoting ClickBank products) than AdSense.
The point to remember is that in most such cases, the websites operate in relatively mature markets where Internet penetration is high and there are many ways to edge up site visibility, thereby attaining the minimum threshold of visits needed in order to sustain and grow affiliate earning.
Not all websites enjoy the 'peripheral' boost for sustained affiliate revenue, and therefore - especially for new entrants - making money from blog with AdSense makes eminent sense for them.
