Interested in making money with Google?
Here's your complete guide to getting started along
with some info on how to maximize your earnings, why some accounts are
disabled and even alternatives to AdSense.
If you want to jump to the various sections, use the table of contents on the right.
Below is an AdSense check I scanned from 2006. At the
time, it was the largest check I had received in the three years I had
been in the program.
I blurred out my address, account number and bank info for privacy reasons, of course.
Note: Google now pays me by direct deposit, so I no longer have paper checks to show. That is why the screenshot is so old.
Here's a more recent screenshot. It's important to note that this is from 6 websites.
What is Google AdSense?
AdSense is a nice way to monetize your traffic, and very easy to
implement. It's one of my top earners and has been since 2003. (See the
video about my earnings further down.)
Google.com earns
most of its revenue by
allowing other
website owners to
advertise on their
search results pages.
All this is managed
through a program
they call
AdWords (pay per click marketing).
You see these ads displayed above the free/organic results and along the right side of the page on Google.com.
These are called
Sponsored Results, and the advertisers are paying a certain amount of money per click for these ads.
It's an auction-based system that allows advertisers to compete for
those spots. Whomever has the highest bid and most "quality" ad, gets
the top spot and so forth.
Now
you can earn a
share of the revenue
that Google earns
from AdWords by
displaying these same
text or image ads on your
site. When someone clicks, you earn roughly 68% of the click and Google gets the rest.
This program is called AdSense.
It's a great program that can help you drive additional
income to your website -- especially if it's mostly content based.
So if you are one of
those people that
doesn't like the idea
of paying for a
site, this is an
excellent way to
earn your money back
and then some.
Please make sure you read this entire article. AdSense is not a
get-rich-quick scheme and it takes a lot of work to make money. Don't
think that just because you join, you are guaranteed to make big money.
How Does AdSense Work?
Here's a video I did some years back. The reason I still show it here is the concept is still exactly the same.
The biggest difference is it takes more work to build
up traffic. Nevertheless, AdSense still works just as well as it did
back when I created this video.
How Much Can You Earn
With AdSense?
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.
Getting over $1 is probably very rare, although it does happen from
time to time. However, you will find that most of your earnings will be
on the lower end of the spectrum.
It's important to note that
I cannot estimate how much you will earn based on your traffic. People always want to know what the average amount is per click.
No one knows the answer to this except Google, so don't let anyone
try to tell you any different. It would be impossible for myself or any
AdSense publisher to give this information because the ads all cost
different prices and we have no idea what advertisers are paying.
However, there are some niches that obviously pay more. So it is logical to
believe that keyword
phrases like
sex, make money, etc. may earn you more
per click since
these are highly
competitive keywords
that are searched
for quite a bit on
The more competitive the search term, the more the advertisers pay and the more you earn as a publisher.
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.
My Google AdSense Earnings
I
have been
receiving
monthly
checks from
Google
since 2003 (yes that's me holding the same check from above), and I've
read
numerous
success
stories of
websites
earning 5
digit
incomes
per month
with
AdSense.
Now, I will admit, a
5-digit commission
in a single month is
probably not the
norm for most
participants.
I promote
AdSense on
6 of my
websites (2 blogs, a forum and 4 static sites). My earnings vary greatly
between $5K and $8K per month. A lot depends on traffic and how much
the advertisers are spending on ads.
My sites have been around for a long time and I have a great deal of traffic
so that's a big reason why I earn so much. I promote my sites on social
media, create YouTube videos etc. Making a lot of money with AdSense is
all about numbers. The more traffic you have, the greater the earning
potential.
My
checks weren't
always this large.
I think my first
month's earnings
in 2003 totaled less
than $20.
However, as my traffic increased, so did my checks.
I cannot emphasize this enough. AdSense is
NOT
an overnight get-rich-quick opportunity. Even though this may look
easy, please don't underestimate the amount of work I've put into my
sites over the years.
Creating Your Website for AdSense
Before you even
begin your site,
make sure you've
come up with a topic
that you feel you
know plenty about.
That way it will be
easiest to write a
lot of content.
The more content you
have, the better
chance you have
getting accepted
into the program.
Also, the more
content and traffic, the greater
the earning
potential.
If you want to make
a lot of money,
prepare to write a
lot of content and learn how to market your site. Don't
expect to throw up a 10 page site and make $1,000 per month. That's
unrealistic.
Now let's talk about
building your
website.
There are two ways
you can approach
this:
1) Do it Yourself (DIY) from scratch
2) Use Site Build It! (SBI!)
The Do It Yourself Method
I've actually used
both methods for
building my site and
there are advantages
and disadvantages to
both. So the option you choose, depends on what you're comfortable with.
If you use the DIY
method, you will
have to go and
get a domain
(yoursite.com) and
then sign up for a
web
host
and build your
pages.
Decide if you want a static website like this or a blog.
If you don't know the difference, this article will help you out.
Averaging between $3
and $10 per month,
the DIY method is
usually the most
cost friendly of the
two but you are
mostly on your own
in terms of learning
how to create your
web pages and adding
the AdSense code to
your site.
Web
hosts are generally
there to house your
site. They
don't specialize in
helping you market
and optimize your
site for the search
engines to help you
get traffic.
So don't expect a
lot from them in
terms of helping you
market your site and making money with Google AdSense.
This is not
necessarily a bad
thing. I had
to learn how to
build this site on
my own and it wasn't
very difficult.
I now manage all of my static sites with Dreamweaver. My blogs use WordPress.
Consider Using Site Build It! (SBI!)
This is a
revolutionary web
host like no other.
I use it for my
site,
flat-stomach-exercises.com,
and AdSense is the #1 way this website earns money.
I don't make a ton of money because it's not my primary
site, but the site definitely pays for itself and then some! I
actually just created this website to test the website building system
out.
The reason SBI! is
different from the
other do-it-yourself
hosts is that first
it provides all the
web page building
and marketing help
all in one place.
Your domain
registration, web
hosting, website builder, and
marketing help come
with the price.
They provide you with a brainstorming tool so you can research and
select a "profitable" niche based on monthly keyword searches/demand.
Then they guide you to building your website using their Video Action
Guide.
Now, it's important to note that SBI! does not build your site for
you. That's up to you. They simply provide the guidance so you can
optimize your site for AdSense or other programs.
How to Join AdSense
Once you have 20-30 pages on your site, go to
http://adsense.google.com to apply.
When you are
accepted, simply
copy and paste the
provided HTML code
into any page that
you'd like to show
the ads. You can opt to display text ads, image ads, or a combination of both. It's up to you.
You can either
display the ads
vertically along
side the page like
Google does or in a
banner-like
formation
horizontally across
your pages. You can even
customize the colors
to match your site's
theme.
Tips on Succeeding With AdSense
Here are some tips
for achieving
success with Google AdSense.
Build Traffic
You're
not going to make anything with AdSense if you don't have enough
traffic. Please don't think this is some easy, get-rich-quick program.
This takes work and it all starts with getting visitors.
