Google AdSense is one of the best ways to make money blogging.
There are some bloggers though who do not want to ruin their readers experience with “clutter of ads.” With strategic placement, you will not disrupt your readers, and you will make money from your blog.
There is no way to predict how much you can make from Google AdSense. A great example is my site vs. my son’s video gaming website. Our traffic will be the same for the day, yet he makes just a few bucks vs. my income which is many times the amount of his.
There are too many factors that dictate how much you will make and most of them you cannot control. We will work on the factors you can control, and we will discuss them below.
A few things about your site to get in order before you apply:
Content
If your site doesn’t have articles published yet, then do not apply. It is best to wait and be approved immediately rather than have to work for a new review. So, firstly, work on the high quality content on your site that should be unique, well-written and solve users problems. To achieve it focus your content on the relevant subject, add some keywords and synonyms naturally, proofread it, or use some that explain how to write any text.
Disclosure policy
You can use a disclosure generation site or the Google Privacy plugin to create your policy. I normally put a link to my disclosures in my footer so visitors can easily find them.
Once your account is approved, the next item you should be very clear about is Google AdSense Terms of Service – read them and DO NOT break the rules.
Now, let’s get started with your Google AdSense account by understanding your ad units.
You can set up to 3 standard AdSense for content ad units, 3 link units and 2 AdSense for search boxes on each page of your site.
Below are the ad units which you can use on your site and look at those words “RECOMMENDED” – this is there for a reason. These ads perform better than other ads. Why? Because there is more ad inventory to compete in the ad auction which will result in higher RPMs.
If these sizes do not work for the aesthetics of your site, then choose another size that fits your site’s design.
A few tips about ad sizes, placement and other money making ideas (these are the factors you can control):
- If possible, try to maximize your earnings by using 3 of each ad units on your site.
- Wider ad sizes normally out perform their taller counterparts. Why? With a wider ad, you only have several lines of content to read vs. many lines so the reader can scan the ad easier, which may lead to a click.
- When selecting an ad type, go with the “text/image” as this will diversify your ads and therefore increase the available inventory for your site.
- Always try to have your ads near content – this will increase the advertiser dollars to your ads. My personal favorites are a leaderboard under the navigation, square ad within your right sidebar and an ad within your content. A very popular way to do a leaderboard is to have it part of your header, but this means your logo is smaller and your social media icons probably won’t have room in the header and will have to go in your sidebar. I would recommend testing both to see which generates the most income.
- Text links do well under your post title and at the bottom of your post. (Even though I recommend three text links, these are the two hot spots, and you can pick if / where you want the others to be located).
- If your site has a background color create the ad to match your site – this includes link colors, removing borders, etc. so blend your ads, so they appear as part of your site and don’t disrupt your reader’s enjoyment.
- Above the fold is best so readers will see them and are more likely to click on your ads.
This is the bare bones getting started — there is so much to learn about Google AdSense and how to make money blogging with them.