Most of you bloggers are probably using Google AdSense as one of your monetization tool at your blogs. Some earn more, some earn less. I’m not gonna cover AdSense hot spots as they’ve been covered by so many posts in the blogosphere.
Just one thing that people might miss about getting more money out of AdSense: Get more clicks by not giving away what people want on your posts.
Most of us know that search engine visitors are what we should after if we want to get AdSense clicks. Social sites (like Digg, StumbleUpon, etc) visitors don’t normally click on ads no matter how many of them we put on our blog. Now search engine visitors are searching for specific information on the web and if they visit your blog, most likely they will click on an ad. HOWEVER, this condition normally applies if they haven’t found the information they are looking.
So you can be a “bad” blogger by writing a piece of the puzzle just to attract search engine visitors to come to your post and hang a big AdSense sign (ad) that says “Click here if you want to find the answer”.
OR you can be a “good” blogger by writing everything you know on your posts (alas, this is what I do normally) and most probably earn less. One way to tackle this is to put your AdSense on top of the posts. The drawback is that you are driving your visitors away from your blog before they can “taste” your great posts. But most likely they’ll click on the ads if it’s relevant to what they are trying to look for.
So you have to choose: More money or more credibility? It’s up to you.
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
(3 comments) December 16, 2009 at 11:33 pm
It is difficult to strike the balance that allows readers to “taste” your content but still have just enough of an appetite left to click on an ad. The best earners are able to strike that balance. I am still working on it.
Kidgas´s last blog ..Got Paid by Life123!
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(7 comments) December 9, 2009 at 12:59 am
Hi there – Good Strategy ! I will try it on my blog… we’ll see how it goes. hehehe
Lena Khalid´s last blog ..Make Money with Blogs!
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(18 comments) November 17, 2009 at 3:20 am
I have tuned by adsense according to your suggestion, i hope i get some money out of it. Though i make more money from affiliates
@virtuosoblogger
gautam hans´s last blog ..Managing Money through Budget Tracker
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(16 comments) November 14, 2009 at 3:10 am
Ah.. Adsense, the beauty and ugly side of it. Ok, most of the time -beauty, as we all hoped for a little earning in the end of the day. Personally I try some Adsense positioning on my blog, so far I find that challenging while entertaining at the same time. I agree to some extent that too much adsense on top may drive visitors away, but no doubt, placing it on top sometimes work a lot better than anywhere else (that differed from one to another, of course) ^^ Bottom line, if one hopes to earn via Adsense etc, need to ponder for both readers & visitors’ behaviors.
It’s a good post to make us think about our strategy, now or future.
@wchingya
Social/Blogging Tracker
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I tried a little experiment the other day with one of my layouts. The ad code was normally at the bottom so I tried putting it in both the top and the bottom. I received more clicks but with less revenue per click and a lower total amount.
I then tried with just one ad unit at the top where my clicks went down in comparison to having them at the bottom but the revenue % was similar.
For that site its obvious that a bottom loaded ad works better for me. I will have to try it on a few other sites and see what works.
Thanks
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(7 comments) November 12, 2009 at 1:22 am
Currently I prefer to add advertisements somewhere below the ads or alongside in a manner that doesn’t interfere with the regular reading
John Samuel ´s last blog ..Happy Birthday Firefox! It’s 5 years of Happy Browsing
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You don’t mean actually writing this:
“Click here if you want to find the answer,” next to the ads do you? I’m pretty sure that would be against Adsense TOS and likely get someone banned.
Matt´s last blog ..Vegetarian Singles vs. BBQ Singles
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Michael Aulia
@michaelaulia
(57 comments) Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
Sorry for my lame joke. I was trying to say that the ad itself is the answer to a visitor’s question (not literally write that sentence to persuade people to click)
So for example if you have a post saying: “….to remove spyware from your computer, you just have to download the best anti spyware tool and install it.”.
Then if you have an AdSense below it:
“Download the best Anti Spyware now”
that’d be the “click here to find the answer” on the visitors’ mind
Michael Aulia´s last blog ..Razer Orochi Review
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I have personally never been a fan of putting adsense on top of my post but I am currently experimenting. So far i have been told what you re-iterate in this post that before reading my content, people can leave and visit the advertiser.
That’s not what I want
Zahid Lilani´s last blog ..Social Media Web Counter
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Michael Aulia
@michaelaulia
(57 comments) Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
I know but I’m considering that a visitor from a search engine normally looks for a certain info. Once they’ve got it, they never care about the site anymore.
But of course, sometimes they wonder what the site is all about and start reading your other posts. I guess it’s a 50-50?
)
Well at least the ad opens in a new window (correct me if I’m wrong – it’s been a while since I click on an AdSense ad
Michael Aulia´s last blog ..Razer Orochi Review
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Very informative post for newbies blogger, who are using adsense in their blog. Thanks for sharing this nice post.
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(67 comments) November 11, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Good advice. What I did that increased my AdSense earnings is putting it right below the header (text only). I normally do not like to have ads inside my post as I do not want to distract the readers with ads. Another interesting way of taking advantage of your organic visitors is by using Chitika Premium. I found it to work well and fiils in the GAP between potential readers and those that are just passing through
DiTesco´s last blog ..DiTesco’s Weekly Echo #9
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Michael Aulia
@michaelaulia
(57 comments) Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Well it’s back again whether you want to be a “good” blogger or a blogger who just wants to squeeze every single penny out. If the later, then you need to smartly squeeze the ad in the post
I did this last time but not anymore
Michael Aulia´s last blog ..Razer Orochi Review
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Thanks buddy for the above tips.I would use them in my blog too.Thanks for sharing them they are really very helpful for me.
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(176 comments) November 10, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Most people will agree with this my question is if you are not running adsense adds what is the next best monitization tool out there that you would recommend
lawmacs´s last blog ..Website Design Tips – Wireframes and Grids
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(11 comments) November 10, 2009 at 10:45 am
I find adsense covers my web hosting for a month (i usually make about $17-$23 a month), so for me it’s doing something, I don’t think it will make me a millionaire, though that would be nice, I have my ads at the top and I blog about whatever I want, I don’t try to grab more adsense clicks via posting only high paying keywords, I just blog for the fun of it.
karen´s last blog ..Avoiding Twitter Phishing Scams in Direct Messages
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Michael Aulia
@michaelaulia
(57 comments) Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Same here. I only earn around $100 a month, enough to cover the hosting costs a well a few more bucks into my pocket (minus the taxes!!
)
But I blog more toward passion than making money (but if you can earn to, why not?)
Michael Aulia´s last blog ..Razer Orochi Review
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Do adsense clicks always register?
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Michael Aulia
@michaelaulia
(57 comments) Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
As far as I know, yes. Unless if Google thinks that the click is a fraud click, so it won’t be counted
Michael Aulia´s last blog ..Razer Orochi Review
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(26 comments) November 10, 2009 at 12:13 am
I also agree with you as if you will give all informations to your readers they won’t click on your ads.Your posts should be about 250-300 words, as long posts might make readers leave your blog.
A large rectangular ad block above the fold gives a better ctr.
Shabnam Sultan´s last blog .." Marquette Island" a Martian Rock
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Well let me try that. Adsense is not a very good monetary tool though. *sigh*
Mikes Sumondong´s last blog ..Psalm 100: Shout for Joy to the Lord!
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Michael Aulia
@michaelaulia
(57 comments) Reply:
November 10th, 2009 at 1:20 am
Hey Mike!
Don’t know how AdSense performs for Christianity posts but you may want to try reading a Christian book, reviewing, and putting an Amazon affiliate link to the book
Michael Aulia´s last blog ..October 2009 Traffic & Income Statistics
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(5 comments) November 9, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Agree with you, write the information just to lead your readers click the ads. That’s what I did, but writing profit niche is better for adsense revenue than writing blogging tips. Traffic from the search engines still the best for adsense, not like from social bookmarking or social networking.
Another Blogger´s last blog ..Adsense Secrets : 11 Tips to Profit Niche
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Michael Aulia
@michaelaulia
(57 comments) Reply:
November 9th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
and to add to your comment, Technology niche sux
People are mostly ad-aware that they don’t normally click on ads (or even perhaps already have a pop-up blocker)
Michael Aulia´s last blog ..October 2009 Traffic & Income Statistics
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(8 comments) November 9, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Top position also works great for my blog too.
steppinout´s last blog ..Direct Access And Manage Your Windows Live SkyDrive Files On Desktop
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The top is fine as long as it’s not so much that I have to scroll to get to the post itself. I would also never advise writing incomplete articles.
Dennis Edell´s last blog ..What Is Your Favorite/The Best Affiliate Marketing Forums?
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Michael Aulia
@michaelaulia
(57 comments) Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
The 486×60 is probably the best to have if you don’t want your visitors to scroll too long, but the bigger box (336×280?) is said to have the best performance according to some research
Michael Aulia´s last blog ..Razer Orochi Review
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I fail to understand one of the rudiments of bloggers talking up Adsense when for instance many of these same bloggers blogs don’t appear to carry any actual Google ads ?
Is it because they have the ads on other blogs ?
pcd2k´s last blog ..The 4G Flash drive Harmonica
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Michael Aulia
@michaelaulia
(57 comments) Reply:
November 10th, 2009 at 1:23 am
Well most bloggers have more than 1 blog and depends on the blog’s niche, some feel that it’s rather useless to put Google Ads in.
For example, on a blog with Blogging niche, it makes more sense if you put affiliate links for themes, blogging books, etc than an AdSense (since the readers already know about AdSense and won’t probably click on them)
Michael Aulia´s last blog ..October 2009 Traffic & Income Statistics
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(14 comments) November 9, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Great tip.. I am like you,I usually write everythig I know about a subject not just a teaser. I am going to move my adsense to the top , right now I have it at the bottom of my post.
Tycoon blogger´s last blog ..“Sunday’s Best” Top Blog Posts of the week – 11/9/2009
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Michael Aulia
@michaelaulia
(57 comments) Reply:
November 9th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Well I’ve tried both positions for about a week and found that the Top position gave me more clicks compared to the “bottom of the post” position
Michael Aulia´s last blog ..October 2009 Traffic & Income Statistics
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