Make Money with Google AdSense?
It’s very easy to place Google AdSense ads on your site.
You get paid a fee every time a user clicks through the ad and views the advertiser’s website. The payout can range from a few cents to a couple of dollars for each click.
You also make money for the ad just being displayed (without anyone clicking an ad) but the reward is very nominal.
The site has to receive a lot of traffic before you make any real money with AdSense. Still, it’s another way to monetize your blog.
The good thing about AdSense is that the reader doesn’t actually have to buy anything. The bad thing is that Google decides which ads get displayed.
AdSense Screws Up the Look and Feel of Your Site
In my opinion, most Google ads are ugly as shit. They really screw up the design and flow of your site.
I took all the Google ads off of this site except for one in the sidebar. That’s the only Google ad you’ll find here. I just don’t like them.
Sorry Google. :)
Take a look at Forbes’ website.
They first send you to a page with a daily quote and what else? You guessed it. A nice, ugly Google ad.
What a terrible user experience and a design train wreck. A total waste of time. I’m not spending twenty seconds of my precious life just to get into any website. Forbes must be on the ropes.
AdSense Can Cost You Money
If you’re not careful, Google AdSense can cause you to lose money.
I’ll explain my theory.
I have a friend who runs a website where the most expensive product he advertises is around seven U.S. dollars. He has every single square inch of leftover screen space filled with Google AdSense ads. The site brings in around six hundred dollars a month from AdSense alone.
If he’s getting eight percent as an affiliate commission from a sale, his reward is a mere fifty-six cents on a seven-dollar item. If a reader clicks on one of the Google ads instead, my buddy stands to make near the same amount. The ads are a win-win for his setup.
Now, say you are selling a product that’s $500 and your affiliate commission is eight percent. That’s $40 dollars in your pocket for one sale.
If you have a Google AdSense ad embedded on that page, it could be advertising for your competition. Or, it could hijack the reader’s attention and cause him/her to forget all about why they were reading your article.
If the reader clicks on the AdSense ad and leaves your site, you just lost $40. Sure, you made a quarter or so for that click, but wouldn’t you rather have the $40 dollars instead?
Don’t put Google AdSense ads on pages where you are selling items that cost over twenty bucks. That’s my personal opinion.
Is AdSense a Sign of Desperation?
I’ve read a few articles where the writers call Google AdSense “Welfare for Websites” or “Webmaster Welfare”. They basically say that Google AdSense on a website is a sign of desperation.
I’m not saying that I agree or disagree with that assessment, but I will say that I’m not going to buy a five-hundred-dollar product from a website that has AdSense ads on the product page. It just doesn’t inspire confidence if you ask me.
If I’m merely buying a ten-dollar cell phone case, I don’t care if the page has Google Ads or not.
If I’m reading a free blog post, I expect to see AdSense ads. They’re trying to make money from their blog just like me.
My Advice?
If your readers are the type of folks who have credit cards and aren’t afraid to use them, do not use AdSense. You’ll just piss them off. Advertise products via traditional affiliate marketing.
For audiences who are in a lower income level, Adsense may be your best hope of making a few bucks. Clicking an AdSense banner is free for the reader and doesn’t require a credit card.
Evaluate your site and decide if Adsense is an asset or a liability to what you’re trying to accomplish.
Why I Broke Down and Put One Google Ad on this Site
Let’s face it. Google runs the entire Internet.
There are theories out there claiming that Google gives a boost to sites displaying Google ads. From a business sense, that makes perfect sense. Google is in the business to make money like any other business in the world. Why wouldn’t they give sites a boost in rankings if that site will ultimately make them money?
Google always insists that their organic search results have nothing to do with their ad platforms. In other words, it doesn’t matter if you display their ads or not.
Do you really believe that?
Hey, I don’t think anyone is sure about the issue other than the wizards at Google.
Personally, I don’t believe anything a government or large corporation has to say. They’re all full of shit.
So, to err in the interest of caution, I put that ugly google ad over there in the sidebar. Maybe my articles will rank a bit higher due to my sneakiness.