Google Adsense is a popular way to try to ‘monetize’ blogs and sites.
But I won’t use it.
Why? Before I reveal all, here is a basic overview of how Adsense works:
- You go to https://www.google.com/adsense/login/en_US/ and sign up for a free Adsense account.
- You paste the code Google gives you into your site.
- Within minutes, ads from Google appear on your webpage where you pasted the code.
- If someone visits your site and clicks on an ad you can make money from their click.
Over time Google gets better at ‘reading’ what your page/site is about and gives you relevant ads.
How does Google do this? Google’s software scanners (‘spiders’) look at various things such as the titles you use, the text in your links and the number of times you use keywords that match what people are searching for in Google every day.
If I put Adsense code into this blog, ads about products and services related to WordPress and making money with blogging would likely appear.
Why I Won’t Use Google Adsense
Making decent money with Adsense is not quick or easy or very lucrative any more.
Marketers who are successful with Adsense use techniques that encourage higher paying ads to appear on their sites. They also know how to position the ads so they’re more likely to be clicked. They started doing this years ago, when it was lucrative and the rules, etc. weren’t as they are now.
There are plenty of e-books, etc. that claim they can teach you how to do this, but now you need to put Adsense on a huge number of sites to even have a shot at a reasonable amount of money!
Adsense can rarely be relied on to produce a steady, quit-your-day-job income, or even close, at least not these days.
HOWEVER the low pay isn’t the only reason I don’t want to use Adsense.
Another reason I won’t use it, even if Adsense paid well is:
I can’t select the ads that will appear!
This is about ethical issues in marketing. When I recommend a product or service it means that I think that the quality is high and the price is reasonable for that quality. I put a lot of care into research before making a purchase for myself and recommending a product to others.
It would be incredibly time consuming for me to research every product that displays on my site via Adsense. I would also feel the need to write a warning if an ad appeared for a product that I knew was s— to make sure visitors didn’t click!
I realise that other marketers don’t feel as ‘personal’ about Adsense ads. There is good money to be made with Adsense with the right techniques and perhaps they view the ads on their sites as profitable ‘decoration’.
How do you feel about Adsense? Do you like it, dislike it, or remain neutral?
~ Lillea Woodlyns
Post from: Marketing with WordPress
Google Adsense: What It is & Why I Won’t Use It
