Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Friday, March 20, 2015
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Moving Beyond AdSense - Affiliate Products & Direct Ad Buys
While AdSense is a phenomenal way to start earning income from a website, it's by no means the end game. There are many ways you can make more money once a site's proven its potential through AdSense.
Though Google doesn't disclose how much of a cut they take from the ads they place on people's sites, experts estimate it at between 30% and 50%. If you cut out Google, that profit margin can be yours.
You can as much as double your income just from this one technique. Here's how to go about it.
==> Going Direct with the Advertiser
Let's say you have a site that's been making $500 a month on AdSense so far. That means that Google is making anywhere from $250 to $500 a month off your site.
Instead of using the Google network to sell your ads, why not go directly to the people who are advertising on your site?
Start by compiling a list of your advertisers. View your site from several different browsers, using free online proxies to change your IP.
This will give you a variety of different ads. It'll also show you ads that might only display in certain geographic locations.
Put all these advertisers in a big list.
==> Determining the Best Way to Approach the Advertiser
There are many different offers you could make the advertiser.
One of the easiest set-ups is to check if they have an affiliate program. If so, just sign up for their program and promote it on your site.
It's very possible that the ad you see on your site was already being promoted by an affiliate. That means that not only was Google collecting 30% to 50%, but so was the affiliate. That means that when you go direct as an affiliate, you'll make quite a bit more money.
Another way to monetize is to sell them leads. Just put a name, email and possibly phone number field in place of your ad. Collect user information, then sell the data to different companies.
Note: Yes, this is completely legal and ethical, provided you disclose everything.
Finally, you can simply offer to sell your ads to the advertiser at a cheaper rate than they're currently paying.
==> Making Contact
If you're going through an affiliate program, you'll never actually have to pick up a phone. Just click the sign up button.
If you're planning on selling leads or ads, you'll probably want to actually make a phone call to make your pitch.
The pitch is very simple: "You've been spending money on my site already, it seems to be working for you, and I'd like to give you a cheaper rate."
If you both split the savings from not going through Google, you'll both save/earn between 15% and 25% more.
These are very simple ways of increasing your AdSense income by taking your existing advertisers and going direct rather than using an ad network.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Purchase Adsense Websites for Passive Income
If you're building AdSense websites, it can take a long time before you actually reach the point where you're earning significant income. If you have the available capital, it's often much faster to simply buy these AdSense websites.
How does buying AdSense websites for passive income work? Let's take a look.
==> The Market Places
There are a few different places you can look for AdSense sites.
The most active market place on the web is Flippa.com. Flippa creates eBay-style auctions online for websites. Site owners list all their stats such as traffic, earnings, referrers, backlinks and such. Then others bid on the websites based on how much they'd pay for them.
The other high-volume, under $10,000 apiece market place is Digital Point's "Buy, Sell or Trade" forums. There are many other smaller market places on webmaster-oriented forums.
For over $10,000 apiece transactions, look through sites like BizBuySell and sort by "online" or "internet business."
==> How AdSense Sites Are Valued
AdSense websites will generally sell for anywhere between 6 months' worth of its income and 30 months of its income.
That's a pretty big range. What determines where a site falls on the valuable continuum?
First of all is longevity of the income. If a site's only been making $5 a week for two weeks and the owner puts it up for sale, chances are it'll only fetch 6 months' worth of income or so.
On the other hand, if a site has been earning $150 a month for two years, that site may very well get a twenty times or higher valuation.
The source of traffic and the source of the income can also play a factor. On Flippa, SEO traffic tends to be valued a lot higher than other traffic sources. AdSense also gets higher valuation than other revenue sources.
==> How to Find Profitable, Low-Risk AdSense Sites
First of all, try to always only bid on verified Google Analytics auctions. That'll ensure that when you bid on a site, you're actually getting what the site owner says you're getting.
Look for longevity. Avoid topics that might go out of fashion in a few months, such as sites about the latest iPhone. Avoid traffic sources that could dry up overnight. Avoid new sites. Avoid sites that depend too much on one referring site for all its traffic.
Try to find low maintenance sites. Some sites will flourish only when they're regularly updated. That's okay if the work can be outsourced, but if the content was written by the last owner and it's very highly specialized, it might be impossible for someone else to maintain.
In short, look for websites that you believe you can maintain and where the traffic and income will last. Finally, buy only one site at a time until you get used to the process. There are more balls to juggle than most people realize (domain transfers, database transfers, files, etc.) and it takes a few times before you get used to the process.
How does buying AdSense websites for passive income work? Let's take a look.
==> The Market Places
There are a few different places you can look for AdSense sites.
The most active market place on the web is Flippa.com. Flippa creates eBay-style auctions online for websites. Site owners list all their stats such as traffic, earnings, referrers, backlinks and such. Then others bid on the websites based on how much they'd pay for them.
The other high-volume, under $10,000 apiece market place is Digital Point's "Buy, Sell or Trade" forums. There are many other smaller market places on webmaster-oriented forums.
For over $10,000 apiece transactions, look through sites like BizBuySell and sort by "online" or "internet business."
==> How AdSense Sites Are Valued
AdSense websites will generally sell for anywhere between 6 months' worth of its income and 30 months of its income.
That's a pretty big range. What determines where a site falls on the valuable continuum?
First of all is longevity of the income. If a site's only been making $5 a week for two weeks and the owner puts it up for sale, chances are it'll only fetch 6 months' worth of income or so.
On the other hand, if a site has been earning $150 a month for two years, that site may very well get a twenty times or higher valuation.
The source of traffic and the source of the income can also play a factor. On Flippa, SEO traffic tends to be valued a lot higher than other traffic sources. AdSense also gets higher valuation than other revenue sources.
==> How to Find Profitable, Low-Risk AdSense Sites
First of all, try to always only bid on verified Google Analytics auctions. That'll ensure that when you bid on a site, you're actually getting what the site owner says you're getting.
Look for longevity. Avoid topics that might go out of fashion in a few months, such as sites about the latest iPhone. Avoid traffic sources that could dry up overnight. Avoid new sites. Avoid sites that depend too much on one referring site for all its traffic.
Try to find low maintenance sites. Some sites will flourish only when they're regularly updated. That's okay if the work can be outsourced, but if the content was written by the last owner and it's very highly specialized, it might be impossible for someone else to maintain.
In short, look for websites that you believe you can maintain and where the traffic and income will last. Finally, buy only one site at a time until you get used to the process. There are more balls to juggle than most people realize (domain transfers, database transfers, files, etc.) and it takes a few times before you get used to the process.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Adsense Terms of Service Mistakes to Avoid
Violating the AdSense Terms of Service (ToS) even by mistake can get your account banned or disabled. Once disabled, there's very little you can do to get your account reinstated. So how do you avoid getting in trouble?
Here are a few of the most common mistakes to watch out for.
==> Watch Your Dynamic Content
If you're pulling content from RSS feeds or using an automated content scraper of any sort, you need to carefully check over the content that's going live with ads on it.
Even if your site doesn't have anything to do with non-TOS compliant material, you're still liable for anything that appears on your site through your dynamic content.
Make sure no gambling, adult, file sharing, etc. content is appearing on your site.
==> Creating Multiple Accounts
You only need one account. Even if you run twenty different websites in completely different websites, Google wants you to have just one account.
Using URL channels and custom channels, you can easily track and separate the statistics from all your different sites.
==> Remove Ads from Non-Content Pages
Take your ads off any pages that aren't content pages. That means opt-in pages, popups, popunders, "hover over" pages, category pages, tag pages, etc.
Basically any page that isn't a content page shouldn't have an ad on.
That includes the widget section or navigation sections if you're using WordPress.
==> Implying a Relationship between Image and Ad
A long-standing method of increasing CTR is to put AdSense ads near images. This is a bit of a grey area.
Yes, it's okay to put AdSense near your image ads and it will indeed increase CTR. However, it's important that they're far enough apart from each other that it doesn't imply a relationship.
For example, you can't put a picture of a bird cage up, then have an ad right underneath it that might display ads for bird cages.
Put ads near images, but make sure there's a line of text or enough spacing separating them that they appear to be unrelated items.
==> Disclosing CPM, CTR, Impressions, Clicks
This is data that Google considers competitive and doesn't want disclosed.
If you want to post earnings screenshots somewhere, just blank out those areas. You can still post screenshots of your URL channels along with their earnings, you just can't post any data that Google considers competitive.
==> Remember the Basics
Finally, always keep the basics in mind, no matter how long you've been doing AdSense:
* Never edit the ad code. Never use any plug-ins that automatically generate code or edit the code for you.
* Never place more than three ad units and one navigation bar on any page.
* Never use any text other than "sponsored links" or "advertisements" above an ad box.
* Never, ever click on your own links.
These are some of the most common mistakes that webmasters make which get their accounts disabled.
Here are a few of the most common mistakes to watch out for.
==> Watch Your Dynamic Content
If you're pulling content from RSS feeds or using an automated content scraper of any sort, you need to carefully check over the content that's going live with ads on it.
Even if your site doesn't have anything to do with non-TOS compliant material, you're still liable for anything that appears on your site through your dynamic content.
Make sure no gambling, adult, file sharing, etc. content is appearing on your site.
==> Creating Multiple Accounts
You only need one account. Even if you run twenty different websites in completely different websites, Google wants you to have just one account.
Using URL channels and custom channels, you can easily track and separate the statistics from all your different sites.
==> Remove Ads from Non-Content Pages
Take your ads off any pages that aren't content pages. That means opt-in pages, popups, popunders, "hover over" pages, category pages, tag pages, etc.
Basically any page that isn't a content page shouldn't have an ad on.
That includes the widget section or navigation sections if you're using WordPress.
==> Implying a Relationship between Image and Ad
A long-standing method of increasing CTR is to put AdSense ads near images. This is a bit of a grey area.
Yes, it's okay to put AdSense near your image ads and it will indeed increase CTR. However, it's important that they're far enough apart from each other that it doesn't imply a relationship.
For example, you can't put a picture of a bird cage up, then have an ad right underneath it that might display ads for bird cages.
Put ads near images, but make sure there's a line of text or enough spacing separating them that they appear to be unrelated items.
==> Disclosing CPM, CTR, Impressions, Clicks
This is data that Google considers competitive and doesn't want disclosed.
If you want to post earnings screenshots somewhere, just blank out those areas. You can still post screenshots of your URL channels along with their earnings, you just can't post any data that Google considers competitive.
==> Remember the Basics
Finally, always keep the basics in mind, no matter how long you've been doing AdSense:
* Never edit the ad code. Never use any plug-ins that automatically generate code or edit the code for you.
* Never place more than three ad units and one navigation bar on any page.
* Never use any text other than "sponsored links" or "advertisements" above an ad box.
* Never, ever click on your own links.
These are some of the most common mistakes that webmasters make which get their accounts disabled.
Friday, February 13, 2015
Increase AdSense Profits by List Building
Most people who come to an AdSense website and click on an ad simply won't come back after they click. That means that for that visitor, you probably earned just a few cents. What if you could earn a lot more per visitor, over the course of a few weeks or months?
List building allows you to do this. Here's how.
==> Focus on the List, Not the Clicks
Instead of focusing on getting clicks to your AdSense ads, make your list the most prominent thing.
Use techniques like hover overs and squeeze pages to increase your opt-in rate. Create some sort of prize, gift or free report that they will receive when they sign up.
Track your sign-up rate and split test different set-ups to get your opt-in rate as high as you can. While your opt-in might be low in the beginning, it should be higher than 10% with some split testing.
==> Emailing Teasers, AdSense on Real Content
It's important to remember that it's against AdSense's Terms of Service to paste AdSense code into emails. Yes, it can be done from an HTML and JavaScript perspective, but it could very well get your account disabled.
So how do you take advantage of this list once you've built it?
Do it by writing teasers, with the bulk of the content being on your website. The actual content has the AdSense ads in it.
For example, let's say you run a site about how to decrease your mile time.
You might send out a brief email about why it's so important to count your steps per breath. Then you say that if they want to find the exact techniques and steps-to-breath ratios, they need to visit the article on your site. You give them the link.
They then land on the site, read the article and have a chance of clicking on your ads.
And so on. Unlike AdSense, where you only get one chance to monetize on your traffic, you can now repeatedly send them interesting emails that they'll open, click through to and read.
This list you're building could provide you with AdSense income for months and years to come. Even if search engine traffic dies down, you'll still be able to make money from your list for a long time while you get other income sources set up.
The key with this technique is to write really good content. That way, your readers will be trained to know that whenever they click on a link from you in an email, it's going to be good content on the other end.
To summarize, once you have a website that's getting traffic and making money with AdSense, you should seriously think about building a list. Building a list allows you to monetize the traffic over months and years, rather than just one click.
List building allows you to do this. Here's how.
==> Focus on the List, Not the Clicks
Instead of focusing on getting clicks to your AdSense ads, make your list the most prominent thing.
Use techniques like hover overs and squeeze pages to increase your opt-in rate. Create some sort of prize, gift or free report that they will receive when they sign up.
Track your sign-up rate and split test different set-ups to get your opt-in rate as high as you can. While your opt-in might be low in the beginning, it should be higher than 10% with some split testing.
==> Emailing Teasers, AdSense on Real Content
It's important to remember that it's against AdSense's Terms of Service to paste AdSense code into emails. Yes, it can be done from an HTML and JavaScript perspective, but it could very well get your account disabled.
So how do you take advantage of this list once you've built it?
Do it by writing teasers, with the bulk of the content being on your website. The actual content has the AdSense ads in it.
For example, let's say you run a site about how to decrease your mile time.
You might send out a brief email about why it's so important to count your steps per breath. Then you say that if they want to find the exact techniques and steps-to-breath ratios, they need to visit the article on your site. You give them the link.
They then land on the site, read the article and have a chance of clicking on your ads.
And so on. Unlike AdSense, where you only get one chance to monetize on your traffic, you can now repeatedly send them interesting emails that they'll open, click through to and read.
This list you're building could provide you with AdSense income for months and years to come. Even if search engine traffic dies down, you'll still be able to make money from your list for a long time while you get other income sources set up.
The key with this technique is to write really good content. That way, your readers will be trained to know that whenever they click on a link from you in an email, it's going to be good content on the other end.
To summarize, once you have a website that's getting traffic and making money with AdSense, you should seriously think about building a list. Building a list allows you to monetize the traffic over months and years, rather than just one click.
Monday, February 9, 2015
How To Ensure That Public Service Ads Don't Show Up with Adsense
If Google doesn't have enough information to determine what your site is about, they'll display Public Service Ads (PSA). These are basically ads that "help the world" but don't make you any money.
If you're finding PSA ads on your site for more than 72 hours, then chances are something's not working properly with your AdSense set-up.
Here's how to ensure that PSA ads don't show up.
==> Reduce Your Ad Units
If you're noticing that some ads are showing actual advertisers while others are PSA ads, that probably means Google is able to tell what your site is about but just doesn't have enough ads to show.
Reduce the number of ads on your site. Perhaps run just one prominent ad rather than several ads at a time.
==> Add More Content
This will help Google determine more easily what your site is about. In fact, without at least a base amount of content, AdSense may not even be able to tell what your site is about.
Add more content. Make sure you have at least 500 words of content on each page, preferably 1,000 words or more.
Also make sure you fill out your "meta keyword" and "meta description" tags.
==> Add More LSI Keywords
LSI, or "Latent Semantic Indexing" is basically Google's index of words they think are related to other words.
Use the Google Keyword Tool to find these LSI keywords. Type your main keyword into the Google Keyword Tool, then see what kinds of keywords Google thinks are related to your site. Write down a few of these keywords.
Then go into Google search and type in your keyword. Scroll all the way to the bottom, where it says "Related Searches."
Write down all of those searches as well.
Basically what you've done is take your main keyword and find out what Google thinks is related to that keyword. No guessing necessary.
Now take those keywords and add them to your site in a way that makes sense. Don't just stuff them into your page, but weave them into your page whenever possible.
==> Add an Alternative Ad
Google allows you to specify an alternative ad instead of using their Public Service Ads.
In other words, you can tell Google to display an ad for an affiliate product or an ad from another ad network if they can't find any ads for you.
If you're finding PSA ads appearing often, this is a great way to recover some of that lost income.
To sum up, start by removing some ad units so Google needs to find fewer ads to fill up your ad space. Add more content. Use the Google Keyword Tool and Google Search to find LSI keywords and add that to your content. Finally, specify an alternative ad to recapture lost income.
If you're finding PSA ads on your site for more than 72 hours, then chances are something's not working properly with your AdSense set-up.
Here's how to ensure that PSA ads don't show up.
==> Reduce Your Ad Units
If you're noticing that some ads are showing actual advertisers while others are PSA ads, that probably means Google is able to tell what your site is about but just doesn't have enough ads to show.
Reduce the number of ads on your site. Perhaps run just one prominent ad rather than several ads at a time.
==> Add More Content
This will help Google determine more easily what your site is about. In fact, without at least a base amount of content, AdSense may not even be able to tell what your site is about.
Add more content. Make sure you have at least 500 words of content on each page, preferably 1,000 words or more.
Also make sure you fill out your "meta keyword" and "meta description" tags.
==> Add More LSI Keywords
LSI, or "Latent Semantic Indexing" is basically Google's index of words they think are related to other words.
Use the Google Keyword Tool to find these LSI keywords. Type your main keyword into the Google Keyword Tool, then see what kinds of keywords Google thinks are related to your site. Write down a few of these keywords.
Then go into Google search and type in your keyword. Scroll all the way to the bottom, where it says "Related Searches."
Write down all of those searches as well.
Basically what you've done is take your main keyword and find out what Google thinks is related to that keyword. No guessing necessary.
Now take those keywords and add them to your site in a way that makes sense. Don't just stuff them into your page, but weave them into your page whenever possible.
==> Add an Alternative Ad
Google allows you to specify an alternative ad instead of using their Public Service Ads.
In other words, you can tell Google to display an ad for an affiliate product or an ad from another ad network if they can't find any ads for you.
If you're finding PSA ads appearing often, this is a great way to recover some of that lost income.
To sum up, start by removing some ad units so Google needs to find fewer ads to fill up your ad space. Add more content. Use the Google Keyword Tool and Google Search to find LSI keywords and add that to your content. Finally, specify an alternative ad to recapture lost income.
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