In the previous four posts I shared some of my reasons for giving AdSense another chance to make money for my bog.
I know a lot of Bloggers out there are still very skeptical about AdSense as the results they got from it in the past have been dismal. A lot of Bloggers would rather take their chances by trying to sell their ad inventory manually instead of going through Google and AdSense.
If you’re one of those Bloggers who has given up on Adsense, I’m going to cover a few things in this post which many change your mind.
Before I do that though, I want to recap some of the reasons I’m giving AdSense another chance which I already covered in my previous articles (in case you missed them):
AdWords Advertiser CPC Costs Going Up Means Better AdSense Earnings for Publishers
Google Announced that They Pay Out 68% of AdSense Revenue to Publishers
Improved AdSense Ad Targeting for Advertisers Means More Relevant Ads
Browsing History Tracking Levels Playing Field for All Blog Niches
Any AdSense Testing You Did Over 12 Months Ago is Obsolete
Filter Out Low Performing AdSense Categories
Google Certified Ad Networks Means More AdSense Money
AdSense and Analytics Integration is Awesome
New AdSense Interface is Much Improved
Ok, so that’s what I’ve covered so far.
But what if you’re the Blogger who wants to sell your own inventory on your Blog because you believe you can make more money that way compared to using AdSense.
Well, if that’s you, here are some things to consider…
Google Doubleclick Ad Planner
Google AdPlanner allows you to create a publisher profile which will let advertisers know more detailed information about your site.
The intended benefit of this is to increase your visibility to AdWords publishers who are using the placement targeting options in AdWords to specifically target your site.
When AdWords advertisers specifically target your site, it has the potential of increasing your click through rates and earnings per click. The reason for this is because the advertisers can actually create ads specifically targeting your audience based on the demographics that they see in your profile.
Your AdPlanner Profile
Chances are that your site already has an AdPlanner profile, which is what AdWords advertisers see when they try to target your site. Check out your AdPlanner profile here:
https://www.google.com/adplanner/#siteSearch
Why You Should Update Your AdPlanner Profile
By updating your AdPlanner profile, you’ll be able to provide advertisers with much more accurate information about your site. For example, you can select the type of categories which best describe your site instead of leaving the default ones that Google guesstimated for you.
Also, you are able to put a link on your profile to your Advertising page where you give information to advertisers on how to buy ads on your site. This “targeting” of your site gives you the best of both worlds – being able to always have “sold” inventory on your site earning you at least some kind of income at any given time, plus the possibility of attracting direct advertisers who want to specifically buy ads on your site.
DoubleClick AdPlanner Benefits for AdSense Publishers Video
This video explains the benefits of updating your AdPlanner profile, straight from Google:
Professional Bloggers and AdSense
One other criticism I’ve heard about putting AdSense on a Blog is that it supposedly “cheapens” the Blog or makes it look less professional, compared to other forms of advertising.
With the new AdSense category filters and the improvements in ad targeting and just generally the improvement in quality of AdSense advertisers I don’t think that’s true at all anymore.
But putting all that aside, the biggest question is whether there are any “professional” bloggers out there still making money with AdSense today, or are the “glory” days of AdSense long gone?
This next video from the “original” professional Blogger might surprise you. Some of you know that Darren ditched AdSense off his main Blog years ago but a very recent video from shows that across his entire network of Blogs, his’s biggest income earner in the month of April was none other than Google AdSense.
Surprised?
I know I was.
Take a look for yourself:
How I Earn Money Blogging on Vimeo.
Here are some things Darren shares in the video:
Even though he no longer shares specific dollar figures for his income, he admits that he is still making more than 6-figures a year and in fact says that it’s closer to 7-figures.
Out of his top 9 income streams, AdSense is #1 bringing in 23% of his income (in April 2010).
Most of his AdSense income comes from his digital photography Blog.
He states that the income is very high through AdSense because advertisers directly target his site. (You might want to get your AdPlanner profile updated. 🙂 )
AdSense beat out affiliate income, e-book sales, continuity programs, direct ad sales, Chitika, Amazon, job boards, and speaking.
Darren states that April was an “average” month, so it’s not like AdSense just had a spike that month.
Darren also mentions that AdSense works on some of his Blogs, but not others and that you’ll need to experiment to see if works on yours.
So what do you think?