Using Google AdSense

Using Google AdSense is a smart idea to make money online, whether you have developed a website or blog that is generating some traffic. While there is some controversy among domainers as to whether or not using Google AdSense on their domain selling portfolio site is smart idea, I’ll leave that for a future post. Most domainers park their websites and generate some income from parking companies, who basically populate your domain name landing page with relevant Google AdSense ads, allowing you to get paid per click. There is nothing difficult involved with parking your names and it is as simple as registering with the company, adding your domain names and changing your domain name servers associated with the name. That’s why most domainers park their names, there is little work and they can collect some residual income. It’s no secret, however, that they are leaving money on the table and that developing your domain name into a relevant website and populating it with quality content and your own Google AdSense ads, can be a much more lucrative proposition. It takes a little work, but it really is worth it. Like many forms of advertising, there are always proven tips and tricks that you can utilize to maximize the revenue generating potential your website or blog has while using Google AdSense. This article has been written to share some tips and tricks that have proven successful in boosting my income while using Google AdSense, including a recent lesson I learned through a Google warning notification. Let’s start there.

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As everybody likes to learn something new each day, let’s start with the recent lesson learned, after I received a Google Warning notification relating to a violation pertaining to using Google AdSense on one of my websites. For those of you who may have not seen such a message before, here is what is looked like:

Hello,
This is a warning message to alert you that there is action required to bring your AdSense account into compliance with our AdSense program policies. We’ve provided additional details below, along with the actions to be taken on your part.

Issue ID#: XXXXXXXXX

Affected website: XXXXXXXXXX.com

Example page where violation occurred: http://www.XXXXXXXXXX.com

Action required: Please make changes to your site within 72 hours.

Current account status: Active

Violation explanation

AD MISLABELING: Publishers may not implement Google ads in a manner that disguises the ads in any way. For instance, publishers may not place ads under misleading headers or titles as this may confuse users into thinking the ads are actually site links related to that header. To avoid this issue, we ask that publishers use only “sponsored links” or “advertisements” to label ads. More information about this policy can be found in our help center at ( https://www.google.com/adsense/support/as/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=115985 ).

How to resolve:
If you received a notification in regard to page content, please either remove the content from your site or remove ads from the violating pages. If you received a notification in regards to the way ads are implemented on your site, please make the necessary changes to your implementation. We will automatically review the site again after 72 hours. You do not need to contact us if you make changes. Please be aware that if changes are not made within the required time frame, ad serving will be disabled to the affected website listed above.

Additionally, please be aware that the URL above is just an example and that the same violations may exist on other pages of this website or other sites that you own. To reduce the likelihood of future warnings from us, we suggest that you review all your sites for compliance. For more information regarding our policy warning notifications, visit our Help Center: https://support.google.com/adsense/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1378153&ctx=topic.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team
end

It did not take me long to correct my issue and I was very happy that Google reached out to me to let me know how to correct my issue, so that I could continue using Google ADSense on my website. My issue was simple, I had one of my Google AdSense headings titled “My Sponsors”, which is actually against Google’s policies, as explained above. As Google explains, you can not disguise the ads in any way and to avoid this issue, they suggest that publishers use only “sponsored links” or “advertisements” to label ads.

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I have seen this common mistake on many websites and I’m pretty sure DNForum also suggests using this language in their DNFCollege, which I highly recommend!

Okay, now that you have learned something, let me roll into some other tips and tricks that I have picked up along the way using Google AdSense.

Using Google AdSense Tips and Tricks

The first tip is to be sure and show both image and text ads. Image ads using Google AdSense compete in the same auction for your ad space that text ads do. As such, choosing to display both image and text ads will certainly increase the competition for ads to appear on your website or blog, and most likely will also increase your earnings. Instructions on how to enable image ads on your site can be found in Google’s Help Center.

The next tip is to really make your first ad unit count: Google AdSense loads the highest paying ad on a page first, so if you want to improve your revenue, you need to make sure that your best performing ad unit is the first in your HTML code. The neaty gritty of how you can really make your first ad unit count by using Google AdSense can be found here.

Another great tip is to ensure optimal ad placement, which is really important. The placement of your Google AdSense ads plays a significant role in revenue earning potential and user experience. While Google often recommends placing an ad above the fold, they also suggest that it is just as important that users can easily find the content they are looking for. Additional tips on Google AdSense ad placement can be found here.

Always remember, you can also add a search box (or two). A publisher can put up two AdSense for search boxes (along with three standard Google AdSense for content ad units and three link units) on each page of your website. Google AdSense for search lets you place a Custom Search Engine on your site to provide users with web search, and it is a free product. You’ll also earn revenue from relevant ads on the search results page, so it is a no brainer.

Lastly, although it seems like common sense, most forget to really focus on ensuring that your site has a positive user experience! It should be obvious that user experience can make or break your website. With so many other sites offering similar services and information, it’s extremely important to differentiate your site in the eyes of your users by providing a better experience. The attention of most users is limited, so you really only have a few seconds to provide a good experience and quickly guide the user to what they’re looking for.

Using Google AdSense is really how you can make some good money on-line, but you need to follow the rules and you need to maximize the potential of your site as much as you can. Hopefully some of these tips and tricks using Google AdSense are helpful to you. As I have another list of additional tips that I have found very profitable, I’ll be sure to write another post to follow up this one soon! In the mean time, good luck using Google AdSense!

Using Google AdSense

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Newbie Domaining

Newbie domaining – well, perhaps you read my six-months post, so I’ll try not to be repetitive. If you have not, looking back, I had actually learned a couple of things by then and perhaps its worth a read. You can check them out here. Anyway, this week does celebrate my one year in the domaining world, as evidenced by the numerous domain names that I let drop this week. As happens to most newbie domainers who visit GoDaddy for the first time as an introduction to domain names, I was amazed at what was selling on their auction platform and for how much. I was also awestruck by the number of domain names that I thought of that were “actually available” to register (hand reg) like HardJudgement(.)com, RollingLogs(.)com, ShoulderOfGiants(.)com and a lot of other pigeon shit names, as Rick Swartz would call them. What was I thinking? Nothing but $$$, which allowed me to waste a bunch of $$$.

In one of the 6-month posts, I talked about a thread I started at DNForum entitled, What’s The Most Important Thing You Have Learned Domaining, which got a lot of participation and is something I read from time to time, as it is chock full of notable tips and reminders. Anyway, if somebody were to ask me that same question today after one year doing this, I’d answer… Take your time and do your homework! Now that it is tax time, it is pretty evident that I wasted a lot of money lining the pockets of others because I didn’t take my time and I did not do my homework, at first anyways. Remember, patience is a virtue and nothing is easy!

Domaining | Domaining | Domaining | Domaining | Domaining | Domaining

While I’m only doing this part time, I try and maximize the time I do spend domaining by reading as much as I can from others who are already successful doing it. One of the best things that I did early on was open a Twitter account and follow folks in the domaining world. Follow some of the well known names in the industry and follow who they follow. Soon, you’ll have an abundance of relevant reading material on a daily basis that will inform you of the domaining world, past, present and future. It really is an amazing resource and keeps you in tune with the industry as a whole, without wasting much time. It is also a great platform to sell domain names and I have sold several names through my website, which they found via Twitter posts. Just be sure to not bombard your followers with just domain listings. Be sure to re-tweet articles or posts that you find informative and relevant and also take the time to provide your own insight, inspiring quotes and other tidbits of information to keep your followers following and to have them encouraging others to do the same.

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Another great thing that I did was join and mine information from several domaining forums, such as DNForum and NamePros. You may find the best information there is from threads of the past, as I do, although even today, it’s hard to pass bad advice on there, without getting shredded by the more seasoned moderators. Once you find your way around, you will quickly find that most of the questions you have in your head, have already been answered. The internet is vast and is still growing at an incredible pace, but it has also been around for some time now, so there is no need to re-create the wheel. Learn from others who have already been where you are and you will find the learning curve is steeper but a lot quicker! Don’t just be a stalker on the forums though. Be sure to participate and get your name out there. Perhaps answer some softball questions from other folks who are just starting themselves. You’ll quickly find yourself forming relationships and perhaps closing some deals with them.

As you’ll quickly find, there are numerous outlets to try and sell your domain names. So far in my first year, I have sold most of my names through my own website, although I have also sold names through SEDO, GoDaddy, DNForum and EBAY. I have also received offers through DomainNameSales, Toby Clements newsletter, 4.cn and some other outlets, but have yet to close any of those deals. Every week, I’m discovering new outlets to try and sell my names. Your domain names will not sell themselves. You have to work it. Many domainers simply list their names at SEDO and then wait and hope. That is certainly not the right approach towards success!

As far as my first year in this part time business, I have had three $XXXX sales, several $XXX sales and a bunch of $XX sales, although those were mostly hand reg names that I sold on E-bay. Profit/loss-wise, I can say that I have had a loss for my first year, which will help my taxes, although I also now have a nice inventory of sellable names and have generally made a considerable profit on those names that I have sold so far. Most importantly, I’m getting much better at investing in names that others would like to buy and I do my homework before doing so. That really is the trick of it all and something to study and learn more about on a consistent basis. There is an abundance of weekly publications that discuss the most recent sales of domain names and their corresponding prices. Seek these out and see what is selling. There are certainly some trends and you’d be wise to invest in those types of names, if that’s what you’re doing. With the economy the way it is, there are folks out there who are selling cheap to get out, which creates buying opportunities for you and me.

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In my first year, I also purchased a couple of traffic websites, that are ranking extremely well on search engines and that was a great investment on my part. I paid $300 for one of these sites, invested a little time at monetizing it better, and have already made $665 from that site. Not going to retire with that, but let’s face it, in a full year, the site will make between $750 and $1,000, and its residual income. If I can do that 50 more times, that is a pretty nice side income.

Perhaps a better way to go, however, is take the time to buy a name related to what you are passionate about and develop it. I have developed a handful of websites and have had a decent return through monetization (i.e. Google Adsense, ClickBank, advertising, etc.), although these were sites I really had little interest in and were developed with little knowledge. I’m now in the process of building a couple of sites about things that have great interest to me like wine, stamps and a children’s educational app, and the posts and ideas are flowing with ease. It really is a lot more exciting and enjoyable to put together as well. Looking forward to sharing these with you over the coming months.

Unlike my first year when I haphazardly stumbled into this hobby/side business, I’ve set some definitive goals for this year and the longer term, which has allowed me to focus and chip away at them, moving me in a defined direction. I have no doubt that I will achieve each and every one of the goals, because in my mind, I already have! That was always the key to success in other business I started in the environmental field. Create a goal, carve out steps to get there and start climbing them one by one. It never fails, just believe in what your doing and continue putting that out there.

Thanks for checking in and taking the time to read this!

Newbie Domaining

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Newbie Domaining