How to Make Money with Google Ads

If you have a website, a blog or any other kind of presence on the Internet, then Google has money to give you. It's called Google Adsense, and it's a program that literally makes everyone a winner.

Advertisers get new clients or sales through the Adwords program. Google gets money to serve those ads. And you get money when people click on them. How do you spell cha-ching?

Google Adsense: The Basics

Using Internet search technology, Google will serve ads on web pages that are based on the specific content of that web page.

For instance, if someone is on a webpage that's covering the latest golf tournament, Google will serve ads for golf clubs or golfing attire. If you own that site, you get paid every time someone clicks on that ad. Not too shabby. This is usually called CPC (Cost Per Click) advertising.

The Major Benefits of Google Ads

You may not even notice banner ads anymore. As an Internet-savvy society, we have learned to filter them out. There is also banner filtering software available because banner ads can be very annoying, and that could harm your website readership. But Google Adsense is different:

• Google Ads are less intrusive, so they don't annoy people
• The content is RELATIVE, and therefore has more impact
• People trust Google Ads because people trust Google
• The payment model is generous and reliable
• It's possible to make a healthy living from Google Ads

That last point is paramount. How do you make a living from Google Ads?

Well, with the right combination of traffic, content, and users, you can make thousands of dollars every single month.

Making Google Adsense Income

Let's be clear. You cannot expect to throw Google Ads onto your site, sit back, relax, and watch the money roll in. It doesn't work that way. Like anything in business, it takes an investment of your time to get a return that you can bank on.

To understand the logistics of making money, you need to know the basic way Adsense works.

How it Works

Let's say you currently have a blog or website that gets 100,000 visitors every single month. That's over 1 million every year. Sounds like something that could make you money, right? Well, think of this:

1. You have 100,000 ad impressions (views)
2. You have a CTR (click through rate) of 1%, which is standard
3. 1% of 100,000 = 1000
4. If the CPC (cost per click) of the ad is $0.01, you make $10
5. If the CPC (cost per click) of the ad is $1.00, you make $1000

There's a big difference between the two, and obviously, most ads do not pay out at the $1/click rate. The more obvious and widespread the keyword of the ad (which is what triggers the ad itself), the lower the CPC. And that is info you can use.

What You Can Do To Maximise Adsense Income

Whether you want to make money off the blog or website you already have, or you want to create a blog with the sole purpose of making Adsense money, there are several ways you can increase your revenue:

• Use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) writing to maximize the keywords in your content.
• Write more. The more you write about your subject, the more keywords you have for Google to search and feed ads to.

• Write often. More content is everything, and the fresher the better.
• Post useful, accurate content. When you post garbage filled with keywords it is difficult to read and doesn't bring people back. You want your site to be sticky, so that it generates traffic.
• Find a niche. Talking about football is all well and good, but thousands of people are doing it. But movie soundtrack collections, that's another story.
• Don't create too much bad traffic. It's easier than you'd think to create a lot of traffic, but if it's not qualified, which means there to read your content, then it will be a flash in the pan. It also affects your CTR.
• Make use of Google Analytics. Google gives you the tools, for free, to make a profit.
• Think differently. Don't just write the same old boring content that everyone else is. Have a new take on Mad Men? Got a better angle on knitting? PlentyofFish.com, earns over $300,000 every month! But it's not just given away. You have to earn it. Now go, be successful.
   

Tackling the Issue of Competitor Ads

One of the biggest issues you will face when you start running ads on your site is the competition. Depending on the kind of site you run, you could find that ads start being served that are in direct competition with what you are selling, or offering. For example, if you have a site dedicated to drop shipping a certain product, perhaps Disney toys or snowglobes, you could suddenly see ads for those products directing your visitors away from your site. This is not good for business. 

Can anything be done about this? Well, yes. Google anticipated this very issue, and therefore allows you to block content from up to 200 different URLs. However, it's a little tricky to know who to block until you start seeing those ads show up. Even worse, you may never see those ads, due to the way Adsense serves up the content. 

Also, as an Adsense user, you cannot click on these links directly to see where the ads are being directed to. It's a clear violation of the rules of using Adsense, but you can right click on the ad, if you're lucky enough to see it, and discover the link/URL to block. Again, this is all going to depend on a little luck. 

Perhaps the best way to create a list is to search Google for the kinds of products or services you are selling, and note the top 50 different URLs that come up. That's a good way to block ad traffic from sites that are clearly in competition with you.