Google Adsense creates a lot of misery and frustration for most bloggers. The most common question I come across is "I only made $0.23 in one year, but I have so many hits!!". After answering these questions on various blogs, I got tired. So, here is the most simple way I can explain this mystery.
What Kind of Hits Do You Have?
Let me guess, you read somewhere "The more hits you get, the more clicks you get, and the more money you will make".
Argh....
You need TARGETED HITS, not just any hits. At the beginning, every blogger cheats. We join free traffic exchanges, sign up for referral schemes, put up those banners on our sites. Why? Because someone told us that "The more hits you get, the more clicks you get, and the more money you will make".
If your blog is geared towards making affiliate and Google Adsense money, why do you circulate it amongst people who are after the same thing? They will NEVER be interested in what you have to say, because most likely your blog is about METALS, RECIPES, some wierd GPS SYSTEM, or a MEDICAL CONDITION of sorts. Everyone can see what you are up to, and NO ONE CLICKS (some of this is purely out of spite too!).
So, all of your tens of thousands of hits are cheater hits, and while you are diligently waiting 20 seconds to get a credit, you are wasting time you could have used to actually think of a plan. Okay, this plan can start with SUBMITTING YOUR SITE TO SEARCH ENGINES!
ARGH!!!!
Why do you even have ads on your page when you haven't even submitted your site. Yes, YOU! You know who you are.
Your Perfect Hit: Me! 3 Years Ago!
Think of your perfect customer as who I was three years ago....younger, internet savvy but not too familiar with all money making opportunities on the web, and most importantly curiously searching the net everyday. If I want to know the best place to retire in the Caribbean, I am going to search until my fingers go number. I type in the search bar "The Best Place to Retire In the Caribbean", I click, click, click, unaware of whether I am clicking on a link or an ad, because really, I just can't bother to see the little words "Ads for Google". As far as I am concerned, I thought I was clicking on links! Gosh, I was such a great customer!
Your Worst Nightmare: Me! Now!
I will most likely NEVER click on your ad. I know how you make money, what you have done to your site to trick me, and I just won't fall for it. So, think of me, and think of say Blog Explosion, and think of how it is full of people like me. So, why would you put yourself in that situation?
Can You Name 10 Sites That Have Free Adsense/SEO/Web Tools?
A big part of succeeding is knowing your stuff. I can name 10 sites, but I am nowhere near an expert.
If you can't, what are you doing??? Go now and read, read, read!
The,It,I,You,Me,A,.......
You open someone else's site, and viola, all the adsense ads pop up and they are entirely geared towards the content. Then, you open up your site, and you get ad space is blank, and strange Blog ads pop up once in awhile. So, you wonder why?
Read this entry. I barely have any keywords. I use generic words that you can find anywhere, because it is geared towards making you see my point. Most of my content is insulting your intelligence, and it is littered with words like "The, it, you, i me, a, and, so, why...", etc. Then, go to this entry, and you will see how ads pop up nicely, fitting to the content. It is focused on a niche subject (very few people talk about the Glover Reef Atoll, perhaps too niche).
