Truth Time: I’ve never really got much from AdSense
I’m talking, not even enough each month to pay my hosting fees.
It has always been a huge frustration to me, in fact I’ve really come to hate AdSense. Why does everyone else say they make so much money from just running AdSense on their website or blog and I make basically nothing.. nada.. zip!
Now first off, you can’t believe everything that you see online so how many of those people are actually making really huge from AdSense is a mystery. And I do see just as many comments that it doesn’t work for people as that it does.
I’ve been debating for a long time on taking it off Home with Heather and using another form of advertising in it’s place. Right now, I’m at a payout time and so I need to make some decisions.
Well - I was reading a post over at GarryConn.com entitled “The Main Reason Why AdSense Doesn’t Make You Money”. All of a sudden it made perfect sense. I don’t have the right kind of site that AdSense does well on. Home with Heather caters to regular visitors that come to read the information I post. They know about AdSense and avoid clicking like the plague.
Think about it… I don’t click on AdSense when I go visit other blogs. That’s not why I’m there. I’m there to read what the blogger writes about, I’ve likely put that blog in my reader because it provides good information that I enjoy reading.
Interestingly, I read a blog post about 6 months ago, and I don’t even remember on what blog, that suggested if you like a blog post you should click on an ad for more information and to show support for the blogger. That’s one way of looking at it. Everyone is always so concerned with click fraud. If you like the article and are really looking for more information, that’s why the ads are there in the first place - so I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. I still don’t often remember to do it though.
Do you click ads on other blogs that you regularly visit?
Garry’s article explains that there are two kinds of blogs. Blogs that cater to repeat visitors, and blogs that cater to search engine traffic. Thank you but I’d prefer to keep the type of blog that I have now and find some other way to monetize it.
Really there is so much information out there on how you can increase your AdSense earnings, what you should be doing with this or that, a person could go blind reading it all. 
It really has to be a personal decision as to which way you want to go on your blog or website.
I’ve made the decision. I will be taking AdSense down at the end of this month and finding new and dare I say better ways to monetize Home with Heather. One’s that are more suited to this type of blog. Hopefully I’ll be able to share some of my research with you. I’m sure I’m not the only one struggling with this issue 
Expect the Best,
Adsense, advertising, adverts, blog monetization, click through, ctr, make money, regular readers, traffic
Stumble it!If you enjoyed this entry, be sure to Subscribe to my RSS Feed
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
Share This
| 
|
Email This Post
| 
Print It
| 
Subscribe!
This entry was posted
on Saturday, November 10th, 2007 at 9:46 am and is filed under Make Money.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Loading ...
November 10th, 2007 10:59
Hi Heather! I have finally found some success with Adsense on one of my blogs. And you are right, blogs that cater to search engine traffic will make money. Those visitors are looking for something in particular and they will click on anything and everything to find it. One of my sites is a blog dedicated to a TV show. This show’s main demographic is teens. I have been floored at the amount of traffic this little blog has gotten since I opened it at the end of July So far this month, I’m making about $20 a day through Adsense. On my personal site I get nothing! I monetize it by doing PPP.
As for clicking ads on other people’s sites, yes I try to do that occasionally if I think about it. Just because I know how hard it is to get those clicks. I’ve found some great sites clicking on Adsense ads!
I did take Adsense off my personal site for a couple of months but just recently put it back. As usual, nothing!
I always enjoy your posts and will try to comment more often. Take care!
November 10th, 2007 11:40
I just got my first adsense check. Luckily I found a hosting sponsor however
But I can totally understand your qualms. I’ve seen 3 clicks add up to 5 cents, now whats the use in that?
November 10th, 2007 12:18
[…] can read the full story here Share and Enjoy: Be Sociable and tag this post! These icons link to social bookmarking sites […]
November 10th, 2007 12:55
@ Allison - $20/day is great! And for sites like that I’m sure it’s worth the time to put AdSense on. Maybe I’ll build me one of them just for monetizing AdSense.
@ Vancouver Island SEO - I 100% agree!
November 10th, 2007 13:17
Hi Heather
Adsense on my website just about pays for my hosting. I dont make a lot of money from it, but i do click (out of solidarity) on ads placed on sites / blogs that I enjoy.
A.J
November 10th, 2007 15:43
[…] Read the rest of this entry » […]
November 10th, 2007 16:30
You hit the nail on the head right there Heather. Blogs, especially of the marketing type, do not do well in general.
Adsense is still a good money maker, but it all comes down to the niche, advert placement and of course traffic!
Josh Spaulding’s last blog post..Meet Caroline Middlebrook - A Good Example…
November 10th, 2007 21:09
Have you compared adsense to other programs like adbright?
I have been clicking ads on only the pages I enjoy, I figure it’s the least I can do to reward the site. On sites like storymash.com I only click the ads as a way to vote up the chapters I like best,
…off to clicking one of your ads now…
November 10th, 2007 21:25
OUCH!! Be careful with that! You may find that you’re hurting those more than you’re helping then, as click fraud will quickly get an adsense account suspended!
Josh Spaulding’s last blog post..Meet Caroline Middlebrook - A Good Example…
November 10th, 2007 22:12
Hi Chris and Welcome
No I haven’t yet done any research on what I will replace it with. That will be in the coming days, and I’ll likely post about it. I will be sure to check out adbright.
November 11th, 2007 08:40
Truth Time: I’ve never really got much from AdSense…
I’m talking, not even enough each month to pay my hosting fees.
It has always been a huge frustration to me, in fact I’ve really come to hate AdSense. Why does everyone else say they make so much money from just running AdSense on their website or…
November 11th, 2007 09:49
Hi heather,
Your post is spot on and I thought I would make a few comments as I am one of those bloggers that do make a decent income with adsense.
As a niche marketer I have always optimized for adsense since the vast majority of my traffic is from the serp’s. When I started my “make money online” blog I still structured it as an adsense site and things worked fine from an adsense point of view. I had few repeat visitors but lots of search traffic.
A funny thing has happened over the last little while - I started getting IM’ers to the site and lots of repeats at that. This caused me to start writing for my readers and sure enough my revenue started to fall off. My PR increased and subscriptions are up and I now have lots of new friends but my sales are way down.
I am in a bit of a conundrum as my purpose has always been to make money but if I structure the site to do this I will drive off all my regular readers. I’ve never been part of the “community” and have to admit I am enjoying it now that I have a slight toehold in it.
In the end I have to decide what is more important in the long run although I am trying to find ways to have my cake and eat it - if I can find a balance I will let you know.
You are right - your site is for readers, not clickers and it is a great site so I wouldn’t change a thing you are doing although you might want to read my post this am for some insights into how you can grab some adsense income. (this is not a plug - believe me, it’s just a coincidence that you blogged about a topic I just finished tackling myself and I think you might get a few ideas from it)
Anyway great post as always Heather
Griz.
Grizzly’s last blog post..Payday Loans
November 11th, 2007 10:25
I’m just starting to see some results from Adsense. It’s nothing to write home about, but it’s good to see some pennies here and there trickling in. I really only started seeing any results, though, after using http://www.pubmatic.com. They rotate out different colors, borders, etc. on the ads you serve until they find a style that optimizes your earnings. It also works with several different ad networks in the same ad location. Most of the networks in their program are currently geared to high traffic sites, though, except for Adsense, of course. It might be something to check out for the future.
Zybron’s last blog post..BloggingZoom
November 11th, 2007 11:02
@ Griz - I’ll be sure to check out your post, looking forward to it.
No I don’t want to change this site. It’s my main one. I might however try playing around with some new blogs to optimize adsense income in the new year.
@ Zybron - Welcome, glad to see you here
I’ll have to check out that link. Thanks for the info.
November 12th, 2007 07:59
I have a static HTML niche site that does about $45 a month on Adsense on just about 100 visitors a day. My two blogs, which get about 3 to 6 times the traffic get a lot less. High priced hobby, banking and credit and legal niches seem to get the best return in my experience.
I use Adsense as kind of a standard on a blog. If an ad system doesn’t outperform Adsense over the course of 2-4 weeks in the same position, it’s a bad system.
Frank C’s last blog post..Veterans Day Salute 2007
November 13th, 2007 00:44
I have similar experiences, Heather - my main blog where I interact with the community and get noticed most, does not generate any significant Adsense income at all. I have even gradually removed it except for one in-post section.
However, my handful of niche blogs where I do not interact with anyone and just provide content, are the ones where Adsense is doing well for me. Those are niches where people are not only looking for info, they are looking for an end result.
Of course as Allison and Josh mentioned, you need to have traffic and niches where there is sufficient demand otherwise it still gets nowhere. I have a few duds like that but they serve more as hobby sites for me, where I post now whenever I need some ‘time off’.
YC’s last blog post..Want To Learn Everything About Social Media?
November 17th, 2007 00:39
Hi Heather,
I read your blog and saw you invite to friend you on Facebook, so I did. I really liked what you had to say because all you say is the truth but not many bloggers publicly admit it. I visit the official Adsense blog regularly and all I see is questions posted by penniless bloggers complaining about their low earnings and yet, when I click on the link to their blogs I see How-To-Get_Rich_Overnight blogs overcrowded with ads of all kinds.
I agree with you, your information is targeted to your peers, who come to your blog to get information, not to buy anything. What I may suggest since you have obviously grown your reader base is to look for options to sell ad space on your blog for a flat fee to advertisers or to those who will pay you on a CPM basis. I personally have never done that since I am very new to this whole concept of Internet advertising. I am not trying to spam anyone on here, so if you are interested and if you don’t know yet about this and how to get into it, I know some options that you may want to look into, so please, e-mail me directly on Facebook. I am not making any money for posting this and I am not trying to sell anything. I really feel for you. I know it is a very hard work and very time consuming, and hate to see when someone is not being rewarded for the hard work that they do.
Kindest regards,
Elaine
November 17th, 2007 04:31
I agree AdSense it kinda sux. And, in my opinion serious businesses don’t put adsense on their websites, it looks kinda awful!
December 3rd, 2007 06:33
[…] Truth Time - I’ve never really got much from Adsense […]
December 10th, 2007 09:56
Heather I have found that the biggest problems with new bloggers is that they do not know how to match there niche to the monetization side of the business. What Elaine says is so true every time I read a submission at BZ from a how to make money site and I see they have adsense i know for a fact he is not making a dime and is clueless to how to make money online.
Anything related to blogging, web 2.0. social sites internet etc… It is a plain outright waste to place adsense your CTR will be below 1% so even the clicks you do get will get priced and you will end up with CPC of 3 cents. Many people really do not understand how adsense works especially pricing.
I love adsense I think it is one of the best money makers out there, you just have4 to know where to use it. Blog about Blogging heck no Blog about Plumbing ohhh yeahhh $20.00 CPC it is all about the niche.
To your success.
VIc
vic’s last blog post..Comments Open
May 9th, 2008 03:46
[…] Why does everyone else say they make so much money from just running AdSense on their website or blohttp://homewithheather.com/make-money/truth-time-ive-never-really-got-much-from-adsense/IMS Global Learning Consortium: learning Impact 2008 and the …Submissions are made in English […]
August 2nd, 2008 06:14
Let’s be honest with ourselves. The web is filled with more scams than legit opportunities. It’s hard to find something that really does deliver what it promises. Some of the scam programs now call others scams, promising not to charge you any money. Then, at the end of the webpage, they are telling you to buy something from them. I have been looking for REAL paid survey site for a while now. I paid to join the top 5 I could find. I have to say that 3 of them were total crap. One was so-so, but it only had about 25 companies to work with. One of them was definitely head and shoulders above the others. It had everything it said it had, and it was easy to get started making money. That’s the one I’m stuck with (http://www.all-teamed-up.com/?frankinno)
August 10th, 2008 16:19
[…] Money or Readers? Do you Blog for Money or Readers? One of my new online friends Heather at Home with Heather was commenting in a recent post that she was thinking of dropping adsense from her blog as it […]