Pretty Good Advice and Observations About Online Advertising

Noted:

"Recommendations for Optimizing AdSense Earnings"
Dragon Blogger (March 16, possibly 2010)

"Ben over at WildTips.com not only left me a comment about my article on how I am experimenting with AdSense but followed up with his own blog post on recommendations that I should follow to improve and optimize my AdSense on my website. The tips for maximizing AdSense Earnings were very thorough and detailed and Ben states that he makes more than $300 per month AdSense from his blogs and has less traffic to his blogs than I do and is able to achieve these results.

"I visited and extensively reviewed WildTips.com and can see how it is heavily Optimized for AdSense, it takes full advantage of 1 Skyscraper ad blog, and 2 350×200 ad blocks inside every post. In addition there are 3 AdSense Link Units and a Google Search Bar inside the site. I appreciate the feedback and recommendations given and will look to implement some of them in the near future while I am still testing out others...."

The rest of the post is more of the same: common-sense advice and a few useful anecdotes. Also links to relevant posts elsewhere, and an online tool.

Advertising, Income, and Time

Noted:

• "Internet Marketing | Google Reduces Adsense Revenue Share"
  Internet Marketing, by Brett Prince (June 25, 2010)
  • An brief analysis of recent AdSense policy
• "Internet Marketing Tips | Attracting Potential Advertisers"
  Internet Marketing, by Brett Prince (April 8, 2010)
  • Three-step process for increasing your website's visibility

The first article shows what looks like a not-ideal trend in what content providers get from Google's AdSense. After showing what seems to be happening, Brett Prince writes this:

"...This isn't the greatest news, but it's meant to inform people of what's going on with the AdSense program rather than scare people off...."
(Brett Prince (June 25, 2010))

He suggests that folks with focused blogs or websites could consider making deals directly with advertisers. What he doesn't discuss, as far as I saw, was the additional effort - and time - it would take to manage advertising accounts.

Interesting, though.

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A tip of the hat to BrettPrince, on Twitter, for the heads-up on his articles.

New Code for the Easy Griller

I've been (slowly) adding a new sort of ad to my Easy Griller website. No big deal: just using some of the white space at the top of one page, and making use of a couple of new features from AdSense.

That top-center ad will have company on other pages, as I go through the website, cleaning up and improving the pages.

Now that I look at the results, I may have goofed. Oh, well: it was a cosmetic error. No problem with function.

Optimizing for Heavy Clickers? Think First

More traffic is better, right?

And the more clicks on your ads, the better, right/

Not necessarily.

"Outing The Heavy Clickers" shows that you should look at who creates the hot ad traffic, before you optimize for them.

Not to give the whole post away, but the people who click the most ads are the same ones who "tend to open direct mail and love to talk to telemarketers."

If that select minority of Web users is what you want, go ahead and optimize for them. But take a look at who they are first.

More Advertising Advice: Read the TOS

I read through 15 Common Mistakes that Violate Google Adsense TOS (May 24, 2005) because I use contextual ads, and want to continue that arrangement.

The count is up from 15 to 18 now, and they generally boil down to common sense and following the TOS. Although I learned that I'll have to be careful about my inclination to get behind the screen and tweak code.

Keeping Your Advertising Revenue: Follow the Rules

"What to do when your [Google contextual ads] account is disabled" is a pretty good resource for people who seek online advertising revenue. The post focuses on Google's contextual ads, but I think the advice and observations have wider application.

Maybe the best advice is toward the end of the post, is to not make enemies. At least one online advertising service is susceptible to abuse by a 3rd party.