Fuzzyfish1000 - 8:45 am on Mar 28, 2006 (gmt 0)

Hey ppl (first post). Nice article, and I think, fairly near the mark. It's a bit hope crushing though.

I think it's often a case of look at your assets (no smart comments) - what are you good at? What do you know that others would like to know? I don't know if the majority of Adsense punters are web developers - but if that's the case, then the only thing that holds you back is your imagination, as far as I see it. Yeah, sure, if you knock out another 'how-to-do-css' blog, don't expect the $ to come rolling in, but the internet is a really big place, with lots of money-making potential.

I go with the, 'if I knock out x pages a day/month' it's going to take ages, and probably not be worth it. Unless you're in a job that requires you to sit on your rear-end and do nothing, with something else paying... However, from what people have posted, and, if you think about it, what seems fairly obvious, the sites that do well are the dynamic ones, where the content is new, relevant and interesting. I'm not sure that works for forums, but I bet sites like the Register could make a pretty sum with AdSense. The mind-trap is to think - but they're really big, and I'm only me... All the big sites started out small, and all ideas evolve over time.

I agree with 'don't give up your job for AdSense' - but maybe take some of your regular income, and invest it in decent content feeds, or pay a student to write some editorial content.

Like with any investment, do your research. Read SEO sites - good ones, not the 'I can give you a thousand links in a day' ones. Optimise your site, with the user in mind; steer clear of black-hat techniques. Think - would I want to visit this site? Get others opinions on it. I disagree with the 'beg-for-links' philosophy; instead, make your content good enough that people link to you without you asking. The links you'll get from link-exchanges, or farms will never be great - and may disappear without notice.

AdSense will never be easy; like any job in the real world, you get paid in relation to value. Don't expect to knock out some poor quality site, and get paid megabucks for it. If you're not prepared to put in some serious hard work, a good bit of research, and then some more hard work, then don't bother. But if you are, it's worth it.