Blogging for dollars

Google now giving away Adsense money to Blogger bloggers

[Small Website Guy]

Read this:

[blogger.com ]

You open up a blog at Blogger.

You get free hosting for your blog.

And now, instead of there being ads at the top of the page, YOU get to place your own Adsense ads and make money.

Presumably, Google now automatically aproves Adsense for a Blogger blog.

[Jenstar]

I like the style they wrote it in. The part that stood out most is "Don't share how much you've earned. That's going to be hard for lots of bloggers but it is against the terms and conditions and will get you kicked out. "

Wonder if they will be more stringent on discussing $$ when it comes to bloggers.

You still have to go through the application process - it isn't an instant approval.

It does explain why the ads are no longer on all Blogger pages. I wonder if these account get tagged as Blogger accounts and display ads different - remember ads on Blogger that AdSense was running before included the "related keywords" on the bottom of the ads.

[zulufox]

WOW!

This is big for adsense!

Why? Thousands and Thousands of Bloggers will soon become publishers of adsense, it wont just be for web developers... Adsense just went public in a very big way.

[icedowl]

Please note that this program is optional and that it is not required for you to have a Blogger powered blog—all bloggers are invited.

I already have a Blogger blog as well as other blogs (B2Evolution & Movable Type). I have to guess that the above sentence means it is okay to add adsense on the pages generated from any blog software.

Or am I all wet?

[Jenstar]

It has been fine for all bloggers to apply. I think they are just trying to stress you don't *have* to sign up with AdSense to keep your Blogger account.

[edit_g]

Sorry to be a downer here, but this is yet another reason for advertisers not to use the content network.

'Mark's my friend, he makes money if I click on these ads <CLICK>, I just made him 10 cents, he he, I'll come back and do that tomorrow.'

[stuartmcdonald]

Absolutely Ditto 100% Post #6
No offense to the many quality bloggers out there, but as far as I'm concerned (asia-travel related website) the last thing one needs to see is the content market further watered down by the addition of hundreds of asia travel related blogs they will start pulling in google adverts...

[chrisnrae]

"'Mark's my friend, he makes money if I click on these ads <CLICK>, I just made him 10 cents, he he, I'll come back and do that tomorrow.'"

I own a well trafficked blog and was actually advised by a friend who knows Adsense pretty well not to add Adsense to my blog - reason was exactly the above. Enough people do it, and you're axed for fraud. Since I have other sites showing Adsense, wasn't a risk I was willing to take.

[loanuniverse]

I think is a move towards a more democratic way of thinking of advertising.

I am one to buy or try stuff on the advice of people whose opinion online I respect.

How many times have you read on a message board or a blog {although I rarely read those} a review of a product and then went ahead and bought it. A few examples of stuff I have bought partly due to feedback from others online.

- My log analyzing software
- Several game titles
- A laptop
- My choice of video card
- The CPU/Motherboard combo inside my computer
- My choice of discount broker

etc, etc, etc.......

Reading something written by someone I trust a little will go a long way to turn me into a buyer, plus I am not afraid to use my credit card online.

[trillianjedi]

I'm not sure I follow what you're saying there LU?

Your comments about reviews etc (which I completely agree with having experienced the conversion rate of such articles personally) would point more in the direction of conventional affiliate marketing rather than generic AdSense.

Certainly in my experience conventional affiliate marketing is more profitable in situations where you have viewers with credit cards in hand. Especially if they're looking to buy the subject matter of your content, like with a review.

The placement possibilities are also a factor - e.g. the "Buy this widget online now for $40" link at the end of a review, as opposed to the sometimes random content targetting of AdSense and dilution of authority by having a minimum of 2 ads rather than a single (hand picked) link.

If you respect an authors review, my experience is you will take his recommendation of where to buy.

I don't think the same can be said of a google recommendation?

[Allergic]

Hehehe I knew it
[webmasterworld.com...]

[novice]

Nice insight allergic.

I have a blog with blogger. My main concern with adding adsense is that I allow annonymous comments and have no way to screen for inappropriate posts that may offend Google or their advertisers.

[Allergic]

If the comments go like a free for all, just put it to 'Registred user' or Hide them .

[nosense]

welcome bloggers to adsense. please play nice, our the sandbox will get messy and useless to all.

[creepychris]

I'm skaking my head at this one. More quality, not less, is needed. Google is singlehandedly trying to destroy the text-link market.

[Galtego]

I agree with the concern about quality, but I do believe that bloggers are powerful influencers of opinion and that blogs can be very good places to advertise.

[Chndru]

bloggers are powerful influencers of opinion

Well said. I rather take a blogger's review seriously than say, CNET :)

[HughMungus]

Thousands and Thousands of Bloggers will soon become publishers of adsense, it wont just be for web developers... Adsense just went public in a very big way.

Good for Adsense, bad for publishers.

Here's a bad sign:

Write content related to real products.
Don't start a blog just for money.

So...don't start a blog just for money but please write content related to real products.

[edited by: HughMungus at 3:56 pm (utc) on Aug. 24, 2004]

[novice]

Since Google gives advertisers the option to display ads on content sites, they may also give them the option to display ads on blogs.

[ogletree]

Your going to start seeing some interesting blog topics. Today I worked out (mesothelioma) and I called my sister. (Mesothelioma) Work was real hard my boss yelled at me (mesothelioma). My girlfriend and I (mesothelioma) went out to eat at a nice restaurant. (Mesothelioma)

[loanuniverse]

TJ: A hand picked affiliate link should convert better than leaving it to adsense targeting.

However, hand picking affiliates can be a hassle. There is more variety in adsense. It takes more work to implement. Publishers feel more comfortable with Google's than Joe's Company to pay up.

My point is that adsense in Blogs can be a good thing and that conversions are there from personal experience. Not trying to compare adsense to affiliate programs. Although personally adsense has worked better for me.

[freeflight2]

Today I worked out (mesothelioma) and I called my sister. (Mesothelioma) Work

ogletree: you forgot to put the ad without borders into the middle of that with all the blog-navigation links directly on top of it ;)

[howiejs]

My concern is the reactions from teh advertisers. If you are spending several $$ a click and see your ad on a "bad" spot - you will not be happy

Here is the real world example
You buy 50 billboards w/ an outdoor ad agency nationwide
You happen to in Chicago at a convention and you are driving and there is your billboard in a seedy spot behind a bar! How come in New York it was in a great location.

So you call your ad company and they either make good on the location in Chicago or they change the rate . . . . .

[HughMungus]

My point is that adsense in Blogs can be a good thing

For who?

[loanuniverse]

If you are spending several $$ a click and see your ad on a "bad" spot -

*cough* Domainpark *cough*

The availability of adsense in blogs will be good for:

Bloggers.
Google which owns blogger
Advertisers for whom it makes sense to remain in content.

It might not be good news for a lot of publishers, which now have additional competition.

And yes, I agree there will be a lot of sites included now that will be disliked by advertisers. But the fact is that those sites are out there already.

[div01]

Google used to show Adsense ads on free blogger sites. They have now removed those ads and are encouraging bloggers to get their own Adsense accounts? Something doesn't add up...why give a share of the Adsense revenues to the bloggers when you had it all?

Edit - just checked my blog. It looks like there are no Adsense ads on the main page, but they still appear in the archives.

[paybacksa]

Google wants a piece of the "blogAds" pie.

Nice business for Google.

1. add tons more content-keyword rich pages for displaying ads
   
2. create lots of more buzz among bloggers who now can make a few hundred bucks a month for nothing
   
3. it will be a while before advertisers decide not to place ads on blogs, and when they do, G can give them that option. In the mean time, tons of revenue for G.
   
4. with automated click fraud detection, G can bust thousands of blogs and keep 1.5 months of earned revenue. That's absolutely free money, the best kind for the bottom line.
   
5. with Blogs hosted by google, Google knows everything it wants to know about the site activity and performance.
   
6. G just banned all competitive PPC systems from all blogger blogs.
   
7. Most blogger.com bloggers don't do anything fancy server side, and don't play with js. Cleaner and easier than typical adsense clients for G?
   
8. G gets to cash in on all the buzz surrounding blogs and how important they are, especially around election time. It's beng discussed everywhere I look.
   

[HughMungus]

why give a share of the Adsense revenues to the bloggers when you had it all?

Because Adsense gets more clicks which = more money while Google gets to pay publishers less (both Bloggers and non-Bloggers; the latter because the amount of ad space available is severely diluted).

[Teshka]

Have you seen blogs with Adsense? 99% of the ones I've seen just end up with ads for blogging software, even when they are about politics or a vacation to Europe or some such.

[macrost]

Well I just looged onto my blog and see that I am now invited to use adsense. I wonder if I can use my adsense account that I already have?

I want to see if it is actually targeted.