Forum Moderators: martinibuster
Now that I've had AdSense on it for three months, Google is depositing an average of $1,800 into my account every month. My thanks to the talented people at Google for all of their hard work in setting up and running the best search engine and the best advertising program anywhere. We may complain sometimes, but we'd be lost without you.
For those of you who are new to all this, here's what worked for me:
1: Spend ten years building a big, fast-loading site that's full of quality, original content, and keep making it better every day.
2: Get hundreds of sites to add links to it.
3: Lurk here for a couple of weeks, and read as much as you can.
4: Create a sitemap for Google to spider all of your pages. Google explains how to do this if you read their guide for Webmasters.
5: Apply for AdSense. Read what you are agreeing to. If it's available to you, go for the direct deposit.
6: Read all of the Help information Google provides. The heat map works well.
7: Add AdSense ads to some of your pages, but not all of them. That part is up to you.
8: Once a week, check every page of your site that has AdSense ads on it, and look at all of the ads. If you see something you might not want your visitors to see on your site, bookmark it and then look where it points, and if you want it off your site, filter its domain.
9: Keep reading this forum when you can. Share what you can. Don't believe everything.
10: Don't worry about anything, ever. Instead, take your dog for a run.
[edited by: martinibuster at 5:23 pm (utc) on Sep. 8, 2006]
[edit reason] TOS [webmasterworld.com] #4 & 19 [/edit]
Just a quick correction there Opti, there are authoritative directories and edu sites that follow this pattern.
Hi, I'm not being critical, merely making the observation that it is not a niche widget specialist site and he makes no pretensions that is is. Maybe if he concentrated on his site's strengths it may do a lot, lot better for maybe not too much extra work?
I hesitate in what I am about to write, it reads like an early MFA...obviously not though since it's been around for 10 years however why would anyone construct this type of site when contextual advertising did not exist? Ok, there were banner ads and affiliates however for such a generic site would it have earned much? Definitely a labour of love.
I don't know, as I wrote, it's merely an observation and not an AdSense business model I would employ.
Good luck to him if he's earning USD 1,800 month without a lot of effort.
We all could use this type of site to collect first hand data on SE popular and well paying niches, build link relationships for future projects .. Wish I had one of those 10 years ago! And ya, I know you were not critical ;-)
We all could use this type of site to collect first hand data on SE popular and well paying niches,
Yep, which is why I wrote:
Maybe if he concentrated on his site's strengths it may do a lot, lot better for maybe not too much extra work?
Does Car_Guy have a potential gold mine and not yet realise it?
It's definitely not an authority site then, more like a jack-of-all-trades personal selection of information correctly optimised? "
Surely it's possible to have every page on a different topic even within a niche site.
E.g. Widgets, Colour Widgets, Red Widgets, Square Red Widgets, etc each with its own page and dedicated Ad.
PS Can someone let me into the secret of how to enclose quotes within boxes. :-)
[edited by: Pengi at 1:44 pm (utc) on Sep. 9, 2006]
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How it defines as authority? How about a focus subject and SE ranked top positions (say top 5) over a long time (2 years or longer)?
Just a quick correction there Opti, there are authoritative directories and edu sites that follow this pattern.
It's not only directories. Let's say you've got a review site for digital cameras. One page's topic will be a Nikon DSLR, another page's topic might be the latest pocket-size camera from Sony, and so on. Each page may, to a certain extent, attract a different audience and different ads.
As for whether a 100-page site like Car_Guy's can be an authoritative site, I think that depends on the theme and topic(s). A guy named Steve K. has a long-established site about electrical voltages, plugs, modem requirements, phone dialing codes, etc. around the world that is clearly the authority site in its niche. I doubt if it has more than a few dozen pages, but it doesn't need more to fulfill its mission and attract a steady flow of traffic from international travelers.
Get hundreds of sites to add links to it.
Not so easy.
When people discover a quality site that really helps them a lot, often they will add links to it without even being asked.
That's been my experience, too, both as a giver and a receiver of links. (I hate asking for links and don't like being asked for links, either.)
Also, the value of "deep links" shouldn't be ignored. If you've got an authoritative site about Widgetonia that includes an article on how to ride the trams in Widget City, the International Association of Nosejob Surgeons may link to your "Widget City Trams" page from its 2006 Widget City Nose Jobs Conference page--and if you're lucky (as you may well be), that conference page will stay online indefinitely, sending traffic and Google PageRank to your site long after the conventioneers have gone home.
How it defines as authority?
I'd say the simple answer to that is how long does it take that site to gain a top ten SERPs ranking when a new page/addition to that site is included.
For my niche I am usually spidered almost immediately, within a 3~4 weeks period in the top 20 and within 8 weeks in the top 5, mostly #1 or #2 position.
A site that is a "general" information site would not normally obtain such fast results nor rank as highly. Anyway, that's been my experience.
Obviously something like Wikipedia is different however how many are there of us that has such free resources to hand?
This thread is not about how great my site is. The point of the thread was to thank some of the people in this forum for helping me, and to thank Google, and to give something back.
Q: What defines a site as having authority?A: I'd say the simple answer to that is how long does it take that site to gain a top ten SERPs ranking when a new page/addition to that site is included.How it defines as authority?
The point is that if you are really passionate about something, write about it. Get a site up and share your passion with the world. If you know something about what you're talking about, it could well become a place that people want to visit. And if you keep adding to your site and making it better, they'll keep coming back.
A few months ago I didn't know what SERPs meant. I had to Google it.
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This is a valuable forum and Google still the ** best *** approach for monetization up to this moment. However, it is definitely less competitive and not as valuable to me as 3 years ago.
Keep on and good luck.
P.S. I think I got an authority site too ...... :P
Some people have no passion about anything. Look at a Ferrari. Look at a Ducati. Look at a Rembrandt. Listen to Buddy Rich, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington.
Passion is what drives me. It's not about the money. And that's why the AdSense revenue is so appreciated. The passion is paying off.
[edited by: Car_Guy at 4:29 pm (utc) on Sep. 9, 2006]
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That is true, the AdSense money is bonus, provided that you are not intended to make life from that. Once again, never quit your job just because of the AS earning.
Either case, $1,800/pm is so appreciated, $900/pm some months later is still appreciated..... but that is a *** REAL *** difference and does mean something to act ...... :P
I'd say the simple answer to that is how long does it take that site to gain a top ten SERPs ranking when a new page/addition to that site is included.
For my niche I am usually spidered almost immediately, within a 3~4 weeks period in the top 20 and within 8 weeks in the top 5, mostly #1 or #2 position. ]
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In my case, look like Googlebot is always online, and cache refresh everyday. Just curious, is there any official definition from Google? Obviously an authority doesn't guaranty anything in earning .... :P
[edited by: GoldenHammer at 12:15 am (utc) on Sep. 10, 2006]
You think like a Webmaster. I think like an enthusiast of something, and I put together a site about it.
The point is that if you are really passionate about something, write about it. Get a site up and share your passion with the world. If you know something about what you're talking about, it could well become a place that people want to visit. And if you keep adding to your site and making it better, they'll keep coming back.A few months ago I didn't know what SERPs meant. I had to Google it.
Excellent advice! There are those who create websites because they are webmasters looking to create a site, then there are those who are involved in a subject and create a site about it because they're interested in it.
I'm in the second category with you. Not making quite as much as you are per month, but pretty close :)
I think an "authority" has to do with the quality of the content and very little to do with SERPs. Just because someone is an authority doesn't mean they are a webmaster. They may not know anything about websites... but visitors appreciate the quality of their site and drive it to success.
That's what happened in my case. I knew my area first, then became a webmaster because of my website's initial success.
It's great if you are both an enthusiast and a webmaster, but be an enthusiast first. It shows in your content.
$1800 on 350,000 pageviews, depending on the number of uniques is pretty good. When your account matures, you should expect even bigger payouts.
Your not a fellow m4sshole by any chance are you? With the Phaeton?
Chip-
It's great if you are both an enthusiast and a webmaster, but be an enthusiast first. It shows in your content.
And remember: Just because someone gets paid to do something, it doesn't make them a professional.
In the last ten years I made over a million $ doing my 9-5 jobs.
never quit your job just because of the AS earning
rats... realized that after joining this forum. Adsense is good for the extras... not to be relied on as your main income. One algo or policy change can mean the difference between your family having steak for dinner or bread and soup!
So my strategy is this... my home catering biz will be my main income. Money from Adsense is invested in other areas that generate passive, residual income... stocks, other websites, mutual funds, other businesses, etc, etc...
I think that you have an excellent policy there...
I mainly use AS to keep my sites covering their costs and allowing them to grow organically, but I aim to get them to the level where if my main consulting job started to wear thin (eg because of my advancing senility!) then I'd have a small backup income stream.
Mind you, I also use my main (AS) site as a technical training site for myself to keep the senility at bay, and AS pays for that training to be more realistic...
Rgds
Damon
to keep the senility at bay
LOL! Every time I'm able to work on my site means that I made it through another pressured day of my catering biz, up to my eyeballs in meat, veggie and gravy and haven't lost a finger wielding my meat cleaver!
And no... you don't sound like someone who's anywhere near senility! ;)
Andrew
One algo or policy change can mean the difference between your family having steak for dinner or bread and soup!
Having a variety of content rich sites that get traffic from different search engines plus other sources can spread out your risk.
I think an "authority" has to do with the quality of the content and very little to do with SERPs.
Try telling that to the algo creators at Google! Surely the entire point of a quality authority site is for it to be at the top of the Google SERPs since the algo deems it to be so.
After all, that's what you're aiming for isn't it? I know I certainly do.
Or would you prefer the crazy Yahoo! SERPs lottery that makes absolutely no sense to anyone?
Having a variety of content rich sites that get traffic from different search engines plus other sources can spread out your risk.
agreed. it's the doing part that's not so easy!
