Forum Moderators: martinibuster
1 - Did you give up your day job for Adsense? Looking back was it a good decision? What's your view now?
2 - Or maybe you didn't give up your day job, looking back, what's your opinion now.
I'd guess that more than a few here have done just that and succeeded nicely. I'd also guess more have tried and failed.
It all depends on your knowledge, skills and tolerance for risk I suppose. But any time you change jobs there is some risk.
That said, it seems to me that Incredibill is right. AdSense isn't a "job". It's more like a tool you use to do a job.
If you're using AdSense, your "job" might be as a website publisher, for example.
So, would you quit your day job to become a website publisher?
So instead of wallowing in self pity like i have for 6 months, i just quit my job and applied for an O Visa to live in Thailand for 1 year.
I shall be living off Adsense earnings and can afford a nice rented apartment and wander down to the beach switch on my laptop (wifi permitting) and get back to what i enjoy doing but in nice surroundings. I shall be sticking my two fingers up at her when im laying on my hammock on Koh Sumai beach.
Thought id post this as it might make some of you smile:)
It seems that posts like that are not in vogue anymore. On the contrary, the mood on the forum is bearish as epc take a painful relentess dive.
What's more, Google alluded to this when, with the introduction of smart pricing, it used the example of two page: a page of photo tips (less likely to convert for advertisre) and a photo review (more likely to convert for advertisers).
Which was IMO the most senseless point in their logic.
OT, but I can't resist to say it again:
It has nothing to do with converting. It is about CTR.
Photo tips page will have lower CTR, but guaranteed: 1000 CLICKS from both pages will have about the same conversion rate and there is absolutely no reason for photo tips page to have lower EPC.
To be technical, I quit my previous offline business to become a full time web developer using Adsense as my sole source of income, and succeeded in my eyes.
Yes, but do you think you depend exclusively on yourself and your abilities and that you will have steady income as long as your market exists?
Photo tips page will have lower CTR, but guaranteed: 1000 CLICKS from both pages will have about the same conversion rate and there is absolutely no reason for photo tips page to have lower EPC.
On the contrary, there's an excellent reason: The odds are good that people reading camera reviews are interested in buying cameras, and if they click on a dealer ad for the Canikon DSLR, it's likely that they've been "presold" by having read the review.
At any rate, Google has far more data on conversion rates from various types of content than you or I do, so (unlike us) Google doesn't have to base its assumptions on mere assumptions. :-)
1 year later. Last month Feb 2007, I earned $0.24 from Adsense. I guess I'll never be able to retire and live on Adsense income.
"Don't put all of your money into Lotus stock"
or
"Don't put all of your money into Wang stock"
or
"Don't put all of your money into CMGI stock"
or
"Don't put all of your money into Google stock"
All were da bomb. All were either the pre-eminant leader in their field or CMGI. :D
Things change on a dime in this industry.
How do you do your spreadsheets? Lotus 1-2-3? VisiCalc? You still using Wang's wp Word Processor? Will you still be using Google and/or AdSense in 5 years? I dunno. Do you? Really?
On the contrary, there's an excellent reason: The odds are good that people reading camera reviews are interested in buying cameras, and if they click on a dealer ad for the Canikon DSLR, it's likely that they've been "presold" by having read the review.
Again, the odds are good such people will CLICK on an ad. Yet conversion is another story.
This is a simple statistical 'problem' involving randomness and could be easily mathematically proved.
Lets say that only even numbers convert.
There are two sample web pages with same layout and ads positioning. One is devoted to lawn&garden, the other one to travel guide. ;)
All the ads on both pages are related to travel (some glitch for lawn page).
Why should anyone click on travel while looking for garden products? Well, accidentaly, few of 10,000 visitors have that interest too and two of them do a click. Number '2' converts.
On the travel guide page, 1,500 visitors out of 10,000, click on ads.
Numbers '2','4','6', etc.... convert.
What is the conversio ratio for both pages?
At any rate, Google has far more data on conversion rates from various types of content than you or I do, so (unlike us) Google doesn't have to base its assumptions on mere assumptions. :-)
I trust Google and my government too. But it's not blindly and unconditional.
I would likely to see any paper empirically proving the oddness they claim to be true.
As long as my market exists I know that I have a good chance. I do depend on my own abilities but occasionally and reluctantly let others run things for me.
I hope you are aware that at any moment Google could provide you with $.01 EPC and that could last indefinitely.
Not even mentioning kicking out of the system.
However, we are in the process of moving our entire business, (of which adsense is one part) online. In a month's time where we live will depend on the quality of life in that area, and the speed of the broadband connection. I'm going to love having a morning commute from the breakfast table to the computers on the other side of the room.
my main focus has always been more content, more traffic, and diversification.
hmmm... makes sense... more force, more Jedi knights and never leaving all your light sabers with one Jedi.
I left my job to start my home catering biz and at the same time, work on my sites. That was December 2004. Both earn good money, but my income from catering and adsense is still at a ratio of 2:1. I hope to swing it to 1 (catering) : 2 (adsense & online). That's why I'm here in this forum learning from all the Obi-Wan-Adsensers!
GOOD LUCK to you mate - Hope you have a great time and earn loads at the same time!
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Would I quid my day job - at the moment no as I seem to suffer from a lack of self motivation which im sure many others here on WebmasterWorld do as well.
That always seem to get me I get bored very quickly on one progect.
Adsense pays me more than 4 times than my paying job so I decided to focus on my sites that run adsense.
Quit your day job only if..
1. YOur adsense is earning at least 2 times more than your day job.
2. Always think of the worse scenario, if ever adsense terminate you, make sure you have other advertisers running beside adsense on your site and it equals the amount of your day job.
I earn about 2000 per month for my day job
Adsense earns me about 6000 per month
Other advertisers besides adsense earns me about 3,000.
So If ever Adsense for some reason terminate me, I always have my other advertisers that pays me 3000 per month.
So in short, you should always have a backup plan if something happens to your adsense account.
I hope that helps.
"I earn about 2000 per month for my day job"
"Adsense earns me about 6000 per month"
Are you sure that you dont earn 4000 per month from Adsense?
That way, you'll have enough lead time to use your agility to beef up other revenue streams if Adsense goes south.
And, remember, diversify, diversify, diversify. Always need to hear myself say that.
Just my 2 cents.
Here's a little piece of advice. Establish a prudent reserve.
If you've earned enough from Adsense (and kept it) to live with no other income for two years... it could be an idea to focus full-time on websites with Adsense.
In the U.S., the unemployment rate isn't too bad at the moment. It may be easier to consider going out on your own in America than in other countries.
The thing you want to look at is your potential for growth. Be honest and reasonable studying the market and competition. It might be easier than you think to hit a plateau. I virtually doubled my Adsense income after a few months of intense focus, mostly through optimization, but it's much harder to keep up the rate of increased earnings.
So you want to consider, if you have a good site, how much higher in the SERPs you could go--if you make extra effort. It may be easy to jump five spots, but after that it seems virtually impossible to go higher. That means you either keep attacking the competition, or start again at the bottom with new sites. Those could take six months just to be found in Google with the sandbox.
I'm not really likely to advise anyone to quit their job if they don't already have a site or sites to earn Adsense income. But there are probably a number of people who should ask themselves, "How much money is falling through my hands from not optimizing my site(s)?"
Then whether you have to work more in the evenings, on the weekends, or quit your day job, it's up to you.
p/g
So If ever Adsense for some reason terminate me, I always have my other advertisers that pays me 3000 per month.So in short, you should always have a backup plan if something happens to your adsense account.
I would throw in this - don't have any credit card debt. Unless you can pay it off in one or two months, the worst thing you could do is to quit a steady day job for full-time web stuff when you have a lot of credit card debt hanging over your head.
I would throw in this - don't have any credit card debt. Unless you can pay it off in one or two months, the worst thing you could do is to quit a steady day job for full-time web stuff when you have a lot of credit card debt hanging over your head.
excellent reminder. i hope this is not spoken from experience?! I'll be done with my car payments in 2 months... then whoopee... more Adsense earnings as extra cash in the pocket! Gonna get me a brand new light saber...! ;)
It seemed safer to do it the slow way! I now think that it's quite feasible, and looks to be profitable, if I work 100% on the websites. Maybe 6 months before I make that jump.
