Forum Moderators: martinibuster
When I first started with AS, I put the ad blocks wherever - BIG MISTAKE! Look at Google's heat map and follow it. I did and the difference was just amazing. I quadrupled my income with the same traffic numbers, just from that one change.
GOOD LUCK! You'll get there.
The key to it all is building traffic and having your AS ads well placed on each page.
I think this statement has the factors in exactly the right order. The trick is to balance your efforts in the two areas.
Traffic can do wonders for your income. The more focused that traffic is, the better.
You don't need to sacrifice your page design to make good money, if you have enough well targeted traffic.
That doesn't mean you should ignore ad placement, but enough well focused traffic can overcome not using the "hottest" spots on a page for ads.
A little tweaking of ad formats and positioning can do wonders.
And Adlinks can really boost your numbers. One of the best features of Adlinks is the variety of sizes available.
My question is, was it slow in beginning for all of you.
I think most here will tell you they started out slow and through hard work found a way to increase their earnings exponentially.
I started out making just enough to get a paycheck each month ($100) and since then have grown consistently to the point where I actually made the UPS club last April. It took me a little less than two years to get there with just one web site.
I've since then taken a bit of beating following the recent changes Google implemented including the Bourbon update, so I'm earning less than half of what I was just a few months ago. Just keep in mind that earnings can drop just as easily as they can grow. Of course that shouldn't stop you, you can do very well with this program.
Follow the heat map sample provided by Google to determine placement - I also find ads that blend with the look and feel of your site work best - and use your channels to determine what parts of your site are earning the most. You can then focus on producing more content related to those sections of your site.
Good luck with your site, you can definitely get there if you keep working at it. Just remember, it's important that you create good quality content since this is what will build the foundation for customer loyalty and return visitors in the future. Don't build your site around adsense, think of how to make your site useful to visitors, and then build the ads around your content.
I have used the heat map. are we allowed to post links to our site for adsense critiques?
Regarding your search question, absolutely. Even without any channels, you will still get credit for searches.
My question is, was it slow in beggining for all of you.
In our first full month using Adsense way back July 2003, we already earned $500+ -- and this is by using banners at the bottom of our pages. My partner was skeptical of Adsense program, and to compromise, we just put banners at the bottom of some of our pages. When he saw the results, he was convinced that Adsense was a good thing. We changed to leaderboard after that and immediately doubled our income, and further increased revenues by using large rectangles in the middle of our articles (way before heatmap was released). We've been growing ever since.
My point is that some websites and some types of content are poised to really benefit from Adsense. If the fit is right, some websites will just zoom off the gate and earn big from Adsense.
Some sites, however, have content and topics that are not likely to do well with Adsense. That no matter how hard you try, how many times you change your page layout to follow the heatmap, you can only do so much and earn in terms of a few cents and dollars (when others are earning in the tens of thousands). It can feel frustrating to read how others are doing extremely well when here you are trying so hard to reach $100. If so, then it is time to mix Adsense with other sources of revenues and diversify your basket.
