Google's AdSense program is a proven money-maker that has enriched the pockets of many website owners. Unlike many pay-per-click systems, the AdSense program has a large pool of advertisements to draw from -- the ads come from Google's AdWords program, which you can think of as the flipside of AdSense -- which almost guarantees that AdSense can find relevant advertisements to display alongside a site's content.
There are times, however, when using AdSense makes no sense at all. Here are some common scenarios:
1. Your site gets too much traffic.
The basic AdSense program is geared for small-to-medium sites. If your site gets significant traffic, look into the Google AdSense Premium Service (http://services.google.com/ads_inquiry/ct). This is the program used by sites like Amazon.com and the New York Times.
2. Your site does not conform to AdSense program policies.
You cannot display AdSense advertisements on any site that violates the AdSense program policies (https://www.google.com/adsense/policies). This is outlined in the first section of the AdSense terms and conditions (https://www.google.com/adsense/terms) to which you agreed when you joined the AdSense program.
Practically speaking, this means that any content that promotes pornography, gambling, drug use or any illegal activity is unsuitable for AdSense use. You are also forbidden from using AdSense to promote alcohol, tobacco, conterfeit goods and other controversial products or services. If you're running an online casino, for example, AdSense cannot be used on the casino's site.
3. Your visitors are offended by advertisements.
Above all else, AdSense is an advertising distribution program: you're renting space on your pages to Google for the display of advertisements drawn from its AdWords program. In return for the use of your space, Google gives you a cut of the pay-per-click revenue it makes from the advertisements shown on your pages. If most of your visitors find ads offensive, they'll stay away from your site and you won't make any money from the ads that are displayed anyhow, so you might as well not display any ads.
Note that there's a difference between offending your visitors by showing any advertisements at all and offending them by showing the advertisements in so obnoxious a manner that all they want to do is leave your site. In fact, displaying ads in an intrusive manner violates the AdSense program policies and should be avoided for that reason alone.
4. The ads are simply unsuitable.
Although Google does its best to find targeted advertisements that are relevant to a page's content, sometimes that targeting fails and unsuitable ads are shown. If your content is about the evils of dieting, for example, you probably don't want to see advertisements promoting specific diets. Nor do you want to see advertisements for competing products or services. AdSense lets you filter out many advertisements, but in some cases it's simply impossible -- or too much work -- to keep out the unsuitable advertisements.
5. You make more money by keeping visitors on your site.
The fundamental premise of pay-per-click advertising is that you're willing to send your visitors elsewhere in return for some kind of payment. If AdSense is your only form of revenue then this is an acceptable trade-off. If, however, your site makes you more from other programs, you should consider whether or not losing some of your visitors to pay-per-click ads is worth it.
You don't have to remove ads entirely to handle this problem. You can simply reduce the number of ads that you display and even reposition them so that they're clicked less often. Or place them only on the site's exist pages -- the pages from which your visitors typically leave the site. Remember that your visitors are going to leave your site eventually anyhow, you're just trying to get them to stay longer.
Another strategy is to use AdSense link units instead of regular text or image advertisements, because you can configure link units (unlike the regular ads) to open in a separate window when clicked.
Remember that the AdSense program is a flexible pay-per-click program. You don't have to show advertisements on each page of your site -- in fact, the AdSense program policies forbid you from displaying ads on certain kinds of pages. Nor do you have to display ads on each site you own. You can even decide whether image or text advertisements (or both) are to be shown on a page-per-page basis. And of course you can use AdSense channels to discover just exactly which pages are making you money and which pages aren't.
Use AdSense's flexibility to your advantage, but don't get stuck on it if it's not working for you. There are other pay-per-click and impression-based advertising systems out there to explore. For a general, all-purpose program it's hard to beat AdSense, but your situation may warrant a more specialized program. Some sites make more from affiliate programs that from selling advertising, or use a combination of both. Do the search and figure out what's best for you.
Copyright 2005 by Eric Giguere. Permission is granted to reproduce the article in electronic newsletters or on websites provided that the complete article text is included, unchanged, and that neither the copyright declaration nor this license are removed. This article was originally published at http://www.MakeEasyMoneyWithGoogle.com/no-adsense.html.
Eric Giguere is the author of Make Easy Money with Google: Using the AdSense Advertising Program, an introductory AdSense book published by Peachpit Press. Find out more about the book from the companion site http://www.makeeasymoneywithgoogle.com or by contacting the author directly at http://www.makeeasymoneywithgoogle.com.
Ashton group transportation logistics management ..Why do some companies bid on keywords for products they... Read More
Google's AdSense program is one of the best, if not... Read More
What is Average Customer Lifetime Value?Traditional business philosophy is that... Read More
Your online business will likely require more advertising than a... Read More
There are various ways to purchase highly targeted advertising at... Read More
We constantly receive phone calls from clients, prospective clients and... Read More
So you want to make money with Google Adsense? I... Read More
As anyone who uses Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising in... Read More
Paid Search Advertising (also Pay-Per-Click, PPC) has gained a significant... Read More
Blame GameNearly anyone and everyone involved with search engine optimization... Read More
MSN PPC Advertising Long-Awaited Debut Announced You probably already know... Read More
Pay per click search engine advertising is one of the... Read More
Your probably reading this article because you use Google Adwords... Read More
One of the hottest crazes for online marketers is Adsense... Read More
No matter how hard you work to optimize your page,... Read More
Google's AdSense program is a proven money-maker that has enriched... Read More
Google's AdSense program is probably the best affiliate program on... Read More
Search engine optimization can take a long time to show... Read More
What are PPC Search Engines?PPC Search Engines are search engines... Read More
First, go to google and type "dan kennedy" into the... Read More
Setting up a pay-per-click campaign is simple, right? Practically all... Read More
As you probably know, Google Adwords is a pay-per-click solution... Read More
Lots of people would like to get their Web site... Read More
There is no question that you can make some good... Read More
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is a good supplement to natural search... Read More
group transportation logistics management Highland ..If you've started using Adsense as a way to increase... Read More
If you're an active Adsense publisher, I'm sure you have... Read More
Has anyone else noticed a disturbing pattern in your pay-per-click... Read More
As a blog or site owner, you can make some... Read More
Clickbank has been around for years and has earned an... Read More
It's worthwhile to examine Google's definition of Google AdSense and... Read More
We constantly receive phone calls from clients, prospective clients and... Read More
It seems to be a phenomenon. You try Google AdWords... Read More
There are good reasons why many webmasters and website owners... Read More
Many of us have websites and as a matter of... Read More
Choosing the right price for your digital products is one... Read More
Who Else Wants To Maximize Their Google Adwords... Read More
That's right! Many webmasters are getting suckered into joining adsense... Read More
Google Adsense is a hot topic in the Internet Marketing... Read More
One of the absolute best online marketing processes available to... Read More
First, go to google and type "dan kennedy" into the... Read More
Improving Adwords Campaign ManagementAdwords Campaign Management - Naming SchemesKeep your... Read More
There are various ways to purchase highly targeted advertising at... Read More
If you know anything at all about Internet marketing, then... Read More
Pay Per Click advertising has been around a few years... Read More
Because of increasing competition that has led to higher advertising... Read More
Google's AdSense program is probably the best affiliate program on... Read More
I have utilized pay-per-click (PPC) advertising since its inception about... Read More
No, this baby boom will certainly not swamp the Social... Read More
When you are running a Google AdWords campaign, it is... Read More
Pay-Per-Click Advertising |