Welcome back! This is the final article in the Advanced Monetization Series. In this article, we’ll discuss putting everything I’ve taught you, together, as well as why sites may be unsuccessful, and how to fix them. If you haven’t been reading the entire series, I highly suggest you do, as there is a lot of information contained within it. Let’s get started…
Successful Sites
Chances are, if you implement the SEO techniques we discussed, pay attention to your ad units, pay attention to placement – well, to everything else we discussed – your blog/web site will do pretty well for itsself. Remember, however, that no blog will suddenly jump from non-earning, to earning you a bundle. In fact, most professional bloggers have at least five blogs, and have been at it for a year before they decided to quit their “regular” job. Mew? You ask? Yep. Blogging is absolutely, unequivocably, not a get rich quick type of thing. Plan on at least a year, before you’re earning reasonable income from the blog. Think I’m kidding? Go read some of the information over at problogger.net, the home of one of the most successful bloggers out there (Darren Rowse). I’ve been at this – regularly – for about five months, now. I’m not making enough to live off of, yet, trust me. In fact, I’m barely “supplementing” my income with it. Do I hope to eventually make enough to live off of? I hope to. Will I? Probably not. Amateur Blogging is never about the money. If it’s about the money for you, go read Darren’s blog at Problogger.net. If it’s about the love of blogging – if you’d keep blogging even if you couldn’t earn money at it – then stick with the three sites about amateur blogging: Amblogger (Vince Chan), SmackDash (Justin Shattuck), and my blog, MindBlog (Eric Scalf).
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Welcome back!! Last time, we discussed tracking your earnings using channels in both Chitika and AdSense, as well as tracking earnings in programs that do not utilize channels. This time, we’ll discuss SEO techniques, and why they are important. For WordPress users, I’ll be including some tips and tricks (and code) to get you up and running, quick. Let’s get started!
Why is SEO Important?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization). It’s all over the Internet, these days. Most people think it’s a good idea. Some think it’s bunk (for blogs). Personally? I noticed an increase in traffic from search engines once I implemented some simple SEO techniques. An increase in search engine traffic, means an increase in general traffic, and – potentially – income. Additionally, SEO techniques will increase your ranking in SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). There are a few searches for which I’m page one, result one. General SEO also helps out your readers. Some of the techniques I’ll describe, below, will allow your readers to more easily pick out the articles in which they are interested. Overall, SEO will help boost your unique traffic, and your return traffic – two things that are very important to monetization.
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Welcome back! Last time, we discussed targetting your entries to your ads, and using keywords to generate specific ads. This time, we’ll talk about tracking your earnings, and why it’s important. Let’s get started!
Tracking Your Earnings
If you don’t know why you should track your earnings, then perhaps you need to reconsider reading this series. Seriously. Tracking your earnings not only tells you where you’re making your money (which ad systems are performing best), but also how you’re making your money (which ad units and placements perform best). Every single ad system out there allows you to track your earnings. Some are as simply as listing the amount you’ve made per month/quarter. Some let you track ads by channels. This discussion will concentrate on ad systems with channels. Ad systems without channels are only going to give you certain information. You should already know what to do with that. Channels on the other hand…
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Welcome back! Last time, we discussed how to convince readers to click on ads, without outright asking them to (and thereby, violating the terms of service). This time, we’ll talk about targetting your entries for specific ads, and targetting your entries to get the ads you want. Let’s get started!!
Product-Specific Entries
This particular section is especially important if you write a product-oriented blog, but it is also important to you if you write a regular blog. Anyone can stick in a product entry, every now and then. If you’re talking about the latest book you’ve read, or the laptop you recently purchased.
If you write a gadget, or product-specific niche blog, then adding an advertisement (via Chitika eMiniMalls, or Amazon Associates) for an individual product is simple. Just make certian your ad matches to the product you’re writing about. As a matter of fact, if you do write product-specific entries, regularly, you should probably be using Chitika or Amazon Associates links, judiciously.
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Welcome back! Last time, we talked about ad sizing, and colorization. This time, we’re going to dive into convincing readers to click on your ads, without violating any Terms of Service. Let’s get started!
Read Your TOS
The first step in this article is the most important. Find your ad program’s Terms of Service, and READ THEM. Read them, learn them, know them. Read them, already? Go back and read them again. In fact, read them EVERY time you make ANY changes to ANY ad unit.
Does that seem like overkill? Well, yes, it is. But it’s not without its purpose. Knowing the TOS inside and out, means you know what you can do, without violating it. For instance, every. single. ad. system. prohibits you from asking people to click on your ads. Some ad systems will let you label your ads with various things. For instance, the affiliate programs I’ve joined, allow me to label those ads as “partners,” or “affiliates,” as I am considered an affiliate partner. Some ad systems, like Google’s AdSense, will only allow certain terms like “Sponsored Links” or “Advertisements.” The trick is to know what you can and can’t say, and what you can and can’t do. Once you’ve learned that, you’re good to go.
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Welcome back! Last time, we discussed choosing which ad units you were going to display. This time, we’ll discuss ad blending. Let’s get started!
Bigger is Not Always Better
Although most men argue that this isn’t true, most women will agree it is. Errr.. wait. My apologies, I forget we were discussing ad sizing. Technically, however, this is a very true axiom when it comes to ad units. Bigger is not always better.
In selecting the size of your ad units, you should select the most appropriate size for the area, making certain to leave a little “white space” (or blank space) around the unit. Also, when placing units within content, make sure you leave enough room for the content to wrap around the unit (sides, bottom, and/or top). When placing ads between entries, make sure you don’t choose a huge ad size. You don’t want the ad to overshadow the content.
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Welcome back! Last time, we discussed choosing which type of ad systems (and units) you’ll be using on your blog. This time, we’ll discuss ad placement throughout your blog. We’ll start by listing off every single ad unit that Google (YPN and MSN have the same) and Chitika have, and where they are most often used. Then, we’ll get into talks of heat maps and other locations to place ad units. Let’s go!
Type of Ad Units
There are numerous types of ad units, including the most popular:
- Image Ads
- Text Ads
- Image and Text
- Product-Specific
- Affiliate Banner
- Link Units
Let’s take a quick look at each of the above types, so you’ll have a good idea of what you’re looking at when you get around to choosing and placing units.
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Welcome back to the Advanced Monetization Series. Last time, we recapped some of the monetization options availible onling. This time, we’ll discuss choosing the ones that are right for your blog. Let’s get started.
How to Choose
There are several factors to consider in choosing the appropriate monetization options for your blog. The most important things to consider are:
- The type of blog you’re running (Niche, product-oriented, generalities, etc…)
- Your blog layout (which ads will work and flow, best)
- Demographics (the age range, income, and interests of your reading audience)
- Preference (your personal preference plays a big roll in this
In the following sections, we’ll dicuss each of this considerations in greater detail, as well as how they related to your overall choice(s), and each other. Let’s go!
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Welcome to the Advanced Monetization Series. If you’re relatively new to blogging, please consider reading my Amateur Blogging Series, or (if you’re starting your first blog) the New Blog Creation series, first. This series is designed to explore monetization and SEO techniques in a more in-depth manner. While still being written for the amateur blogger, this series will be a bit more professionally geared, explaining how to make money off of your blog. In this series, we’ll cover the following topics:
- General Recap of Options
- Choosing the Right Options for Your Blog
- Ad Placement
- Ad Blending
- Convincing Clicks (how to, and how not to violate TOS)
- Targetting Entries
- Tracking Earnings and Stats
- SEO Techniques
- Putting it All Together
As you can see, this will be a pretty involved series. Each topic above will consist of at least one full entry (some I may break up into two, although my current outline allows for a single entry for each). During this series, I will share my knowledge, as well as the knowledge of others. I will do everything I can to give you an idea of how certain changes have affected my own earnings.
Before we begin, I must make the statement that my own earnings are not, by any means, spectacular. At the time of beginning this series, I am drawing in around two to four dollars a week from Google ads. This is primarily because this blog does not make a lot of money (ads about blogging notoriously pay low), and my political blog is too new to generate more than three or four clicks per week. Over time, I am absolutely confident that my earnings will increase, as I noticed a dramatic increase since implementing many of the techniques described within this series. Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that whenever possible, I will use referral links. If you sign up for an account through my referral links, I will receive a small incentive from the ad service for referring you. Your earnings will not be affected. Again, while my income may not be spectacular, since implementing the techniques described within this series, I have noticed a dramatic increase in ad revenue and click-through rates (CTR).
Let’s get started…
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A new series, the Advanced Monetization Series, is about to start on MindBlog.
Running from tomorrow, until April 5th (every Mon, Wed, and Fri), this series picks up, with monetization, where the Amateur Blogging Series left off. If you’re wanting to learn more about monetizing your blog – including ad system information, ad placement, colorization, making the most of your units, and SEO techniques – then this series is for you. Join the MindBlog team as we unveil the secrets behind advanced monetization.
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