Google Adsense is online advertising that you can place on your website to make money for you. It is free for you to use, easy to set up, and if you target your ads correctly, you can generate a nice income with very little work on your part.
How do you use Google Adsense?
By selecting keywords that are relevant to the content on your website you can choose to display ads on your site that visitors are likely to find interesting and click on. You select the format you wish the ads to display in on your web pages. You then cut and paste some HTML code into your website so that the ads can be generated in the places you wish them to appear. It can take a few minutes to get up and running with Adsense, but a wise site operator will take the time to use the following tips to greatly improve their Adsense earnings.
Here are five sure-fire ways to improve your online advertising earnings.
1. Keep the ad layouts on your pages consistent.
If you don’t have a templated database driven website and you are creating each individual page on your site, make sure that you don’t confuse your visitors by having ads of different sizes, in different places, on different pages. Think how confused you would be if each time you clicked on a new page the menu had moved. Keep your layout consistent and your visitors will be familiar with your Adsense link placement, whether they overtly realize it or not.
2. Create a custom color palette for your ads.
Web surfers are so used to advertising that the more blatant the ads are the more they are glossed over. By blending your online advertising into the layout of your site the less obvious it becomes. Make sure your Adsense ads have the same background color as the web pages they are on. Removing the border and making the link colors match those of your web copy will also help the ads to blend in even more.
3. Prominently place your ads.
Don’t stick your ads at the bottom of the page. Put them “above the fold” so that visitors don’t have to scroll down to see them. If you have some long articles on your website break them up with some subtle, blended 468×60 Adsense banners and you will be surprised at how many more clicks you get.
4. Use the top format for Adsense earnings.
An ad size that works very well for the majority of Adsense users is the Large Rectangle (336X280). This format has the tendency to result in a higher Click Through Rate (CTR.) The wider width of this ad, especially when it is added to the top left hand area of your web page, blends in so well that visitors often think that the links are part of your actual website and so they click on them more frequently.
5. Automate your Adsense code.
Automate the insertion of your Adsense code into your webpages using Server Side Includes (SSI.) Ask your web design professional if your server supports SSI, as using this tip will be a real time saver – it removes the need to cut and paste Adsense code each time a web page is created.
With no cost on your part to use Adsense, it really is a great way to use online advertising to generate income for you. Sign up for a free account at with this Google service and start profiting from the good quality content you have on your website.
Fran Jeanes is an internet consultant for icontactwebdesign.com who writes about internet marketingfor the small business web design company based in Davidson, North Carolina.