If you're not familiar with Google AdSense yet...my first question is: "What rock have you been living under for the past few years??" ;-)
In June of '03, Google introduced a brand new contextual advertising program called AdSense. The idea behind it was that those who had created web sites on any number of topics...but who had never had success recouping expenses or even making money with other forms of advertising...could drop a few lines of code into their pages, and Google would populate that space with ads which were generally relevant to the topic at hand.
THE GOOD
As a webmaster who had built quite a few sites as a labor of love (and who didn't have a clue how to make money from them...not that I hadn't tried!), AdSense was truly a God-send for me. I made 13 cents the very first day I tried it, and have never looked back. To me, this is the way AdSense SHOULD work. Helping webmasters whose focus is free, quality content...and whose energy is primarily invested there...to monetize their sites. This allows them to afford quality resources, better servers, and a decent profit. Yahoo has also started their Publisher Network, which is pretty good...but, so far, I largely prefer Adsense. Having access to even a small income stream for a quality web site has not only allowed me to build more web sites myself, but also to partner with others who had access to resources that I did not...and to split the income between us. This results in more great web sites and more quality resources for everyone.
THE BAD
Anytime there is money involved, those who hope to "game the system" will show up to take advantage. And, when AdSense was new, there were plenty of ways to take advantage of the system, and walk away with a wallet full of cash. Thousands, tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of sites were built with no unique, valuable content...just enough to call up ads on various topics...but pretty much guaranteeing that searchers who arrived there would leave in frustration...by clicking on the Google ads. Private trading groups arose, companies were formed and folks would hook up online, agreeing to click on each other's ads for fun and profit. But the folks at The Mighty Goog aren't dummies. They began de-listing many of these Made-for-Adsense (MFA) sites in their search results. They cracked down on click fraud, and permanently closed down accounts of suspected violators.
THE UGLY
It IS possible to make money online. But the folks who really wear me out are those who teach the process as if it was a system. These people are getting rich teaching others how to get rich. But few of them have integrity. Their "testimonials" are swapped out with others who do the same: "I'll lie about you if you lie about me." Yes, there is some good info out there. Yes, there are ways to do things more efficiently. But, if you have no passion for anything except making money...and if you lack expertise on a given subject, don't clutter up the internet with your junk. Because no one cares.
THE TEST
"But there are all these experts out there...and they know the secrets!" Yes, keyword lists can help you bring more people to your site by using better descriptive terminology about what you have to offer. Yes, reciprocal linking with similarly-themed sites can help drive traffic and raise your profile with the search engines. Yes, if you aren't gifted in writing, a professional article writer may be able to help. But these services are not the key to making something out of nothing. Articles that you didn't write on subjects you don't know much about ARE NOT quality web site content. Face it...these folks don't hire subject matter experts to write articles...they hire writers. So where does the content come from? It's simply "appropriated" (i.e., stolen) from other sites and lifted from other publicly available resources. Who is there to ensure balance and accuracy? Not them. And not you. But...let's say that you've got something of value to say on a subject that matters to others. Great...we'd love to hear it! If not, please, give it a rest. Go get a real job. You'll be better off, and so will we. The world does not need more "smoke-and-mirrors".
SIGN ME UP
However, if you've GOT something unique and valuable to offer, yet have never signed up for Adsense... click on this button to be taken to the sign-up page. I'd love to see your stuff, and so would many others. And, in exchange, you deserve to make some money! |