Do you know that you can use Google AdSense to place Google Ads on their sites?
One of the benefits of creating a website for your brand or business is that it helps you earn money online.
If you are currently selling products or scheduling services through your website, you are already finding ways to meet your set goals.
Moreover, there are a lot more ways to boost your revenue.
These include hosting ads through your site.
The most popular ad hosting program you can find is Google AdSense. It lets you publish ads on your website and make money every time people click on them.
While Google AdSense is not a get-rich-quick scheme, it is, however, a creative way to enhance the content on your site while also supplementing your income.
Keep on reading as we discuss the working, benefits, and more about Google AdSense.
Google AdSense
Google AdSense is s a free advertising program that lets online publishers earn money by displaying third-party Google ads on their sites.
Businesses pay to advertise through Adsense and site owners get a piece of that revenue based on clicks or ad impressions.
This is what a Google Adsense ad can look like:
When you register for Adsense, Google AdSense, Google uses an ad auction system to place ads on your website.
These ads are chosen based on the niche of your website as well as the subjects that site visitors are interested in.
In return for hosting Google Ads, Google will pay you a commission for each click the ads will receive.
Learn more about Google AdWords Made Easy: A Step by Step Guide here.
Benefits of using Google AdSense
The following are the advantages of using Google AdSense:
It enables you to monetize your website thus offering a way to earn passive income through your site.
All you will need to do is a little setup and then will handle the rest.
It also includes sizing ads to properly fit desktop and mobile screens.
Google AdSense is free to use, and there will be no financial risk in getting started with it as part of a wider marketing strategy.
It is important to note that there is a wide range of advertisers working with Googe AdSense, so you can choose to display ad content that is relevant to your niche.
Advertisers paid Google $147 billion in 2020 to appear in searches, on YouTube, as well as on Google AdSense-enabled websites.
Moreover, ads that appear on your website have been vetted by Google, so you can be assured that the ad will meet certain quality standards.
Ads that will appear on your site are compatible with your content and will cater to the needs of the visitors to your website.
As a result, they are unobtrusive and add value to the user experience.
You can also choose to customize the design of the ads to match the look and feel of your site.
Furthermore, you can choose which types of ads to use and where they will go on your website.
It is important to note that you will get paid monthly by direct deposit so long as you make at least $100, so this can become a steady paycheck.
As your website traffic grows and your audience becomes engaged, you will incrementally increase your earnings with the help of Google AdSense.
Working of Google AdSense
Here is how Google AdSense works in just 3 steps:
Step 1: Sign up and make your Website available for Ads.
When you create an account on Google AdSense, Google will first review your site to make sure it complies with its policies.
After approval, you will need to add a code to your site.
Then you can choose the ad formats you want and where you would like them to appear.
Ad formats will include in-page, i.e. within the main body, ancho, i.e. edge of the screen, and vignette, i.e. full screen, options among others.
Note: You can also choose to earn money by displaying ads in your YouTube videos.
To do so, et up AdSense account from within YouTube Studio.
Step 2: Advertisers start bidding.
Then AdSense uses an auction to choose the ads that will show up on your website.
In most cases, whoever bids the highest wins.
Step 3: You get Paid.
Google will then ask you to add your payment information and personal details so that you can get paid.
Once you do that, Google will pay you at the end of each month for clicks, impressions, and other interactions with the ads displayed on your website.
Moreover, you will get 68% of the ad revenue recognized by Google.
How much can you Earn?
You really cannot know how much you will earn until you try Google AdSense.
The amount depends on factors like:
- how much traffic you are getting
- your niche
- where searchers are located
- where ads are displayed on your site, etc
However, you can get rough estimates.
First, try out AdSense’s revenue calculator. You will need to set your visitor location and site content strategy, i.e. finance, games, health, etc.
And then you will get a projection of what your annual revenue will look like.
Then toggle the ‘Monthly page views’ slider to see how much you can potentially make based on view.
If you want to know a little more about how AdSense calculates your earnings, there are two basic models:
- per click
- per impression
To calculate per-click commissions, AdSense will look at how often users will click the ads on your site and then multiply that by cost per click, CPC.
CPC will help measure how much an advertiser will pay each time a user will click on an ad, in this case, an ad on your site.
To calculate per-impression commissions, AdSense will look at how often users see the ads on your site and then multiply that by cost per mille, CPM.
CPM helps to measure the cost an advertiser pays for 1,000 impressions or views of an ad.
Moreover, a number of factors like your niche, the ad units, and formats you use, and your location, will also play a rile in these calculations.
AdSense revenue calculator will give you can idea of what you might earn with AdSense.
However, you will not exactly know how much you can ear with it until you actually start using it.
How to make Money with Google AdSense
Let’s get into a few best practices that will help you maximize your revenue potential with AdSense:
- follow the policies of Google AdSense
- regularly publish content
- target high CPC keywords
- place your ads above the fold
- use AdSense experiments
Let’s discuss the above as follows:
Follow Google AdSense Policies
Google tends to have strict policies and many o these discourage deceptive practices that can boost your earnings.
These include things like:
- clicking on your own ads
- incentivizing others to click on ads
- redirecting users to unwanted websites
- buying traffic or clicks, and so on
Moreover, Google may choose to disable your account if you fail to comply with its policies.
And if your account is disabled, you will not be eligible for further participation in the AdSense program.
It is important that you read the policies of the program carefully if you are unfamiliar with its terms.
Regularly Publish Content
AdSense is also about traffic.
Without traffic, no one will see or click on your ads, which means no revenue for you.
So you will need steady traffic if you want users to land on your page.
And ideally, engage with your ads.
The best way to reach your target audience organically is to create high-quality, SEO-optimized content.
This means you will need to:
- target keywords people are searching for
- match search intent
- optimize on-page SEO elements
learn more about SEO Tools to Drive Traffic here.
Target high CPC Keywords
Regardless of the niche of your website, you should strive to find and target keywords with high CPC.
These are the keywords that can potentially bring in the most AdSense revenue.
Moreover, for this, you can use Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool to quickly find the CPC of any keyword.
To do so, you will need to enter the keyword into the search bar and click “Search”.
Then, you will see a table with lots of data, and the keyword CPC is in the “CPC” column on the right.
You will also see CPC data for related keywords as well.
Moreover, you can use other useful metrics like “Volume” and “Keyword Difficulty, KB%“.
Volume tends to show the search volume of a keyword or the average number of monthly searches for a keyword.
While KD% shows how hard it will be to rank organically on the first page of Google for a keyword.
You will need to focus on writing content around keywords with high CPC, high traffic, and low KD%.
Learn more about Your guide to Keyword Research using SEMRush here.
Place your Ads Above the Fold
Ad placement is one of the most crucial factors that affect how many people click on or see your ads.
Thus, how much money you can earn.
It is best to place your ads above the fold so visitors can see them without scrolling.
Moreover, that can either be at the very top or in the sidebar.
However, it is important to you always keep the user experience in mind.
Users are there to read your content, not see and click on ads.
Think about how to integrate ads without getting in the way of the users.
It is tricky and tough to get right, and you can play with ad placements until you find that perfect balance.
Tip: You can also let Google place ads for you by enabling Auto ads.
Google will scan your website and place ads where they are likely to perform well and generate revenue.
However, make sure to review the ads Google is placing to make sure you are happy with where they are and how they affect user experience.
Use AdSense Experiments
With the “experiments” page, AdSense will let you test variations of ad units and settings against each other.
It will split your traffic between the two configurations you want to test.
Moreover, it will measure performance side by side so that you can see which one performs better;
For instance, you can test:
- different link colors
- borders vs. no borders
- ad size
- ad style, like link, banner, image, video, and more
Make sure that you continuously test to make informed decisions.
And continuously optimize to increase your earnings.
Boost your Site’s Traffic and Rankings
Now that you know how to use Googe AdSense, and how to make money with it, you can use it. And that one of the most important factors is driving traffic to your site.
Take it a step further by boosting your site’s traffic and Google rankings.
Learn more about User Experience in Focus (for High Google Ranking) here.