Clicking on your own ads isn’t the only bad luck AdSense publishers have run into. There are lots of different ways that you can make a mistake when using AdSense and while some of them Google will be pretty quick to tell you about, others you’ll only feel in your pocket.
Here are some of the biggest mistakes you can make when using AdSense. Be aware of them...and beware of them!
Big Mistake #1: Not Being Familiar With Google's TOS
On the one hand, this is an easy mistake to make. The terms of service change all the time and what’s legal one day could be illegal the next — and you could know nothing about the change.
On the other hand though, if something you’ve been doing is suddenly made illegal you probably shouldn’t be doing it anyway.
The bottom line is to check the TOS regularly and to make a habit of browsing the AdSense forums. Even if you miss a change, it’s unlikely that other people will.
It’s a mistake not to stay informed.
Big Mistake #2: Inviting Others To Click Ads
That clicking your own ads is a mistake is pretty clear. There’s no reason to do it and no excuse for doing it.
That also includes asking other people to click on the ads for you.
For site owners used to asking their users to support their sponsors, this can take some getting used to. Once the ads are up and optimized, there’s nothing more that you can do to persuade people to click.
If you’ve got a line on your website that asks people to support your sponsors or if you’ve been asking people to click on your ads in any sort of way, you’re making a giant mistake.
That’s the sort of mistake that can get you banned.
Big Mistake #3: Using The Wrong Ad Blocks
Those first two mistakes will get you banned. The remaining mistakes will
“only” cost you money.
Choosing the wrong ad blocks is one of the easiest mistakes to make. Almost any block can fit in almost any space but only one block will give you the highest revenues possible.
Use this book as a guide to which blocks suit which locations best and check out the case studies to see how other people are using a similar spot. Even if you’re happy with your results so far, it’s always possible that you could do even better.
Sitting on your laurels with the wrong ad block is certainly a mistake
Big Mistake #4: Using The Wrong Colors
Exactly the same is true of your choice of colors. Forget about looking for some nice contrast or coming up with some snazzy design, you want the colors in your ads to match the colors on your site.
The background color should be the same as the background of your site and the font colors should match too.
Any other color is usually a mistake.
Big Mistake #5: Poor Page Placement
Some places on your page are much more powerful than others. You want to put your ads where your users are going to be looking, not where they’ll make the page look good.
That might be at the beginning of an article, in the sidebar, at the top of the page, next to an image or any one of several dozen other spots.
Don’t be shy about putting your ads front and forward. As long as they’re blended into the site, they won’t be anything like as obtrusive as you think. They’ll be right in front of your users and attractive enough to click.
Big Mistake #6: Not Using AdLink Units
A common mistake that people make when they first start using AdSense is to assume that only the ad units are worth taking.
That’s a big mistake.
Clicks on AdLink units make up a serious part of my AdSense earnings. When used properly, they should be a serious part of your AdSense earnings too. Don’t overlook AdLink units just because they’re small. Put them in the right place and you’ll find that they can be very, very powerful
Big Mistake #7: Not Checking And Analyzing Stats
One of the biggest differences between AdSense publishers who get the big checks and AdSense publishers who earn pennies is that the big earners are addicted to reading their stats — and they understand what they’re reading.
It’s very tempting once you’ve set up your site and put on your ads to just kick back and look at the bottom line. But the other lines tell you what’s working and what you should be doing.
Big Mistake #8: Ignoring Channels
If you’re not sure how to use channels, don’t let it ride. Read the chapter on channels again, build some and play with them.
For some people channels can look a little scary. You have to build them from scratch, you might not be too sure which channels you should create or what you should do with the data the channels should give you.
None of those is a good excuse. Channels are easy to build and they give you heaps of information about the way each of your Web pages is operating that you just couldn’t get anywhere else.
If you’re not using channels, you need to start.
Big Mistake #9: Not Keeping An AdSense Journal
When you were at school and your English teacher told you to keep a journal, you probably groaned, ignored her... and made up a month’s worth of entries the day before you were supposed to bring it in to class.
When you’re trying to make a lot of money with AdSense, keeping a journal is vital. It’s the only way to keep track of your changes and what happened when you implemented those changes.
Every time you use a different ad block, push a different keyword or try a new location on the page, write it down, wait a week and write down the effect. If you’re doing the same thing time and time again because you forgot what happened when you did it last time, you’re wasting your time and your money.
Big Mistake #10: Building Huge Sites Overnight
It’s possible to go from no site to AdSense site in just a few minutes (plus the time it takes to get the confirmation letter). But it will take a little while longer to build the sort of massive site that keeps users coming back and builds a loyal base.
Sure, you can use free books to fill dozens of pages and you can use already prepared content, but neither of these methods are as good as creating a huge site filled with original material.
That takes time.
Rush it and it’s more likely you’ll end up with a lot of trash that kills your clicks and ruins your Smart Pricing than a quality site that makes you money. It’s better to be small and good than big and bad.
Big Mistake #11: Building Throwaway Sites
And if it’s a bad idea to build large trashy sites, it’s a terrible idea to build small, trashy sites.
Check out the AdSense forums long enough and there’s a good chance that you’ll come across plenty of publishers who believe not in creating good quality sites but in building small garbage-y ones and trying to squeeze as much revenue out of them as possible.
The advantage is that you can throw up a lot of them in a small amount of time and for little cost.
The disadvantage is that the returns are small too — and most important, they’re just no fun to do.
I thoroughly enjoy managing every one of the sites I’ve created. It’s because I enjoy them that my users enjoy them. That keeps them coming back and it keeps them clicking. And it keeps me coming back too.
If you’re building throwaway sites just to make a quick buck, you’re working too hard... and that’s a giant mistake.
Big Mistake #12: Doing AdSense Halfway
And finally, this was the big mistake that I made for a long time. It’s also the big mistake that about 95 percent of AdSense publishers are making.
They create their site, put up an AdSense, maybe they’ll optimize it a little
(and maybe not), and then they’ll wait for the checks to come in.
Making a lot of money with AdSense will take a lot of work. It can make you more money than most people will make in most full-time jobs but it’s not the sort of thing you can throw up in a morning and then spend the afternoon shopping for your beach house in Cancun.
You can start earning in the morning. But if you want to make real money, you’re going to have to go all the way.
Anything less is a big mistake.
Here are some of the biggest mistakes you can make when using AdSense. Be aware of them...and beware of them!
Big Mistake #1: Not Being Familiar With Google's TOS
On the one hand, this is an easy mistake to make. The terms of service change all the time and what’s legal one day could be illegal the next — and you could know nothing about the change.
On the other hand though, if something you’ve been doing is suddenly made illegal you probably shouldn’t be doing it anyway.
The bottom line is to check the TOS regularly and to make a habit of browsing the AdSense forums. Even if you miss a change, it’s unlikely that other people will.
It’s a mistake not to stay informed.
Big Mistake #2: Inviting Others To Click Ads
That clicking your own ads is a mistake is pretty clear. There’s no reason to do it and no excuse for doing it.
That also includes asking other people to click on the ads for you.
For site owners used to asking their users to support their sponsors, this can take some getting used to. Once the ads are up and optimized, there’s nothing more that you can do to persuade people to click.
If you’ve got a line on your website that asks people to support your sponsors or if you’ve been asking people to click on your ads in any sort of way, you’re making a giant mistake.
That’s the sort of mistake that can get you banned.
Big Mistake #3: Using The Wrong Ad Blocks
Those first two mistakes will get you banned. The remaining mistakes will
“only” cost you money.
Choosing the wrong ad blocks is one of the easiest mistakes to make. Almost any block can fit in almost any space but only one block will give you the highest revenues possible.
Use this book as a guide to which blocks suit which locations best and check out the case studies to see how other people are using a similar spot. Even if you’re happy with your results so far, it’s always possible that you could do even better.
Sitting on your laurels with the wrong ad block is certainly a mistake
Big Mistake #4: Using The Wrong Colors
Exactly the same is true of your choice of colors. Forget about looking for some nice contrast or coming up with some snazzy design, you want the colors in your ads to match the colors on your site.
The background color should be the same as the background of your site and the font colors should match too.
Any other color is usually a mistake.
Big Mistake #5: Poor Page Placement
Some places on your page are much more powerful than others. You want to put your ads where your users are going to be looking, not where they’ll make the page look good.
That might be at the beginning of an article, in the sidebar, at the top of the page, next to an image or any one of several dozen other spots.
Don’t be shy about putting your ads front and forward. As long as they’re blended into the site, they won’t be anything like as obtrusive as you think. They’ll be right in front of your users and attractive enough to click.
Big Mistake #6: Not Using AdLink Units
A common mistake that people make when they first start using AdSense is to assume that only the ad units are worth taking.
That’s a big mistake.
Clicks on AdLink units make up a serious part of my AdSense earnings. When used properly, they should be a serious part of your AdSense earnings too. Don’t overlook AdLink units just because they’re small. Put them in the right place and you’ll find that they can be very, very powerful
Big Mistake #7: Not Checking And Analyzing Stats
One of the biggest differences between AdSense publishers who get the big checks and AdSense publishers who earn pennies is that the big earners are addicted to reading their stats — and they understand what they’re reading.
It’s very tempting once you’ve set up your site and put on your ads to just kick back and look at the bottom line. But the other lines tell you what’s working and what you should be doing.
Big Mistake #8: Ignoring Channels
If you’re not sure how to use channels, don’t let it ride. Read the chapter on channels again, build some and play with them.
For some people channels can look a little scary. You have to build them from scratch, you might not be too sure which channels you should create or what you should do with the data the channels should give you.
None of those is a good excuse. Channels are easy to build and they give you heaps of information about the way each of your Web pages is operating that you just couldn’t get anywhere else.
If you’re not using channels, you need to start.
Big Mistake #9: Not Keeping An AdSense Journal
When you were at school and your English teacher told you to keep a journal, you probably groaned, ignored her... and made up a month’s worth of entries the day before you were supposed to bring it in to class.
When you’re trying to make a lot of money with AdSense, keeping a journal is vital. It’s the only way to keep track of your changes and what happened when you implemented those changes.
Every time you use a different ad block, push a different keyword or try a new location on the page, write it down, wait a week and write down the effect. If you’re doing the same thing time and time again because you forgot what happened when you did it last time, you’re wasting your time and your money.
Big Mistake #10: Building Huge Sites Overnight
It’s possible to go from no site to AdSense site in just a few minutes (plus the time it takes to get the confirmation letter). But it will take a little while longer to build the sort of massive site that keeps users coming back and builds a loyal base.
Sure, you can use free books to fill dozens of pages and you can use already prepared content, but neither of these methods are as good as creating a huge site filled with original material.
That takes time.
Rush it and it’s more likely you’ll end up with a lot of trash that kills your clicks and ruins your Smart Pricing than a quality site that makes you money. It’s better to be small and good than big and bad.
Big Mistake #11: Building Throwaway Sites
And if it’s a bad idea to build large trashy sites, it’s a terrible idea to build small, trashy sites.
Check out the AdSense forums long enough and there’s a good chance that you’ll come across plenty of publishers who believe not in creating good quality sites but in building small garbage-y ones and trying to squeeze as much revenue out of them as possible.
The advantage is that you can throw up a lot of them in a small amount of time and for little cost.
The disadvantage is that the returns are small too — and most important, they’re just no fun to do.
I thoroughly enjoy managing every one of the sites I’ve created. It’s because I enjoy them that my users enjoy them. That keeps them coming back and it keeps them clicking. And it keeps me coming back too.
If you’re building throwaway sites just to make a quick buck, you’re working too hard... and that’s a giant mistake.
Big Mistake #12: Doing AdSense Halfway
And finally, this was the big mistake that I made for a long time. It’s also the big mistake that about 95 percent of AdSense publishers are making.
They create their site, put up an AdSense, maybe they’ll optimize it a little
(and maybe not), and then they’ll wait for the checks to come in.
Making a lot of money with AdSense will take a lot of work. It can make you more money than most people will make in most full-time jobs but it’s not the sort of thing you can throw up in a morning and then spend the afternoon shopping for your beach house in Cancun.
You can start earning in the morning. But if you want to make real money, you’re going to have to go all the way.
Anything less is a big mistake.
