Google Adsense and WordPress - Does it make cents?

2006-02-27T13:53:00.000-08:00

Almost a year ago to date I jumped on the Adsense bandwagon. After sifting through the Webmasterworld and DigitalPoint Adsense forums, I figured the UPS club was just a few quick clicks away. I wanted in on the action. One year, a handful of websites and countless late nights with Letterman later, I'm still eager to cash in. This is a brief summary of strategies and resources I use for making money with Google Adsense and WordPress.

GETTING STARTED (for noobs, noobies, whatever)

I registered my first domain through GoDaddy and setup a cheap hosting plan. Speaking of cheap, I opted for a WordPress setup because it's free (open source). But don't let the word "free" fool you. WordPress out of the box is amazing. Where else can you find hundreds of plugins, awesome support, and themes galore? Oh, and did I already mention, all free? If your web host doesn't offer a WordPress auto-install, never fear, Podz is here.

FIND YOUR NICHE (what to blog about)

So wow, really? You can get $50.00+ per click for Mesothelioma ads? Where do I sign for the check? Take a number, buddy. A Mesothelioma search on Google right now turns up about 5,710,000 results. How do you compete with that and earn a coveted $50.00 click? You don't. Instead, find your niche. According to The Web Mark, Niche Marketing is a simple concept that involves targeting very specific keywords and optimizing your website (and your pay per click campaigns) for those specific terms. This practice can help a business, even one in a very competitive online category, to gain an advantage in the search listings.

Translation: An advantage in the search engine listings means increased visibility. Increased visibility leads to traffic which in turn generates clicks (money).

KEYWORD SELECTION (ad targeting)

Figure out what people are looking for these days by visiting the Google Zeitgeist, The Buzz Log, and this week's Lycos 50 with Dean. Subscribe to Wordtracker's free Top Keywords report and receive the top 500 frequently searched words on the Internet every week via email. Pick a few that interest you and view the max bids and listings for those terms. Keeping in mind the aforementioned Mesothelioma example, check your keyword competition by viewing keyword search results from the various search engines (Google, Yahoo, and MSN). Once you decide on keywords, start publishing content and targeting your ads using the Google AdWords Keyword Tool and Overture Keyword Selector Tool. These tools will give you ideas for new keywords that can help you improve your ad relevance.

Translation: Visitors to your site are more likely to click on ads that are relevant to their reason for being on your site in the first place.

MAKING IT HAPPEN (just do it)

On more than one occassion, I've read that you should have at least 100 pages of unique quality content before publishing your website. It has also been widely rumored that in order to make any real money using Adsense, not only should you publish at least 100 pages of quality content, but 100+ websites total. Seriously, though. Whether you publish one article a week or 3 times daily, just make it happen. With the advent of social bookmarking sites such as del.icio.us and digg, 20,000 visitors in 24 hours isn't unheard of. Besides, better some quality content than none, right?

SITE OPTIMIZATION (general)

Now that we've got the ball rolling, let's keep it moving. In order to accomplish this, we need to publish unique quality content on a consistent basis and plug it into a search engine friendly site. How do I know if my site is search engine friendly? Check out the Beginner's Guide to Search Engine Optimization which provides a complete overview of many of the processes, techniques and strategies used by professional search engine optimization specialists. While you're there, be sure to check out links to more information and resources.

WORDPRESS OPTIMIZATION (the essentials)

Since I use Wordpress on most of my sites, let's discuss some basic Wordpress optimization techniques I employ starting with "Pretty" Permalinks (aka search engine friendly URLs). According to the Wordpress Codex, Permalinks are the permanent URLs to your individual weblog posts, as well as categories and other lists of weblog postings. "Pretty" Permalinks, however, are loaded with keywords rather than incomprehensible parameters.

Use tags instead of categories. Instead of using a centralized form of classification (categories), users are encouraged to assign freely chosen keywords (called tags) to pieces of information or data, a process known as tagging.

Burn your feed. For the best results with your WordPress site, use Steve Smith's awesome FeedBurner plugin.

Generate a Google Sitemaps compliant sitemap. An excellent Q&A on the "Google Sitemaps" Web Page Feed Program can be found at the Search Engine Watch Blog.

Optimize your page titles. Create more meaningful search engine results and browser bookmark names using the Optimal Title Wordpress plugin.

SHOW ME THE MONEY (getting paid)

Alright, already. Enough with the blah, blah, blah. Let's talk about the moola! Google AdSense is a fast and easy way (relatively speaking) for website publishers of all sizes to display relevant Google ads on your website's content pages and earn money. Before getting started, make sure you actually read and understand the Google AdSense Program Policies. In addition, you'll need to memorize (seriously) the Google AdSense Online Standard Terms and Conditions. Acceptance into the Google Adsense program is likened to "The Running Man" movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's a game ~~nobody~~ hardly anybody survives.

In addition to playing by the rules, here are some other useful tidbits to increase your chances of survival and ultimately get paid. Read the AdSense Optimization Tips and determine the best placement for Google ads. If you are running Wordpress, or any other blog-like app, get Inside Adsense and Blogtimize! While you're at it, check out Phil Hord's Adsense inline with WordPress blog posts. If you really want to get jiggy with it, check out the AdSense-Deluxe WordPress Plugin. For more seamless integration with the content, blend ad units into the background of your blog. Finally, test your success and view detailed reporting about the performance of your pages with custom channels.

OUTRO (that's all, folks)

Google Adsense and Wordpress. Does it make cents? Sure. How much? I'll leave that up to you.

Gotta Stay Paid

Google Adsense and WordPress - Does it make cents?