Tips on Starting With AdSense Monetization (Part 2)

The other day, we started with part one of our tips on AdSense monetization for beginners. This means if you’re just starting out with trying to monetize your blog (or any website, for that matter), there are a few things you have to consider, such as aesthetics (meaning you cannot just plaster ads around your site), and traffic (meaning the more traffic you have, the better revenues you get).

We shall continue with our tips, and aside from deciding whether to indeed include ads on your site, you should consider how to make these effective, and you should learn how to experiment.

Experiment with layouts and color schemes. There are two schools of thought when it comes to AdSense design and laying out. One, some people seem to click more when the ads look like they’re part of the site’s layout. Two, others seem to get more clickthroughs when the ads are more visible, such as when they are contrasting with the site’s layout.

Most would advise beginning AdSense users to follow the AdSense heatmap when it comes to laying out.

Still, this is very much dependent on your target audience, and the general design of your site. One good rule of thumb is to determine what looks good yourself, and to ask feedback from others, whether your ads are acceptable. If they stand out too much, you risk making your site ugly. If they blend in too much, people might not click on them. The right balance would make your readers think your ads are part of your site’s layout (as sponsors) and would generate enough interest for clicking.

Use channels to determine performance. We say this time and again, and we’re stressing it once more. One mistake of beginning AdSense users is lumping everything into one channel (the main one). This way, you won’t be able to determine the performance of each ad. Using custom channels will help you know which ads are clicked the most, and which ads earn the most per click. This way, you can take out the least performing ones, so you’ll have better earnings from the ads that perform well.

Also, channels would be very useful when you’re still experimenting with moving around your ads in the layout, or when changing color schemes. You can assign a channel per design, so you can determine with the actual earnings which give better results.

Lastly, be patient! Give it time. AdSense adjustments may not take effect instantly. Well, design changes will take effect as soon as you paste in the code and publish the new design. But what’s more important is how your readers react to your ads–whether they click more, and whether you get more dollars per click.