So earlier today as I was editing my website I noticed my Google AdSense Ad on my Videos page was showing an ad for Google AdSense Ads. (click left image for larger view) I found this humorous personally, but also pretty cool. I figured I’d share my experience with Google AdSense here, and also link some info if you are interested in signing up.
First of all, I was skeptical, as I am with anything online, especially making money online. But I figured what the heck, might as well do some research and just see what all the fuss was about. I had noticed many ads on websites and YouTube videos, and a number of folks talking about this thing called Google AdSense. Back in October 2011 after loads of research and information gathering, I strongly considered signing up, once I found out how easy it was, I was sold, and have been signed up to Google AdSense since October 2011. Google AdSense is very easy to use from my experience, and easy to understand. Anything you don’t quite understand is explained very well in their Help Center section. You may or may not have heard about monetizing YouTube videos with ads, but this is powered by Google AdSense, and of course, ads on your website or blog. So those ads you see on videos, whether they show up before a video, or in the little ad widget, are money makers. The overlay ads before a video starts commonly pay more, unless people slick “Skip This Ad” then the user who has ads enabled does not get paid for the ad. This sort of thing is also explained in the Help Center section. I never would have thought I’d get paid for doing something I loved (videography, photography, blogging) It just never seemed like it would be possible. Through the months, I have become increasingly thankful, especially last month. They pay you every $100 monthly assuming you make $100 per month, so last month I was able to receive payment, direct deposited to my bank account, and it came in handy. Not only was I able to get my bank account back out of the minus, but I was able to buy some food and get some gas for my truck, which allowed me to go to storage and downsize to one unit, and find camera #2 which is now broken due to the recent Accident on May 3, 2012. But without AdSense, I wouldn’t have been able to do this. For some, the revenue might just be some extra money, or “chump change” as some say, but for me, it’s an important tool for making strides in storm chasing, photography, and life itself. I also want to point out that each month you do not make it to $100, your earnings roll over to the next month and continue accumulating as your revenue flows in. So you never lose earnings!
If you’ve been around a while, you’ll know that previously, I did not have ads on my website. I figured they would be bad for me, but that is just the opposite. Having ads have changed Charlesimages-Stormedia, and now I can make money from what I do, so I can keep on doing it. It’s not real steady right now, but as time goes on, I hope to grow this into something larger, more popular, and get some money rolling in. I make more and more with time, and so will you if you keep at it.
There are a number of folks who are successful with AdSense, a great example are video bloggers, or “vloggers”. They just put the ads on their YouTube videos, and the more popular they are, the more clicks and views they’ll get. The more popular they are, the more money they can make. It’s pretty cool if you ask me, and honestly speaking, I believe that making money online will be the new way to pay bills and more. Plus, advertisers get their products and services out to a huge audience, literally billions of people around the world. They make money, you make money, and everybody’s a winner.
Now obviously, there are some limitations. You can’t place more than 3 ads on one webpage, you can’t click on your own ads and expect to make money (that’s dumb anyway, so don’t do that), you can’t tell all of your friends and family something like “Hey everyone! I have ads on my website and videos, click on them so I make money!” because that is abusing the system, and will result in termination of your AdSense account, and you don’t want to do that. There are some more limitations too, but those are some of the main ones. The rest of which can all be found in the Help Center section of AdSense. The pros definitely outweigh the cons by a huge margin though. One tip from me is, create material that people like. Something interesting, informative, or just really cool or popular. For example, nobody wants to read “So… like… I walked today..” Alright, maybe somebody does, but I personally don’t see that as a good strategy for popularity haha. You will also need to fill out a simple tax form in the sign up process, easy and trustworthy, to be able to receive payments. Also obviously you will need address info, bank info and so on.
Overall, I am very pleased with my experience, the money I make is really helping out, and I hope to make much more in the future! I recommend this for anybody. It’s easy and rewarding.
Oh, and you will also get cool email updates from the Google AdSense Team showing you how to optimize your ad revenue, sharing tips, techniques, and much more. Many instructional videos can be found here on the Google AdSense YouTube Channel.
I advise watching this video first, it is the Welcome video, and after that, you can start making money with your websites or videos! I hope you enjoyed the article, and have a bit of an idea of how Google AdSense can work for you.