Blogging is a great way to reach a large group of people. If monetized properly, it can be extremely lucrative. From experience and researching other bloggers out there. There are different ways to monetize your blog:
- Selling your own digital product
- Selling ad space on your blog
- Google AdSense
- Product Reviews
- Email Marketing
- All together…
As you can see based on the short list above, there are many different ways to monetize your blog. Some are more lucrative than others. You notice how I BOLD Google AdSense? The reason for this is because I want to emphasize why you shouldn’t monetize your blog with ads. Without further ado, let’s get started!
It Is Counter-Productive
If you are a new blogger, you should avoid adding Google AdSense to your blog. Even if Google approves you for it, it doesn’t mean your blog is ready. In order to make good money using Google AdSense, you’ll need a blog with lots of traffic. For example, The Huffington Post would be a great blog for Google AdSense.
At the beginning of your blogs life, it is extremely important to focus on retaining readers. It’s counter-productive to get readers and send them away with flashy Google Ads. It’s basically screaming click me!!!
I made this mistake when I was approved for Google AdSense after starting my blog for 14 days. I left Google Ads running for a good portion of my blogs life. I recently turned it off because I noticed that I’m earning a few dollars here and there, but I’m losing a reader each time.
Google AdSense Pays You Peanuts
If you understand how Google Ads work, it tries to display ads that are relevant to your content. Which means, you run the risk of losing your visitors to your competitors. In return, you get paid peanuts! Depending on the ads, you could earn anywhere from $0.01 per click to $1.00 per 1000 impressions.
It just doesn’t make sense! Especially if you have low traffic. Let’s say you do get 1,000 impressions per day, with 1,000 visitors, you can make way more than $1.00 if you collect emails and apply your affiliate marketing techniques. Check out my affiliate marketing tips here!
Letting Your Competitors Steal Your Traffic
Blogging is very competitive and that’s why we’re always tweaking our website to grab on to our visitors. We want them to notice us and we want them to stay long enough to convert into a paying a customer.
The Google Ads are made by people who also have a website. They also understand the importance of tweaking for maximum exposure. When you have these shiny Google Ads on your blog. You’re basically allowing your competitors to steal your traffic.
Google Ads Can Slow Down Your Website
Since Google Ads are controlled by an actual network, sometimes they will appear slower than expected. I remember when I had Google Ads, the last thing that loaded were Google Ads. Sometimes it’s fast and sometimes it’s slower than a turtle!
If you’ve been reading my recent blog post, then you’ll know exactly how important site speed is to me. So not only are you losing potential visitors, but you’re also decreasing your load time which is bad for SEO and user experience. That alone should deter you from monetizing your blog with ads.
Google Ads Can Devalue Your Blog
Google ads are controlled by a computer which means it can make mistakes. When I had Google Ads displayed on my blog, sometimes it’s totally irrelevant to my niche. Often times, it’s something that I was searching for on the internet such as a new car. So it would display car dealership ads.
What this tells me is that your Google Ads can be irrelevant to your content. Also, since it’s made by other people, sometimes you’ll display low-quality ads that can devalue your blog altogether.
In Conclusion
Focus on other areas of your blog such as providing value to your readers. Sometimes trying to monetize too soon can set you back on success. I made the mistake of including Google Ads on my blog and that’s why they are no longer here. Will I add it back? Who knows… maybe…
But definitely not any time soon because the traffic that my blog gets is not enough to earn anything substantial. Also, it’s going to cause some of my visitors to leave and that means I’ll lose potential readers. What are your thoughts in regards to adding Google Ads to your blog? Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment down below!
Kind Regards,
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