Blogging for Profit Using AdSense

This article is designed to teach you how to profit from blogging, writing to a website in the form of regular posts, without spending anything. The keys to this idea lie in two of Google's programs, Blogger.com and AdSense.

The first obvious step is to find a niche. While it is possible to have a general interest blog, it may not be as profitable as targeting a specific subject (click here to read the logic behind targeted advertising).

Once you settled on a subject you like, its time to set up your blog. Blogger.com is great for beginners. Not only is it free (and free of ads, unlike most free hosting services), it has integrated support for AdSense (more on this later). For now, pick a suitable but catchy name and choose one of the pre-made designs.

Of course, now you have to start making posts to your blog. There are two main types of posts. The most common type of content on blogs seems to be commentary plus a link to the actual news source or website of interest. Then there are original content posts which will have others link to you (much like you do in your commentary posts). Either way, make sure its interesting to have readers coming back.

Now its time to apply for Google's AdSense program. AdSense is a pay per click program which matches ads to the content of your page. Every time a visitor to your site clicks on one of these links, you receive a small amount of revenue (the minimum advertisers can bid for a link is $0.05, of which you receive a percentage. Many phrases can have bids as high as several dollars per click).

The content of your site determines what ads appear, and therefore how much you will ultimately make. The placement and appearance of ads, however, can have just as great an impact on how much you make.

There are a few tips for maximizing ad revenue. First, the appearance of the add itself is important. Google clearly labels all its units as advertising, but allows you to determine the colors of the links and the background. It is important that this match the look of your site. The more blatant an ad is, the more likely it is to turn off visitors. Just as important is the location of the ad units. They should appear on the top half of your page, and preferably on the left side. This insures the ad is viewed by most visitors.

Having covered the basics, its now time for you to experiment to discover what works best for your new blog. The best part is, it costs nothing to try.

Chris Rivers is a writer for http://www.ClickForDeals.net. Visit the site to learn more about maximizing profits through affiliate and pay per click programs. Articles appear on the site exclusively one week before they are syndicated.

In The News:


Live blog: Coyotes, Kings tied 1-1 in Game 5
Tucson Citizen
22, 2012, under USA TODAY News We're live-blogging Game 5 of the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Kings, visiting the Phoenix Coyotes, can clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals with a win. 9:43: Coyotes back on the power play.

and more »

5 Common SMB Online Marketing Optimization Issues Solved: Q&A with Lee Odden
Search Engine Watch
Ongoing Engagement Means You'll Never Run Out of Things to Talk (or Write) About We asked Odden what advice he has for entrepreneurs who have shied away from blogging and/or social because they don't feel they can produce enough contenton a regular ...

and more »

Live blog: Devils lead Rangers 3-1 in Game 4
Tucson Citizen
21, 2012, under USA TODAY News NEWARK – We're live blogging Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final. The New York Rangers lead the New Jersey Devils 2-1 in the best-of-seven series: 10:34: Rangers pull Henrik Lundqvist with more than two minutes left.

and more »

Bloglovin, a prettier take on RSS and Tumblr, gets Betaworks investment
GigaOM
Now, the company said it has about 1.4 million members worldwide and 2.4 million monthly unique visitors, who use the site to follow blogs in a range of areas, from fashion and food to photography and interior design. Like an RSS reader, ...

and more »

12 Reasons Why Blogging Is The #1 B2B Marketing Tactic
Business 2 Community (blog)
What is a 'Blog'? Shorthand for “Weblog,” a blog offers an easy way to present brief chunks of frequently refreshed Web content. Backed with easy-to-use technologies for syndication (eg, RSS), comments and trackbacks, blogs are often the blazing ...

and more »

Twitter applies greater precision to 'Who to Follow' feature
Red Rocket Media News
If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic. Micro-blogging service Twitter is tweaking its 'Who to Follow' feature, as not everyone is interested in “Justin Bieber, FC Barcelona or Kim Kardashian.

and more »

Blog To Get More Patients? IDA's New Dental Marketing Websites Can Showcase ...
San Francisco Chronicle (press release)
New websites from Internet Dental Alliance, Inc. (IDA) let doctors easily embed their blogs into their IDA New Patient Portals to automatically generate fresh content and new patient leads. IDA's Portals let doctor's integrate the RSS feeds from their ...

and more »

How to Get Bloggers to help in Your Press Release Distribution
PR Newswire (press release)
In Vision Smart News online press release distribution system if the press release is crafted well it will help reach various blogs by way of RSS feeds. To learn more about a How to Get Bloggers to help in Your Press Release Distribution contact Qamar ...

and more »

COMMENTARY: Does "The Stage Door" need a Facebook page? My thoughts.
Naples Daily News (blog)
But how do you feel about getting anywhere from 50-90% of the blog content via Facebook? 4. This is the big one. Does anyone else have concerns about me building an audience for and inside Facebook - a platform controlled by someone else?

and more »

Toronto Star

Aveda Born to Style hairstyling contest crowns two winners
Toronto Star
The audience of about 150 — half of which was comprised of family and hair folk, the other half of beauty and fashion bloggers — was especially excited. Susan Chong, who created the attendee list for the event, focused on the online world.

Google News

How To Display RSS Feeds on Your Website

This article is intended as a guide for webmasters who... Read More

How RSS Advertising Can Help Business Gain A Higher ROI

I recently read the case study conducted by Pheedo, an... Read More

RSS: A Really Smart System For Sending And Receiving Content Online

"RSS" stands for Really Simple Syndication. RSS is a standard... Read More

Update Your Websites Content Automatically 24/7 Using RSS(Real Simple Syndication) and RSS Feeds

RSS(Real Simple Syndication) is the newest form of content syndication... Read More

RSS is Not Only for Blogs

Contrary to popular opinion, RSS is not only good for... Read More

Blogging Your Way To Success Part 4

(Continued from Blogging Your Way To Success Part 3)In this... Read More

RSS Latest News - Blogging or Blagging?

The RSS latest news suggests that RSS can stand for... Read More

Blogging Can Improve Your Search Engine Ranking

Search engines are after one thing ? providing their users... Read More

7 Questions To Ask Yourself BEFORE Staring A Business Blog

Blogging is the latest buzzword in online marketing and PR.... Read More

The Power of the BLOG

Can a Blog earn you a prison sentence? Ask Mojtaba... Read More

Will The Real Spammer Please Stand Up!

If you have been using opt-in email marketing for sometime,... Read More

The Language of Blogs

I read over a lot of blogs each week, casually... Read More

What is a Business Blog?

Although Blog was the most requested word of 2004 as... Read More

Blogging Advice - Give Your Readers What They Want

Web gives a lot of exposure; weblog stabilizes the exposure... Read More

The Best Marketing Tool For Your RSS Feed and Its Free

Do a search on Blogs on Yahoo and you get... Read More

10 Benefits of Being a Blogger

I have been a blogger since September 2004 but only... Read More

Blogging will Soon Take Over the World

In recent years, it's been pretty obvious that "blogging" (Web... Read More

An Example of a Business Blog: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Blog

Think of a product or a service that your business... Read More

If an RSS Feed is the Yahoo Backdoor, is a Blog Google?s?

Though the answer is in a book I wrote this... Read More

How to Reel in Web Site Visitors by Building Your Own Blog

I know, I know, blog this...blog that. Seems like everyone... Read More

Why are you abusing RSS

When you are involved in RSS everyday you get to... Read More

What are Blogs and How Do You Profit from Them?

'Blogs' or 'Blogging' have existed for several years and there... Read More

Blogs: Why, Where and How

So you have heard about the blogs or you are... Read More

Business Blogging: Where Do I Start?

The new hot commodity is a blog for your small... Read More

The 7-Step RSS Marketing Plan

If you're wondering how to get started with RSS marketing,... Read More