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.
A Guide to AdWords
If you’re a regular internet user, you have undoubtedly used Google recently. And why wouldn’t you? It’s a great service. It’ll find what you’re looking for faster and more accurately than anyone else. Of course, Google is a publicly traded company that needs to make a profit and in the process of commercializing their technology, the company has created one of the most consistent revenue streams for webmasters today, AdSense.
A Guide to AdSense
If you’re a regular internet user, you have undoubtedly used Google recently. And why wouldn’t you? It’s a great service. It’ll find what you’re looking for faster and more accurately than anyone else. Of course, Google is a publicly traded company that needs to make a profit and in the process of commercializing their technology, the company has created one of the most consistent revenue streams for webmasters today, AdSense.
The Logic Behind Niche Content Profits – from ClickForDeals.net
In researching most successful online businesses, you start to notice a trend emerge. As far as websites go, there are a few giants such as Yahoo and MSN that cover every topic imaginable. For most people, taking on these established publishers head to head is an enormous task beyond their reach. After all, one or two people working from home or in their spare time cannot match the resources (billions of dollars and thousands of employees) of these corporations. At least not in all areas.
