Over the past couple of years I have become somewhat of a social networking junkie. I blame it on my quest to earn some extra cash online and the constant invitations to join yet another money making social network. Here is what happened. I joined way too many money making social networks and lost track of where I was. And even worse, I didn't make any money because I didn't even take the time to learn how to earn money. Of course, this totally defeated the purpose of joining the social network in the first place.
I decided to make a list of the social networks I belonged to and then go back to each and every one and start over from scratch. I decided to share my results with you and dubbed it my experiment. I hope by sharing my results it will help you learn how to make money social networking.
Be sure to watch the Social Networking Wars video. I laughed so hard when I watched it because it's so true for so many people I social network with.
Social Networks I Used for In the Experiment
The money making social networks I chose for this experiment were selected because each one was free to join, each one allowed me to paste Google Adsense ads on my profile and each site layout was very similar.
I started my experiment with the Lazzeo Business Social Network. It seemed like the best place to start because the basic setup in the profile settings made adding Google AdSense a breeze.
The second one I chose was Bizpreneur. It didn't have as many ad spots available to place my Google AdSense ads. It was also a little trickier adding more than one ad to my profile page.
The third social network for the experiment was Rotatrix Friends Network. In order to place your Google AdSense ads, you have to make a few more extra clicks to a different section other than the basic design profile section. I am also having a little trouble getting all my links to appear on my profile page.
My profile page is basically the same on all three networks. The only thing I may have changed is the background and the colors. The profile links will open in a new window, so you can compare all three networks.
I think it's much easier to take the time to design one profile page. I save all my information on my computer on a wordpad document. Whenever I join another social network, all I have to do is open my document and copy and paste it in the appropriate boxes.
My goal for each of my social networking profiles is to create a website image instead of a flashy profile page especially when Google Adsense is involved. As they say, content is KING!
My Experimental Changes
The first step I implemented in my experiment was to decrease the amount of time it took for my profile page to load up. I did this by eliminating the widgets, videos, photo cubes and music from my profile. Who wants to wait forever for my page to load up? Do you? It isn't necessary for me to delete everything. Google AdSense allows me to make money with youtube videos, so I may be adding a video. It would make sense, but I have visited way to many pages with tons of videos on auto-play. I am a little hesitant about adding a video but I might change my mind some day.
If you look at my profile page, you will see photographs on my page. I decided to create a family album on Shareapic (another way to monetize my profile page). It does tend to slow down my profile page load up time but in my opinion not as much as some of the photo cubes.Not only do I get to share family photographs with my friends, I make a little chump change too!
The second step was to design my profile page, I selected a background and changed my colors if necessary. By completing this step it made it much easier to custom design my Google Adsense (or another ad network) ads to my profile page.I know I can go back into Google and edit my ads but when I am designing and changing the colors of my profile page, I write down the html code for the colors I am using.
The third step was to eliminate some banners. I haven't completely finished this step yet. My profile page still has banner ads in addition to my Google AdSense and AdBrite ad banners. My goal is to only have a few banners. Why? It's all about content. In order for relevant ads to appear on my page, I need to have content. Web crawlers do not recognize banners or pictures for that matter. I needed to add WORDS!
The fourth step is adding content to my social networking profile. The ads being generated on my page are now different than a lot of the other members in the social network and my clicks are worth a lot more. I am constantly adding NEW content to my page as often as I can.
The fifth step was to set up and place my ads on my profile page. I am currently using a combination of Google Adsense and AdBrite ads on my social networking profile. I do not have a Google Adsense video on my profile page at this time. I do have the Google search box on my page. I do plan on removing the search box in the near future. No one seems to use it.
The sixth step was browsing the social network and making new friends. I used to have a 10 rating but I made the mistake of leaving some advertisements in the comment area. Ouch, someone didn't like it. A newbie mistake, I don't leave anyone advertisements anymore. It really isn't necessary. I leave comments for other members and they return comments, in doing so they visit my page and see what I am promoting.
The seventh step was thinking outside of the box (social network). All my friends who participate in the Google Adsense publisher program are hesitant about clicking ads. After a month of browsing and exchanging comments with other members in the community I didn't notice any changes in my earnings. They were still pretty dismal. I decided to advertise my profile page and list my profile page in a few link exchange directories. Woohoo, I started receiving more visitors to my page and started to generate some income.
The latest step I am currently working on is having any links I have on my profile in a new window. The purpose of this step is to keep my profile page open at all times, so the visitor will have the opportunity to explore more than one opportunity on my page and call it a day.
The last step I plan on implementing is to add a monthly update on my profile page in the about me section. My monthly update for September would be about my youngest son celebrating his 14th birthday and what we did or it could be about some new opportunity I joined or a combination of both.
I absolutely love social networking and earning money with Google AdSense. I still have plenty to learn about both but I am enjoying the whole experience. It's nice to have the opportunity to do both and know I am making money and new friends. I meet and make new friends in every social network I join. Friends are a blessing and I cherish each and every one of them.
I still have plenty of social networks to revisit and make some drastic changes. Little by little I am changing my profiles on all the social networks I belong to whether or not they have money making perks. I also plan on using the same profile design and strategies to market my opportunities.
piektdiena, 2009. gada 20. marts
10 AdSense Tricks
Google AdSense is fast becoming the preferred way for people to earn an income online. Forget eBay and multiple affiliate programs - Whether you are a work-at-home mom trying to make a little extra cash or an Internet entrepreneur with hundreds of monetized websites, AdSense is truly the easiest way to earn money.
Simply sign up for a free account, grab your ad code and paste it in your site. But here's the amazing thing - no matter how much money AdSense is making for you right now, a few simple tweaks can increase that amount considerably. And I should know, after learning about these tricks, I more than doubled my AdSense commissions!
The self-proclaimed AdSense gurus and experts are sharing this insider knowledge, for a fee. You can learn all these secrets from them, as long as you buy their e-book, sign up for their seminar or purchase their newsletter. But I'm going to share all their AdSense tricks for free. Here they are:
1) Color code your ads to match your web site palette *exactly*. Don't use frames around your ads. Instead, in the AdSense code generation interface, make sure you choose the same color as your page background for the ad frame and the ad background.
When choosing the ad heading colors, match them to the *exact* color of your page headings. Use the exact same ad background shade as your page background. Use the exact same ad text font and color as the text on your pages. You can see an example of this color-matching on my search engine advice blog notice the 4 link ad unit and skyscraper text ad unit on the left hand side under the headings Ads by Google as you scroll down the page? The link and text colors are identical to the color palette used throughout the rest of the page.
Near enough is NOT good enough. If you can't quite get the color matching right, use Google's built in color palette together with the RGB to HEX or vice versa color converter on this page. That handy little tool was a life saver for me.
This is probably the one single tweak that made the most difference to my commission levels.
2) Try not to use the traditional horizontal banner style or leaderboard image ads because people are blind to them.
3) Use Google's own AdSense optimization tips and visual heat map to assist you in deciding where on your page to place your AdSense ad code.
4) Research competitive keywords using a keyword research tool such as Keyword Discovery or grab a list of the most popular keywords from various sources and use them in your web site pages where relevant. This article is a good source of frequently searched keywords. Targeting popular keywords should trigger AdSense ads on your pages that utilize those keywords. The more popular the keyword or phrase, the higher AdWords advertisers are generally willing to pay per click for it so the higher your commission on those clicks.
5) Incorporate the AdSense code into your page so that the ads look like a regular part of your site. You can see an example of this on the Internet Dating Stories site where link ads are incorporated within the regular left hand navigation of the site under the heading "Feature Links".
6) Use Google's new 4 and 5 link ad units wherever possible. They seem to have a much higher Click Through Rate (CTR) than regular ad styles. You can view all the AdSense ad formats here.
7) Place arrows or images next to your ads to draw attention to them. You can see two different versions of on this search engine article library page at the top (where a pointing hand directs your eye to the ad) and the bottom where 3 images draw your attention to each of the three AdSense ads.
8) Use the full allowance of multiple AdSense ads on each of your pages - 3 regular AdSense ads, plus 1 link unit. Use careful placement of these ads so they blend into your site and don't distract from your content. Clever use of this allowance can be seen on this page about bad Internet dating stories where you see:
- 1 horizontal 4 link ad unit towards the top of the page under the first paragraph
- 1 vertical skyscraper text ad unit about halfway down the left hand side under "Sponsor Links"
- 1 vertical skyscraper image ad unit down the left hand side under "Sponsor Links"
- 1 horizontal text banner unit at the bottom of the page with images above each ad to draw attention to them.
You can also include 1 AdSense referral button in addition to the 3 other units.
9) Tailor your page content to a particular niche or focus. Page content that is tailored towards a specific theme is more likely to trigger AdWords ads that closely match the content and are therefore more likely to interest your visitors and inspire them to click. Don't create pages merely for the sake of placing AdSense ads. Visitors (and search engines) can see through this ruse in an instant.
10) Use custom Ad Channels for each of your ad placements, for example, "Top 5 Link Unit Blue Palette" or "Left Side Navigation Image Skyscraper" etc. Tweak, track and measure the success of each of these custom channels so you know what gives you the highest CTR. Some ad formats and colors will work better than others, but you won't know which until you test, test and test some more!
Simply sign up for a free account, grab your ad code and paste it in your site. But here's the amazing thing - no matter how much money AdSense is making for you right now, a few simple tweaks can increase that amount considerably. And I should know, after learning about these tricks, I more than doubled my AdSense commissions!
The self-proclaimed AdSense gurus and experts are sharing this insider knowledge, for a fee. You can learn all these secrets from them, as long as you buy their e-book, sign up for their seminar or purchase their newsletter. But I'm going to share all their AdSense tricks for free. Here they are:
1) Color code your ads to match your web site palette *exactly*. Don't use frames around your ads. Instead, in the AdSense code generation interface, make sure you choose the same color as your page background for the ad frame and the ad background.
When choosing the ad heading colors, match them to the *exact* color of your page headings. Use the exact same ad background shade as your page background. Use the exact same ad text font and color as the text on your pages. You can see an example of this color-matching on my search engine advice blog notice the 4 link ad unit and skyscraper text ad unit on the left hand side under the headings Ads by Google as you scroll down the page? The link and text colors are identical to the color palette used throughout the rest of the page.
Near enough is NOT good enough. If you can't quite get the color matching right, use Google's built in color palette together with the RGB to HEX or vice versa color converter on this page. That handy little tool was a life saver for me.
This is probably the one single tweak that made the most difference to my commission levels.
2) Try not to use the traditional horizontal banner style or leaderboard image ads because people are blind to them.
3) Use Google's own AdSense optimization tips and visual heat map to assist you in deciding where on your page to place your AdSense ad code.
4) Research competitive keywords using a keyword research tool such as Keyword Discovery or grab a list of the most popular keywords from various sources and use them in your web site pages where relevant. This article is a good source of frequently searched keywords. Targeting popular keywords should trigger AdSense ads on your pages that utilize those keywords. The more popular the keyword or phrase, the higher AdWords advertisers are generally willing to pay per click for it so the higher your commission on those clicks.
5) Incorporate the AdSense code into your page so that the ads look like a regular part of your site. You can see an example of this on the Internet Dating Stories site where link ads are incorporated within the regular left hand navigation of the site under the heading "Feature Links".
6) Use Google's new 4 and 5 link ad units wherever possible. They seem to have a much higher Click Through Rate (CTR) than regular ad styles. You can view all the AdSense ad formats here.
7) Place arrows or images next to your ads to draw attention to them. You can see two different versions of on this search engine article library page at the top (where a pointing hand directs your eye to the ad) and the bottom where 3 images draw your attention to each of the three AdSense ads.
8) Use the full allowance of multiple AdSense ads on each of your pages - 3 regular AdSense ads, plus 1 link unit. Use careful placement of these ads so they blend into your site and don't distract from your content. Clever use of this allowance can be seen on this page about bad Internet dating stories where you see:
- 1 horizontal 4 link ad unit towards the top of the page under the first paragraph
- 1 vertical skyscraper text ad unit about halfway down the left hand side under "Sponsor Links"
- 1 vertical skyscraper image ad unit down the left hand side under "Sponsor Links"
- 1 horizontal text banner unit at the bottom of the page with images above each ad to draw attention to them.
You can also include 1 AdSense referral button in addition to the 3 other units.
9) Tailor your page content to a particular niche or focus. Page content that is tailored towards a specific theme is more likely to trigger AdWords ads that closely match the content and are therefore more likely to interest your visitors and inspire them to click. Don't create pages merely for the sake of placing AdSense ads. Visitors (and search engines) can see through this ruse in an instant.
10) Use custom Ad Channels for each of your ad placements, for example, "Top 5 Link Unit Blue Palette" or "Left Side Navigation Image Skyscraper" etc. Tweak, track and measure the success of each of these custom channels so you know what gives you the highest CTR. Some ad formats and colors will work better than others, but you won't know which until you test, test and test some more!
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