12 Common Mistakes to Avoid While Using AdSense
AdSense Mistakes #1: Putting The Cart Before The Horse
Many people over think the way they use a fairly simple system in this day and age, and as a result make a mess of things. Because these systems are often new, people assume that they will naturally be complicated and "too different", and will require special knowledge, even when this is not the case. When using AdSense this often leads to a situation where the person thinks "AdSense" while writing content rather than thinking "content".
Probably all of us have read sites which seem to have been designed to trigger AdSense. The content on these sites reads in a horribly forced way and sounds like it has been written around the keywords. Half of the time let's say the keyword is "Swarovski crystals" the content will be poor and over stuffed with keywords. The writer might as well just type "banana banana banana Swarovski crystals banana" for all the effort it takes to crowbar in a keyword. But if you are writing about Swarovski crystals, it's more or less impossible not to use the phrase anyway.
Indeed, it could be said that one of the keywords in this article is "keyword" and because the article is about keywords, it has been used repeatedly without even trying. Pick your subject, think about it in a logical way, and you will see that obsessing about such a detail is not helpful for your purposes. Why overcomplicate a really very simple system? It just isn't necessary.
AdSense Mistakes #2: Trying To Trick Google
Hands up everyone whose mom or dad used to say to them: "If you had brains you'd be dangerous". Most of us? Or is that just my mom? Anyway, the point of the phrase, such as I understand it, is that some people in trying to be devious just reveal how little they know, and if they played it straight when they needed to, they'd get a lot further. This is something that people do a lot when it comes to AdSense.
An unbelievably large number of people make the mistake of trying to trick Google on a program that has been designed by Google. Now, we're talking about one of the most powerful and well known companies in the world. Do you think they've got there by being stupid? Don't you think that when they were designing the systems that have made them so successful, they might have planned for people who would seek to exploit loopholes? You're not going to pull the wool over their eyes, and if you try to they're not going to take it lying down.
Your best chance of AdSense success is to have a good site, as simplistic as that may sound. What ads do you think are going to get the most clicks? The ones that are on sites with a high Google ranking because the content is worth reading, or the ones that are hosted by someone who has thought more about how he is going to trick Google into giving him more money? Surely the answer is simple?
AdSense Mistakes #3: Clicking Your Own Ads
Have you heard the phrase "self praise is no recommendation"? Well, whether or not you have, it's true. If you are intent on becoming President or Prime Minister, then you are not going to get very far by wandering the streets saying "I'm amazing! Vote for me! Ask me about how fantastic I am you'll be stunned by what a good account I give of myself!".
By the same token, you are not going to make much money on AdSense by consistently clicking your own ads. This has less to do with the fact that it takes a lot of clicks to make any real money, and more to do with the fact that Google are not stupid. You're not going to get any money from clicking your own ad Google knows where the clicks are coming from and it will rule out any that you make for yourself.
Now, there is a difference between inadvertently clicking on your own ad or trying it just to see what will happen and consistently and regularly clicking on it. In the first case, Google doesn't bother much about it because such things can happen by accident or be put down to curiosity. But if you try to game them by repeated clicking on your ad, they will know and not only will they not pay you, they will ban you.
There is a double punishment for anyone who tries to hoodwink the system in this way, which makes it doubly stupid to even try. Firstly, you waste a lot of your own time for no gain at all. Secondly, you won't be allowed to use the service anymore. So it's not worth trying to see if you can do it do you think they're about to hand out free money to everyone?
AdSense Mistakes #4: Plagiarising Content
If you know a little bit about AdSense, then you will know that content which people want to read will attract the most clicks. It's just common sense. Many people, aware of this fact, will make a logical leap that can get them into trouble and it's often impossible to have any sympathy for them when they do it.
You want readable content on your site, of course. That's how it works. But a staggering number of people labor under the impression that if they can't write it themselves, the best idea is to take it from somewhere they know it will be read. The idea is as follows: "I'm no writer, but this guy is really good. I'll use his content on my site, people will read it, and I'll get more clicks!".
The first thing wrong with this assumption is nothing to do with legality or morality. For one thing, it may get read a lot on one site, but that has a lot to do with placement and existing readers. Just placing it on your site won't immediately bring people in. Secondly, and this has a lot to do with legality, it is breach of copyright. You're not just breaking the law, you're doing it inefficiently.
It cannot be said often enough you stand and fall on your own content. You might love that article on another site, but if you do, then you are better off linking to it and explaining why you love it. It's more honest and it won't get you into trouble. Write your own content, and if you really are an awful writer, pay someone else to do it freelancers have surprisingly reasonable rates.
AdSense Mistakes #5: "More Is Always Better!"
If you don't buy a ticket, you won't win the lottery well, that much is true. But this of course does not mean that you will win the lottery if you buy a hundred tickets. More to the point, here's another conundrum if you ask one person out on a date, they might well say no, but this doesn't mean that you should spread your chances and ask twenty people out.
Why is this? Well, in the second case, the impression that you give is that you're not particularly fussy who you go out with, as long as someone says "yes". Someone might, by the law of averages. But if they find out that you also asked another nineteen people, they aren't going to be thrilled. In fact, by the time you get to person number #14, the chances are that they'll have heard just how desperate you are.
What does this have to do with AdSense? Well, quite a lot, surprisingly. If you paste AdSense units all over your webpage, you might think that one of them has to get clicked. But the fact of the matter is that people visiting your site will think "Would you look at how many ads there are here? I can't find any content this is just an ad farm!". It's spam, and any clicks you do get will also have less value.
Favor quality over quantity. You may think that you're increasing your chances of making some cash by offering more opportunities, but if you look desperate, you're not going to get the quality you are after. You might get a date, but it will be with someone equally unfussy and the relationship won't be very satisfactory.
AdSense Mistakes #6: "If I Like It, They Will Too!"
One of the foremost rules of real estate and property development is as follows: Develop for the market and not for yourself. To take an extreme example, you might really love Justin Bieber. You might think "I'd definitely buy a house that had a huge picture of Justin Bieber on the wall, one that was impossible to remove or paint over!". But you're selling the house, not buying it, so what you like doesn't matter.
That's not meant to sound callous, simply to illustrate a point about how you make money. What you think is worth buying is not the important aspect when you're trying to sell. To maximise your chances of selling something, you have to give it mass appeal. Too many people get emotionally attached to developing a house for sale and make it something they'd buy, without thinking about the market.
The same goes for monetising a website. You might really like a particular niche it can have a particular emotional attachment for you and you will find it easy to write enthusiastically about. Placing ads on that kind of content might well attract a small number of clicks from people who are equally enthusiastic about the subject but it will not bring in much in the way of traffic.
This does not mean that you should refrain from setting up a website about a subject that enthrals you. Just don't expect it to be your money maker, and if you want to make big money you should look to develop a site which will have mass appeal and will attract clicks. Any money you make from the more obscure niche that you love is a bonus, because you like the subject matter anyway.
AdSense Mistakes #7: "If Everyone Likes It, I'm In The Money"
