How to Boost Visitors and Adsense Earnings
Some people consider traffic to be the Holy Grail of Google AdSense earnings. If you get the people, then you get the money. That’s not entirely true. If you learn how to boost visitors, then you are on your way to improving your AdSense earnings, but you are not there just yet. If your website isn’t set up properly, then this is like bringing thousands of people to a blank billboard. It doesn’t matter how many people come, you won’t make any money on the deal. So, with that in mind, let’s look at how you can improve your traffic and increase your AdSense earnings.
Boosting Web Traffic
Write Good Content
Every outdated SEO guide will tell you that the only way to get traffic is by writing hundreds of articles, regardless of their quality. Well, Google Panda and Penguin have stepped all over that strategy, and everyone who thought that quantity was their SEO trump card isn’t getting much more traffic.
So, instead of following the quantity road, you should instead focus your time on developing quality content. A good, 1,000-word plus article with resources, facts and good writing is always going to beat out a thin 500-word article with poor spelling, extreme keyword stuffing and obvious information.
The point here isn’t just making good content, but content worth sharing. Social media is bigger than ever according to the recent Penguin changes, so shared content is going to really give you a traffic boost.
Travel to Other Websites
You can’t bring people into your website unless you are willing to travel outwards. No website is an island, especially with thousands of new websites appearing daily. You need to hop across the digital waters and reach out to your audience on every platform you can think of.
Go to article directories and leave your mark. Sign up for relevant forums and talk about what you know. Visit question and answer message boards and show people that you know a thing or two about your topic.
Go to every website you can think of and leave some type of mark. Just make sure the mark is good. Leaving the mark of a scammer with spun content, forum posts that just say, “I agree” or “this is a great post,” and answers full of nonsensical information will make you look like a scammer. Again, it’s all about quality.
Build a Spider Web
Most people think of their website as a loose bunch of threads. Each page exists on its own, and the search engines will help bring people to each page. But, that’s not making the most of your website.
You should instead think of your website as a spider web. Each page is just one part of the whole connective body. Tie your pages together with internal linking. An internal link is just like getting a backlink from an external website, but you are in more control of your internal links. Websites with powerful internal linking have great SERPs, and users find them easier to navigate.
Use Graphics
We’re all a little ADD on the Internet. Nothing really holds someone’s attention for long, so you need to nab them while you have the chance. A short, punchy and powerful headline can do it, but only if you have the copywriting experience for that.
It’s a lot easier to just bust out the colorful image and let it speak for itself. Use great graphics on your website. Not only that, but make sure you label and link each image appropriately.
This is known as image SEO, and it is very powerful. Properly titling and linking your image will make it show up on image searches, and a good image can bring in some great traffic.
Improving Your AdSense Setup
Make the Ads Visible
There is some conflicting advice on this one, so do some experimenting to see what works with your particular website. You won’t make money with AdSense if the ads aren’t visible. In this world of ad blindness, visibility is key to getting clicks.
There are two schools of thought on this matter. One is to make the ad resemble the colors on your website. If the AdSense links looks similar to your normal links, then people have a higher chance of clicking them if they are interested in the information.
The second school of thought is to make the ad the opposite color of your website. If the website is blue, then make the ad blocks red. It will be impossible for people to miss the ads, so you are getting the best visibility for your website.
Find the Good Spots
Every website has several hotspots. These are spots that get the most attention, and they often lead to the highest number of clicks. The common hotspots include at the top of your website, above the article, in the sidebar, the center of the article and the bottom of the page.
You can only use three blocks, so which ones are best? That matters on your particular website. Some websites have great luck with ads in the header, while others just get a 1% CTR from them. Pick several spots and test them out. See what works for you, and stick with those spots.
Image or Text Ads
When you setup your AdSense block you can choose between image ads, text ads or both. Most people either go with image ads or both, but is that the best choice?
As stated before, images are great for getting traffic and keeping people’s attention. But, there is research stating that image ads are less likely to be clicked. This is due to an “advanced” form of ad blindness. Images aren’t as inconspicuous as ads. People know immediately that something is being pushed on them, and they run.
Link ads, on the other hand, just look like links that bring people to another page. If they trust you, then they will likely trust your links. This increases the CTR. People also feel safer clicking on links because it is normal online behavior. Clicking on images is less common. While experimentation may reveal a different result for your website, link ads are usually the best for increasing your CTR.
Multi-page Articles
Have you ever seen a large article online that is separated into several different Web pages? There is a very good reason for this, and it has helped many Internet marketers make more money.
When you post the article on one page, then you only have three opportunities to score a click. If you take that long article and break it into three smaller, digestible Web pages, then you can exposure your users to nine ad blocks across all three pages. More exposure helps your ads, and it improves the chance of a reader finding an ad that appeals to him or her.
Be Specific
If SEO writing isn’t your forte, then this tip is really going to help you out. AdSense ads are based on your keywords. If you talk about trucks, then your ads should be about trucks. I say “should be” for a good reason. If you don’t mention your keywords properly, or if you happen to frequently use words that have nothing to do with your main keyword, then your ads will be irrelevant to your audience.
For example, say you most recent article is about how people give their trucks names, and you mention a few feminine names. Your comments also reveal a few more feminine names. AdSense will catch onto this, and it might show dating ads, or ads that are geared more towards females. Just look at your pages every now and then, and ensure they are showing relevant ads.
Conclusion
Boosting your traffic and your AdSense ads are connected, but you should employ different strategies to get the best numbers in both regards. Do your best to spread your website around to get more visitors, and properly position and optimize your ads so they will with your audience and website. These simple tips alone can dramatically improve your AdSense check.
