I’m terrible about checking my Google Adsense earnings. I occasionally login to confirm that the amount on the check equals the amount reported in the Google Adsense interface… occasionally.
So, when I logged in this morning to review the reports, I was surprised (and delighted) to notice that this month’s earnings are more than triple what my average Adsense earnings have been over the past year and more.
Granted, the checks were markedly larger in both June and July — but I likely put that down as a ‘fluke’, endorsed them and took them to the bank.
As it’s unlikely to get 3 times ‘lucky’, and traffic to the site has actually decreased slightly over the summer, today I determined the cause for the substantially larger checks…
Google Adsense for Feeds
If you visit my feed for this site, you will notice that Google Adsense ads are displayed after every post summary. (Note: if that’s not what you see – keep reading to learn the reason that’s changed.)
What is most apparent is that my clickthrough rate on Adsense for Feeds (across all channels) is considerably higher (2.87%) than the CTR on AdSense for Content (0.39%).
Too, the Page eCPM on Adsense for Feeds is likewise higher at an average of $16.48 (across all channels) than the eCPM on Adsense for Content which sits at an average of 2.36.
On some channels the eCPM ratio between feeds and content is 20:1.
So placing Google Adsense after every feed item is a great tactic if you want to increase your Google Adsense earnings.
But before you rush off to do so, ask yourself the following questions first — especially if you promote goods and services as an affiliate on your site.
- Is earning an extra $100, $200 or $1000 per month (as the case may be) from Google Adsense really worth the cost of diverting traffic away from my site?
- How much more could I earn if those ‘clicks away’ became site visitors who bought the products I promote.
- In other words, am I really willing to trade potential subscribers / buyers for pennies on the dollar?
How you answer those questions really depends on what stage your affiliate site is at.
If you are just starting out as an affiliate and haven’t yet joined too many affiliate programs, then monetizing with Adsense is a great choice.
However, if your site is fully developed — promotes a number of products, services and builds a subscriber list — then you might actually lose revenues with so many Google Adsense placements in your feeds.
On the other hand, even with a fully-developed site, placing Adsense after each post summary may amount to an increase in overall revenue.
Only you can determine what works best for your site, by checking your stats much more often than I do! 
Do you place Adsense units in your feeds? Any comments on how frequency of placement has affected your revenue? Please share, we’d love to know!
Want to learn more about how to increase your Adsense earnings?
Check out Stephen Crooks’ Cash Cow Guide which includes his $100 a Day Adsense Challenge Report as a bonus. This was Stephen’s challenge to make $100 a day from adsense within 3 months from a brand new blog.
If you are a visual learner, you might prefer Michael Cheney’s Adsense Videos that show how he completely EXPLODED his Adsense earnings.
About Rosalind Gardner
I haven’t pursued the adsense ads on feeds but will have to now.
this is great thanks for sharing , you also earn more money from adsense by using adsense sharing network and soical bookmarking service, promote your blog / website at same time
Google Adsense’s earnings are not equal every month. It sometimes changes due to Google’s procedure. I have experienced this thing. Sometimes I got very less money than previous month but sometimes got double.
Hi Rosalind. The point you raised about the potential loss of possible affiliate leads to adsense is valid. Currently I use adsense AND affiliate links on most of my sites i.e concurrently. With your comments above in mind, I wonder if having some of my sites monetized solely by adsense and the affiliate sites monetized solely by affiliate links is a worthwhile option.
And then have adsense for feeds only in the adsense ‘focused’ sites feeds only
It’s so convoluted, but i think you get what I am driving at
Hi Rosalind!
Certainly a pleasant surprise – huh?
If I may ask a question … How does one get their adsense ads on their site’s feeds?
Thx!
Rick Wilson
Hi Rick,
To put Adsense ads on your feed, login to your Adsense account, then under ‘Adsense Setup’, select ‘Adsense for Feeds’.
Hope that helps!
Cheers,
Ros
I am surprised your CTR’s are so low. I get about 8% on my websites that I have that I made using Site Build it and don’t bother putting ads on my blog because they continually get such low ctr. I think it is the 3 column layout with too much for readers to get lost in which could be better for affiliate promotions.
Hi Julie,
I’m not sure I understand.
The CTR’s / eCPM’s in the post refer to my Google Adsense ads (averages across a number of my affiliate sites), not the CTR’s etc. on my affiliate links.
So, might we be comparing apples to oranges?
Cheers,
Ros
No I am not talking about affiliate links. I am talking about CTR on adsense ads. I am not sure if it is the layout of the pages or how a blog uses metatags in posts or something. If you put the ads in widgets on the right it is usually the worst place to put them I think. I also think it is how the ads are put into wordpress. You can’t see the ads if you put them in posts until people actually click on the post.
I can’t quite figure out what makes the difference. I love wordpress and have it for a few different sites and I can get pages indexed in 10 minutes but the ctr on ads are very minimal compared to actual website ctr’s that I have. I would love to be able to figure it out actually for wordpress because I love it so much!
I keep looking for a nice 2 column layout for wordpress and can’t find anything that I like. I may have to have one made to test it but I really think that wordpress theme designers should be looking into to it. I don’t see ads on this site you have so it must be others that you are talking about.
thanks for this post — maybe that explains why my adsense numbers jumped this past Monday.
Something finally clicked with the linking of the old feedburner feeds and truly linking to google adsense account this week because i was able to access them.
And to the person who asked above, you can login to your Google Adsense account and they have an “Adsense for Feeds” link that shows you how to burn a new feed or set up your ads for your feeds, etc.
I was just on there the past two days or so — and I’m going back soon!
Ros — have you ever reported your Google Adsense earnings online? I remember seeing your clickbank or some other earnings.
Anyway, my Adsense earnings made up a good chunk of the nearly $20,000 I made online in the first 6 months of 2009 — but yeah, it was neck and neck with affiliate earnings:
http://paulamooney.blogspot.com/2009/07/20000-made-online-blogging-first-half.html
So Ros,
Am I to assume you don’t bother to test, test, test.
Can’t help it , best to you, just asking.
Certainly a pleasant surprise – huh?
If I may ask a question … How does one get their adsense ads on their site’s feeds?
Thx!
wow! Thanks for this info. I’m looking forward to triple mine as well.
Rosalind,
The one question that keeps coming up with me is this; Does a $47.00 book really show or teach someone step-by-step how to make a website that will make money without having to call for coaching support? Honest to God money.
Here is why I ask that question. I get a great deal of emails telling me that you can’t make that kind of money unless you produce your own product. Yes, these so called guru’s say that you need a list in order to make money ( real money). I suppose that most of the other money is not real. You know (FAKE).
At any rate, could you take a little time and shine some light on the two points above? By the way Rosalind I don’t need to make a gazillion dollars a day like some of these guru’s claim. If I could just make a thousand or two a month I would be happy for now.
Thanks,
Eddie Howell
I still haven’t figured out how to put Adsense anywhere but the sidebar in Blogger blogs – but am in the process of following your advice from elsewhere on this blog, and setting up new hosting etc. Then I’ll be able to follow these guidelines with more control!
Could be your check was higher in July because it had 5 weeks instead of 4. Mine sure was:o)
I am like you Ros. I don’t check my stats often enough. I just post and go. I used to check them all the time but have never tested them. Some people swear that just changing all your content ads to blue, across the board, helps earn more income, since people are used to blue links I suppose. I use pink, peach, green, and blue ads on my site and they are all about the same in revenue. Of course, the most popular sections of my site get more clicks. (hair and antiaging sections)
I know this sounds like a really stupid question, but what are feeds? RSS etc? I know you must’ve mentioned them in your SAH but I don’t recall what they are exactly. Sorry for being a dummy on this one:o)
I tried your recommendation of Stephen Crooks’s cash cow guide and I just want to thank you for telling me about it. I am working through my first Adsense site now and this guide is priceless.
Hi Terry,
Happy to hear it! Keep up the good work!
Cheers,
Ros
Hi Ros.
keep up the good work,
i wish i do in IM as you do.
thanks
MBeshr
great post, thanks for sharing. you also earn more money from adsense by using adsense sharing network and soical bookmarking service.
Odd as this may sound, I just feel like adding Adsense to feeds would, well, make me feel kind of dirty. And I’m not sure why. I guess a part of it is that I’m hoping that people who subscribe to the feed are paying more attention to what I’m writing, and hopefully coming by to leave a comment, rather than clicking on a Google ad and missing everything else. That, plus I really want more subscribers, and wonder if throwing Adsense into the mix would turn some of those folks off.
Not sure about this, so I’d have to really think more before adding it. Still, it’s interesting hearing that you’re making good money because of it. Then again, you have way, and I mean waaaayyyyy more subscribers than I do.
Rosalind,
I just realized you recommend the adsense videos
I was under the impression they are a bit outdated…
Karsten
I pasted adsense in my blog 8 months before,still its doesn’t reach atlaest 2$,can any advise where i did the mistake