For many, the terms blog or blogging are their main source of income. Newcomers in this field and even bystanders often wonder how ordinary people can make a living just by blogging. With the help of ads, affiliate links and other various sources, a blog can be quite lucrative. Understanding the importance of ad placement on a blog is highly influential because it ultimately affects how much money can be earned.
The Basics of Ad Placement
You may think that the more ads you have placed on your blog, then the more money you will earn. Go ahead and erase this thought from your mind because it isn’t true. It can and possibly will hurt you when it comes to making a decent profit off your blog. Most individuals will become annoyed when they visit a site that is covered in ads, thus defeating the purpose of gaining readers and followers. When it comes to the basics of ad placement, follow these words of wisdom:
- Place your high-earning or popular ads above the fold. What this means is to put ads where your readers’ eyes will naturally see them. If your readers have to scroll and then are met with ads, this ad placement method will yield very little results, if any.
- Track how well your ad is doing. This can be done by using multiple methods, but take advantage of the ad’s tracking method. For example, with Google Adsense, you are able to use channels to see which ad is performing the best. These channels will also help in determining what needs to be changed.
- Pretend you are not the owner of the blog and just visit your site. It may sound funny, but this will allow you to see what changes need to be made. It is two completely different perspectives when you come from the “back end” of things to the center stage. Begin to think like a visitor and make careful notes.
Different Types of Income Streams
As any blog owner will tell you, the money made off a blog is sporadic. There will be days where you will earn in the double or triple digits and others where you barely earn a penny. This is all dependent on a number of factors, but mainly ad placement and content. A common practice to remember is to never rely on one source of blogging income. You will want different types of income streams placed on your blog so that your success rate is higher. Here is a list of the most popular ways of earning money off a blog:
- Google Adsense
- In-text links (i.e. Infolinks, Kontera)
- Affiliate links (or VigLink)
Every blog’s success rate and earning potential is going to vary, but by following the basic principles of ad placement and including multiple income streams, your chance of earning a substantial amount of money is highly favorable. It does take time though and with practice, patience and an open mind, you could be another success story when it comes to earning money from a blog.
This post was written by guest author Vadim Kirichenko from Wisdek; a leading North American ppc company. Vadim likes writing about blogging, monetization and conversions.
