Should Your Site Make Cents of AdSense?
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007Sometimes, while I’m writing (or re-writing) web content for a client, they ask me if they should start an AdSense campaign to generate some extra revenue.
My usual answer is “no” because the cost of an AdSense campaign for most of my clients is way too high.
“But Jay,” they say, “AdSense doesn’t cost anything. Google gives you the code and you paste it into your website HTML.”
True. Every word of it. But the cost I’m referring to is the depreciation of your brand because you’re adding advertising to a site that wasn’t meant for it.
Why would you want to give visitors to your site an opportunity to leave your site and look for something else? Is the 25 cents really worth it? On top of that, it makes you look like you want their pocket change, not their dollar bills.
Don’t get me wrong. There are certainly times when AdSense makes sense (and cents) on a website. Take my Clayton, NC relocation website for example. It has ads, a job board and may soon have YouTube advertising. But the difference is that my Relocate Clayton site isn’t selling anything. It gives away every word of information for free with the hope that visitors will find the relevant ads enticing enough to click.
