Google Adsense Ads - Are They Worth the Effort?

I've experimented with the placement and sizes of Google Adsense ads on various websites.

The biggest money makers are ads at the top of the home page and ads embedded within articles. The sidebar adsense link ads did not result in any profit whatsoever, so I removed them entirely. But I've seen others have success with sidebar ads if the ads are well targeted and the site gets a lot of traffic.

Location, location, location. Advertising is just like real estate; advertisers pay more for better spots.

One of the reasons to use Adsense is because they are easier to set up and easier to track than some of the other ad programs. If you use Blogger, Adsense is built in so you can set it up in a snap. But Adsense has its downsides, too.

One major drawback to Adsense is that you can only block 200 advertisers. 200 is a very small portion of the total available advertisers, many of which may be inappropriate for your website or pay too little to make it worth your effort. Some other advertising programs let you choose exactly which ads to show whereas Adsense doesn't.

Another drawback to Adsense is the high minimum. Adsense will not cut you a check until you've earned at least $100 through their program. When you're just starting out, this may be hard to do and you may wait a long time before getting your first check. Many other advertising programs have lower minimums, and in fact most start at $25. Lots of website owners and bloggers give up before reaching the Adsense minimum so Adsense gets a lot of free advertising.

The final drawback to Adsense is that they're probably the cheapest advertising around. If a potential advertiser sees that you have Adsense on your website, they know that they don't have to pay you much to get an ad. But then again, if you're just starting out, this might be a good thing.

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