When you consider the potential revenue, it’s no surprise that monetizing websites with ads has become so popular. And as the largest ad platform in the world, Google AdSense makes it easy. After completing the quick setup, your website can start earning actual ad revenue right away — with Google completing most of the work.
Whether you’re just starting or have been running ads for a while, here are some tips to maximize the revenue earned from Google AdSense.
Tip #1: Create More Unique Content
The more valuable content you publish, the more visibility your website gains online — and the more attractive your site becomes to advertisers. Creating high-quality long-form and video content are two great ways to do this.
Long-form content — or content that’s roughly 600 to 2,000 words — can lead to website growth. The more text there is to read, the more time a website visitor will spend on your site, which is a factor considered in Google’s ranking algorithm. Writing lengthier posts allows for more topic keywords, which can lead to better site rankings. High-quality, long-form posts can increase conversion rates too.
Writing more words isn’t the only way to grow your content — creating more videos can too. Research shows that when content includes relevant videos, engagement and revenue can increase.
Embedding content on a video platform can also be helpful. As the second-most popular social media platform in 2020, YouTube provides the opportunity to engage with two billion active users. If you natively host your videos, Search Engine Result Pages can drive traffic to your website in addition to your YouTube channel.
Tip #2: Follow Ad Placement Best Practices
The more views your website ads get, the more revenue you receive. Although it sounds easy in theory, there’s a lot to consider when looking for ad placements that won’t clutter up your page or negatively affect your UX. Thankfully, Google has a list of best practices you can keep in mind when using AdSense.
Placing ads beside your site’s most popular content is an important best practice. However, stay away from deceptive layouts. Instead, make your ads easily identifiable from your content and ensure they follow Google AdSense program policies.
Never click on your own ads or ask others to click them. This type of engagement is not considered valid and is prohibited. Also, take responsibility for website traffic. If you identify any unusual traffic, quickly resolve its cause.
Google takes its rules very seriously. If you end up violating one of their policies, you are risking Google suspending or removing your Google AdSense account.
Tip #3: Pay Attention to UX
Website trends are always changing. As a publisher, you need to frequently review your website visitor behaviours and optimize your user experience (UX). Having the best content and ad placement won’t help if your site doesn’t load fast, isn’t mobile-friendly, or has other issues.
There are plenty of tools available to help you improve your site’s UX. Use clickmaps, scrollmaps, or heatmaps to monitor your site’s audience interaction to discover what’s working and what’s not, and check Google Analytics and Google Search Console to analyze traffic levels.
When the user experience is good, visitors are more likely to stay longer on the site and share the content across social platforms, which positively correlates to greater ad earnings.
Tip #4: Move to Google Ad Manager
When website revenue starts increasing, it may be the perfect time to use a better ad management platform.
Google Ad Manager offers the potential to earn more revenue from ads while helping publishers simplify the ad serving process. Using one platform, publishers can manage and deliver ads to various distribution channels such as smart TVs and desktop. Unlike Google AdSense, Google Ad Manager uses exchange bidding to traffic multiple ad networks, including AdSense, Ad Exchange, and other third-party networks.
To qualify for Google Ad Manager, Google requires an active Google AdSense account. Best suited for medium to large publishers, the tool offers real-time bidding, complex reporting, and the ability to run direct deals.
Even more features are available with the Google Ad Manager 360 product — although unlike Google Ad Manager, it comes with a fee. Both mid-level and enterprise-level publishers use Google Ad Manager 360; however, the latter typically receives easier access.
Tip #5: Partner with an Ad Ops Provider
There’s no doubt about it, monetizing your site is a great way to earn some revenue. However, truly maximizing your ad revenue takes plenty of time and work — and most publishers are already extremely busy. That’s when Ad Ops providers like Sortable come in handy.
At Sortable, we use the best ad optimization technology to maximize your ad revenue. We stay abreast of all the latest strategies and trends — including new ad formats beyond static display — and are well-versed in industry policies.
We also take the headache out of finding the most lucrative advertiser opportunities. Our extensive network makes over 12 billion ad requests each month, helping us develop and secure exceptional partner relationships. We’re connected to over 30 advertising partners and we’re constantly bringing in additional advertiser demand to increase competition. Since our platform can support all Prebid bidders, you’re also able to have your own advertiser relationships.
From implementing to optimizing to maintaining your advertising, our team of Ad Ops experts take care of everything. Our advanced header bidder container includes testing and maintenance to ensure your site is maximizing every ad impression. Using over 30 different metrics and dimensions, you can also gain extensive insights through custom reports and dashboards.
Start Increasing Your Ad Revenue Today
Making revenue through website ads can be a great monetization option — if you know what you’re doing. When just launching a site, Google AdSense makes it fairly straightforward to start earning ad revenue. Once your site begins generating more money, it’s time to think about transitioning to Google Ad Manager.
To maximize your earning potential, you should work with an Ad Ops provider. To learn more about how working with an Ad Ops team can help you increase ad revenue, request a demo with our team.