One of the most common questions I get asked is about making money online and blogging. The question is always something like, “I want to get some website monetization going. Which is best? Google AdSense or Affiliate Marketing?” So, which is best?
Well, like almost everything else in life, the answer is not so black and white. Let’s look in a bit more detail what the two best options for the monetization of your website are, and how best to proceed.
What Is Google AdSense?
Unless you are a complete newbie to the internet, or you live in China, you will have come across Google AdSense. Even if you have never heard the term, you will have seen it in action.
Go to almost any well-known blog and you will see a box advertising something, and in the top right-hand corner of that box will be a greenish arrow and an ‘x’. This is Google Adsense.
Is Google AdSense Worth Putting on My Site?
It depends what your website is. If your website is purely to sell stuff then I probably wouldn’t bother. You won’t make much money, and the ads do not make your website look attractive. Plus, Google is not a big fan of websites that exist just for affiliate marketing.
If, on the other hand, you have a blog that aims to inform rather than just sell, and it gets a decent amount of daily visitors, Google AdSense is certainly worth thinking about. After all, even if you only earn a couple of hundred bucks a month, that will still take care of a few bills.
However, be aware that Google is strict. Make sure you know its T&Cs inside and out and never, ever break them. One slip and you will be out the program quicker that something that is very quick.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Again, for those of you that are new, in very basic terms, affiliate marketing is selling other people’s products. How this works is affiliate marketers get people to click the affiliate links on their websites. If someone clicks the link and buys the product, the marketer earns a percentage of the price of the product sold.
Go to any website on the first page of Google search and as sure as apples are apples, one of them will be a site making money by selling other people’s products.
Is Affiliate Marketing the Best Way to Go, Then?
If you want to make money affiliate marketing, you certainly can, and a lot of it. The trick with affiliate marketing is traffic. And that depends on what type of site you have. If your website is full of interesting info, and Google likes your site, it will rank and get traffic. Then, you have the potential to do very well from affiliate marketing.
Even if your website does not rank well on Google, you can still make good money with affiliate marketing. You will just have to use the power of social media marketing through sites like Facebook, twitter, and Pinterest to market your blog.
So, if you have a popular blog and it make lots of affiliate sales, you might be better off staying away from Google AdSense, if for no other reason than to keep your site looking pretty.
So, Which Should I Do?
Before I answer that, I am going to assume that you want to monetize you blog. I am also assuming that you are not selling your own product. If you are, why would you want to do Google AdSense OR Affiliate Marketing? Both will take visitors off your website, which is the last thing you want.
So, as I am assuming you are thinking either Google AdSense OR affiliate marketing, here is my advice.
If you remember, at the beginning of this article, I said that there is no black and white answer to this and there still isn’t. You need to decide what is best for you and go for it. But if you want my personal opinion, if you are aiming to be an affiliate marketer, then be an Affiliate Marketer. Forget Google AdSense.
Okay, maybe forget Google AdSense is a bit strong. However, it is a lot of hassle. If your blog is new, you probably won’t be allowed to use Google Adsense anyway. Additionally, unless your website is getting thousands of visitors a day, you won’t make much money, so it’s probably not worth the bother.
On the other hand and at the risk of sounding like I am hedging my bets, you could do both!
You can sign up for Google AdSense quite easily, and as long as your website has value and does not promote anything dodgy, you will be accepted quickly, and can start advertising. In this way, you can earn money from Google AdSense and Affiliate Marketing.
Before I sign off, one last piece of advice, if you do decide to go for AdSense, remember not to overdo the ads. There is nothing worse than visiting a site that has so many ads that you can’t read the content.
Whatever you do, I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors to make money online.