| From the people I have spoken with, it seems that $20-$40 a month is about average for an Adsense site that gets decent traffic. I suppose having multiple sites can actually result in a decent return. There are certainly people who are doing quite well with Adsense: just ask someone like Joel Comm (who I met at a conference in Dallas, and who my wife knows fairly well through her Internet Marketing business).
On the other hand, I have to agree with agmon. My primary business is a web hosting service. I have a number of other sites as well, but the hosting service site is my major player. While I am quite confident we can beat just about anyone when it comes to price and service, I don't think that placing your competitors just a click away from your own site is a terribly wise business strategy. I sure don't have that in my business plan (LOL!).
If Google (or Yahoo) ever decide to let advertisers select the categories that are displayed on their sites, I may reconsider. I'd love to have ads on my hosting site for web design, graphics design, and other related services. But having other web hosting companies displayed in a tower or banner area on my site doesn't quite cut it with me. And certainly not for $20 a month.
I think the best sites for Adsense are either the really large, massive traffic sites, or niche sites (such as the kind Joel Comm uses). I can also tell you I know a number of people who have had their Adsense accounts revoked because someone engaged in "click fraud". Nothing they did, but it really isn't difficult for a competitor to just click away on your Adsense ads and ring bells at Google. When that happens, GOOD FREAKING LUCK in trying to explain it to Google. They pull your account, and then never reply to your queries as to why it was pulled. I know several people who have experienced that. And trust me, once Google pulls you, you never get back in.
That $20 or so a month just isn't worth it to me. In the final analysis, it comes down to knowing your core business. Making additional income streams is nice, but just how many headaches do you really need? |