Yes, you can make money with Google
Adsense. It's pretty much effortless. Once the ads are set up,
it's fire and forget. You just get a check every now and then
from Google. Cool huh!
You have probably seen Google Adsense ads many times, maybe
not noticing them.
How much you can make all depends on your site, how busy it
is, what the topic is, things like that. The amounts vary greatly.
I have known forum owners who make in excess of $10,000 a month!
But dont get your hopes up. That usually happens only on very
large forums. In most cases, you'll make enough to pay for your
hosting, and maybe a nice dinner or two. Most medium size forums
make anywhere from $300 to $1500 a month with Google Adsense.
Regardless, its basically free money since you dont have to
do anything different.
First you need to sign up for the Google Adsense Program. You
can do so by clicking the banner below:
You will need to give them information such as your Name, Address,
SS#, etc. Other then that it is pretty effortless. I suggest
you then read the Google
Adsense Quick Start Guide.
But, what about forums? How do you make the most with a forum?
Where do you put the code? I'll get into that in a moment. I
first want to warn you of a critical mistake many forum owners
make. DO NOT CLICK THE ADS ON YOUR SITE - EVER!
Also, DO NOT ASK PEOPLE TO CLICK THE ADS. This
is called "Click Fraid" or "Invalid Clicks".
Google takes a very harsh stand on this behavior and will usually
ban you from the adsense program and keep all money that you
have earned and they havent paid you yet. Don't think you can
outsmart them, because you cant. Google knows what they are
doing and believe me, you will LOSE. Be honest and be smart,
let the clicks occur naturally.
AdSense optimization tips for vBulletin forums
Google has done alot of testing to determine what placements
are the best for forums. I know they have done this because
I have been a beta tester for Google. There are 11 different
ad sizes, some horizontal, some vertical, some that are like
a box. You can place up to 3 different ad units on a page.
Which Ad Unit Format Works Best?
Placing a skyscraper above the fold on the left side
of your forum seems to produce better performance than other
locations. See the Forum Heat Map (below) for more information.
Dark Orange is the best palcement, light orange is the second
best, and yellow is the least productive ad placement.
The Best Locations for your Adsense
A leaderboard at the very top in the header fits nicely next
to your forum logo, but community regulars tend to ignore the
header and go straight to the first post in the thread. Placing
your ad unit above or below the first post can be more effective.
I recommend either the 468x60 or the 728x90 size ad units. To
do this simply place your adsense code below the $navbar in
the following templates:
- Forumhome
- Forum Display
- Showthread
If you want your code centered horizontally, place <center>
before the adsense code, and </center> after the adsense
code.
One of the easiest ways to place your adsense code after the
first post but before the second post, is to add this code to
the bottom of your postbit template:
<if condition="!$GLOBALS['FIRSTPOSTID']">
$spacer_open
<div style="padding:0px 0px $stylevar[cellpadding]px
0px">
<table class="tborder" cellpadding="$stylevar[cellpadding]"
cellspacing="$stylevar[cellspacing]" border="0"
width="100%" align="center">
<tr>
<td class="thead" align="left">Sponsored
Links</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="alt1" align="center">
------------------------<REPLACE
WITH YOUR ADSENSE CODE>----------------------------
</if>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
$spacer_close
</if>
Adsense Right After the Last post
This provides users who make it to the end of a thread with
a ‘next step’ when the content ends. The user's eyes are already
there and the ad may just catch their eye. I recommend either
the 468x60 or the 728x90 size ad units. To place an ad after
the last post in a thread look in your Showthread template for:
<if condition="$show['inlinemod']">
$spacer_close
</form>
$spacer_open
</if>
and place your Adsense code after.
Again, If you want your code centered horizontally, place <center>
before the adsense code, and </center> after the adsense
code.
Choosing your Ad Colors
Google allows you to choose your adsense color scheme and customize
it. You can change the color of the ad border, background and
text. My suggestion is that you make your ads blend with the
page. Use the same border and background colors as the page
they are going on.
Remember, Be sensitive to your forum community
Forums are highly interactive, so be sensitive to your forum
members when implementing your AdSense ads. Be sure to blend
the ads nicely, so they don’t appear overly intrusive – but
don’t blend them so well they mislead your users! Every forum
site is different and you know your community best, so as always
use your own judgment to create the most positive experience
for your users.
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