| When we began updating our company's Internet | | | | thirty seven bucks, what if it works?" |
| marketing strategy, we figured - based on all the | | | | Fortunately the ball game came on before I could |
| hype, that we should consider integrating Google's | | | | buy it, which would have resulted in me losing my |
| AdSense contextual advertising into it. After all | | | | focus on what's already working. I deleted the |
| we've got a lot of original content, some of which | | | | email and put this guy on my junk mail filter's list. |
| has been getting a fair amount or traffic since | | | | So be smart, don't you get on the "make a |
| 1999. Would AdSense help us further monitize | | | | fortune with AdSense" bandwagon. You won't |
| that? | | | | make a fortune and you'll undermine everything |
| We are business coaches and consultants with | | | | else you're doing. |
| over a century of experience helping business | | | | I am not saying that AdSense is a bad thing. We |
| owners redesign their companies for the future. | | | | now have AdSense code on 3,000 pages of |
| Our web site was established to help us do that | | | | stories, articles, and resources for business |
| and it has been advertiser supported since it was | | | | owners and professionals - it's free money from |
| launched in 1999. | | | | people we are never going to do business with |
| What we heard about AdSense made it sound | | | | anyway. But it is not our focus. If you visit our |
| like the perfect solution for us. The ads displayed | | | | web site you'll see how we integrate it, hopefully |
| are supposed to be relevant to the content on | | | | making it attractive to the people who are not |
| the page. We swap in the code - they do the | | | | our ideal prospects. |
| rest, sell the ads, collect the money and send us a | | | | We created and continually develop our web site |
| check. What could be better than that? | | | | with the primary objective of connecting with |
| There was a catch however. In order to learn | | | | people who'll contact us about our services. |
| about AdSense, more than the bare bones | | | | Everything we do is to cast our net in a wider |
| explanation available on Google, we had to do | | | | and wider circle to connect with people who have |
| online research, which connected us to the | | | | never heard of us, so they'll contact us when |
| AdSense Internet marketers selling every sort of | | | | they are ready to buy our services. |
| secret process and system anyone could imagine. | | | | If, after seeing what we're offering, they don't |
| The results were overwhelming. | | | | want to contact us - well they're going to leave |
| Once I clicked on a link for more information - it | | | | and go somewhere else. What AdSense does is |
| all goes back to that single click, I was bombarded | | | | create a logical place for them to go next, and |
| by the "make a fortune", "generate massive | | | | we get paid for it. |
| traffic", "explode your AdSense revenue", | | | | It's like getting all the people who don't buy from |
| "capture high paying keywords", and the rest of | | | | us to pay us. Now that's profit! The better job |
| the "unlimited profit from AdSense" brigade. What | | | | we do with all the search engine stuff the more |
| a bunch of baloney! | | | | relevant the AdSense adds are so not only do |
| What I found out, with that first click, was if you | | | | the right people (potentially) visit our web site to |
| request information from one of the AdSense | | | | do business with us AND the more likely the |
| "make a fortune" people, you end up getting email | | | | other are to leave via an AdSense ad when they |
| from them 24/7/365 and from all of their joint | | | | don't think we have what they are looking for. |
| venture partners as well. If the get out the vote | | | | Last month we had a click through rate of 8.53%. |
| people were as effective as these marketers | | | | We'd have been nuts to overlook AdSense. |
| we'd have a 90% turnout at the polls. But I | | | | Just don't be seduced down the hype-filled path |
| digress. | | | | toward disillusionment. Focus your efforts on |
| During the six months or so that we went | | | | building your business, not the business of the |
| through this I spoke to numerous business | | | | Internet marketers who want to sell you their |
| coaches and others who have been seduced by | | | | so-called "insider secrets". |
| the hype and wasted their time optimizing their | | | | When you do sign up for AdSense and this is a |
| web sites for Google's AdSense, which only | | | | must, use it wisely - to get paid by the people |
| served to get people they wanted to do business | | | | who will never be your customers anyway. You |
| with to leave them for their competitors. They | | | | won't make a zillion dollars in AdSense riches like |
| were optimizing their web sites so that people | | | | the hucksters say you will, but that would never |
| who would otherwise pay them hundreds or | | | | have happened anyway. |
| thousands of dollars in fees, would click on a well | | | | However, your total revenues will grow as your |
| placed AdSense link and they'd receive thirty | | | | Internet marketing strategy becomes more |
| cents instead. | | | | effective. |
| Last night, when I was thinking about this article, I | | | | And you'll have put a turnstile on the door many |
| received another seductive AdSense guru's email. | | | | of your non-prospects will be using when they |
| I found myself rethinking what we are doing - | | | | leave your site forever. Those people you were |
| that is working very well than you very much, | | | | never going to meet or do business with will be |
| listening and watching the video he sent and | | | | dropping those nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollars |
| saying to myself, "Hey, it's only a hundred and | | | | in your pocket as they leave. A perfect strategy! |