Unit – 7: Google AdSense and Affiliate Marketing

What is Google AdSense?

Google AdSense is an ad product from Google for publishers and bloggers to make money from
blogging. The beauty of AdSense is the quality of ads it serves. It shows ads based on the
context of the article a reader is reading (Contextual ads) or based on their own interest.

Since Google is an ad company (a lot of users think they are a search engine, which is not
right), it focuses on adding value to its advertisers and publishers. If we talk about the history of
AdSense, here are a few fine points that you should know:

Google AdSense was launched in March 2003.

Google Acquired Applied Semantics to grab the name AdSense in April 2003

Google AdSense has a referral program in the beginning which is still available to selected
publishers.

Why Google AdSense is the Best Advertising Program for Your Blog?

When it comes to making money from blogging, Google AdSense gives you the peace of mind
with the recurring earnings. There are many ad networks available for bloggers such as
Media.net, PropellerAds and a few more but nothing is same as Google AdSense, because of
the trust factor that is added with the “Google” brand name. After all, it adds the comfort that we
will get paid in time.

What are the benefits of using AdSense?

One of the direct benefits of AdSense is the fact that it is a legitimate advertisement program
by Google.

How AdSense works?

What AdSense offer is the easiest way for a blogger or a publisher to get started with online
monetization?

Once you have an approved account from Google AdSense, all you need to do is, add a few
lines of codes (use AdSense WordPress plugins) or by manually inserting, and Google
AdSense will start showing ads based on different criteria.
 The Advantages of Google AdSense

 A huge number of publishers and advertisers. As of today, over 10 million websites are using
it.
 High level of security, safety and transparency for both advertisers and publishers. This is
another good feature of AdSense. Google acts as an intermediary between the two sides and
is mindful of the whole process being transparent and clear for everyone. All the necessary
metrics can be tracked within your Google Analytics account.
 Variety of ad formats. In AdSense, advertisers can run text, images, HTML ads, video ads and
much more, and in many different sizes. As a publisher, you can experiment with different ad
types and figure out which ones drive the most revenue.

Tip: check which sizes are the most used by other publishers and learn from them. For
example, in our own study, based on the analysis of over 63,000 advertisers and publishers, we
found out that the most popular ad sizes are 728x90 and 300x250:

How Does AdSense Work?

The whole process is quite simple. You create an AdSense account, insert a small amount of
code into your website pages – and that’s all you need to start. Google will display targeted ads
on your page that are either relevant to the content of your website or to users’ previous
searches, based on its proprietary algorithms.
Your website visitors will start clicking those ads and - the best part - you will be paid for it.
Google AdSense works on a cost-per-click and revenue-sharing basis. This means that your
main task will be to provide as many clicks to those ads as possible.

Tip: do not try to cheat Google and artificially increase the number of clicks. Do not encourage
your website visitors to click ads and - of course - do not click your own ads under any
circumstances! Google has a very accurate and complicated system for preventing click fraud.
Once it notices some suspicious activity on your website or has any doubts about the quality of
your traffic and clicks, it may suspend your account.

How Much Can You Earn With AdSense?

Google charges advertisers per ad click. Publishers get 68% of the click amount (or 51% when
it comes to AdSense for search).

The commission you get depends heavily on the competition and CPC in the niche. In practice,
the commission per click can range from $0.20 to $15. The majority of niches bring less than $3
per click to publishers. However, there are some niches that can be extremely profitable.

There are two ways to discover the most profitable topics:

1. Estimate an average cost per click in the niche with the CPC Map tool:
You can see that the three most expensive niches in the US are Insurance, Online Education
and Marketing & Advertising. If you are just about to start a blog and choosing the topics to
cover, these numbers will be extremely useful for you.

2. Check the CPC of a particular keyword in the Keyword Magic tool:

This tool is powered by the biggest keyword database in the world (over 14.6 billion keywords
as of August 2019). You can just enter a seed keyword (“ad sense”, for example) and it will give
you tons of related search terms with CPC, search volume and competition level for each of
these terms.

Tip: the amount you earn doesn’t solely depend on the cost per click value in your niche. It also
depends on how ads match your audience interests, where the ads are located on the page,
etc. So pay attention to the content of your website, its look and feel, and test different
placements within a page to find the most efficient option.

Traffic Is the King

Finally, and most importantly, your earnings also depend on the amount of targeted traffic to
your website. You can choose the most expensive niche and pick the best placements for your
ads, but it doesn’t make sense if nobody comes to your website or blog. Keep in mind that only
a very small number of your visitors will click the ads (there are no official statistics from Google,
but usually webmasters report that 1% to 2% is quite a good CTR). Most probably, the clicks will
bring you less than $1 per click. Now you can calculate yourself how much traffic you need to
earn the amount you want. Therefore, if you want to make money with AdSense you should
have large volumes of traffic. This will require a lot of work and a lot of unique and quality
content.

This means that it is always reasonable to create a website on a topic you know a great deal
about. It will be much easier for you to generate a lot of quality content and this work will be
pleasurable. Do not expect to make $1,000 per month with a 10-page website. It is
recommended to create at least 20-30 pages of content before you start working with AdSense.

Summary

Briefly summarizing, you can make pretty good money with Google AdSense, but it is not a
program where you can get rich quickly. There are some common sense rules to follow that will
help you lay the groundwork for high and stable earnings:

 Love the topic you are writing about and know a lot about it.
 As well as producing unique and relevant content, do it on a regular basis to make
Google aware that your website is being updated constantly with fresh information.
 Do not try to cheat Google with any kind of “artificial” clicks.
 Do some research to find the most profitable niches in terms of CPC and search
demand? Build your content plan according to these insights.

This will help you to get a lot of traffic and monetize it with AdSense.

It’s pointless to mention again that AdSense is one of the best contextual advertising networks.
Until now, AdSense approval process was simple: You create a new AdSense account, your
account is reviewed, Adsense team accepts your application, and you can implement ads on
your site and start making money.
From now on, AdSense has changed the AdSense approval process, and made is easy for new
publishers. Here is the new account approval process:

 Ensure your website is compatible with AdSense

 Sign up for an AdSense account
 Login to your AdSense account
 Add the AdSense code
 Wait for 1-2 weeks for final review & approval

Once you add the code on your blog that will be showing blank ads. Here is a video that shows
how to create your first AdSense ad unit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9WNLnbKjZA

How to Get Accepted to AdSense

How do you ensure that you get accepted to AdSense the first time you apply? What do you
need to know about the approval process and what to do if you are not accepted to the
program?
Google AdSense is one of the most popular ways to make money online because it’s very easy
to use, it’s owned and managed directly by Google and above all it works.
Before you can take advantage of all the benefits AdSense has to offer, you first need to have
an AdSense account and what you will read below is how to get one.

Things to know before applying for an AdSense account

Before even applying for an AdSense account there are a few things you should know:

 Understand how AdSense works and also read AdSense policies.

 Make sure that you have a content rich website that adheres to AdSense policies.
The website should have not been used previously for an AdSense approval.
 Make sure that your domain is at least a couple of months old. If you are applying for
an AdSense account from the Middle East, China, India or Pakistan you may need a
domain that is at least 6 months old.
  Apply for AdSense after your website receives at least 100 unique visitors per day.
Rules have become stricter and it may be difficult to get accepted if you don’t have a
decent amount of traffic.
 You need to have a Google account (such as Gmail) to use with AdSense. No need
to create a new account if you already have one.
 You are allowed to have only one personal AdSense account. If your account is
suspended for any reason you cannot create a new one.(in this case you should look
for AdSense alternatives).
 You cannot apply if you are not at least 18 years old.

The AdSense application process

The application is straightforward and it split up into two phases. The first one is automatic and
the second one may involve manual intervention.
Once you are certain that you meet ALL the above criteria go to www.google.com/adsense and
apply for an AdSense account.
The first thing that you need to decide is whether you want to use an existing Google account or
create a new one.
Some people prefer to have a different Google account for AdSense which is ok but note that
the same Google account should also have administrator access to your Google webmaster
tools and Analytics (in order to connect these 3 tools together and share useful statistics and
AdSense metrics).
Next you will be asked to enter the URL of the first website you will add AdSense ads on.
As mentioned above, it has to be a website that is not using AdSense, content rich (unique and
interesting content), at least 6 months old (for some regions) and with some traffic.
Once you get approved to AdSense, you can add ads on any website that satisfies the program
criteria without having to go through the approval process again.
The final step in the first phase is to fill out your country, time zone, name, account type and
address. A few things you should know:
The country you enter has to be your country of residence. AdSense will verify your address by
sending you a confirmation code by mail.
Once you enter a country you cannot change it. In case you have to change it because you
changed country of residence, you will have to close your existing account and create a new
one.
If you have a business that is officially registered and has a valid registration number, you can
open a business account. There is no difference in functionality between the two other that the
payments are paid to a company and not personal (as is the case with the personal account).
Once your account is created you cannot change the account type (i.e. from personal to
business and vice versa).
When you are ready, you can submit the application and you will get a reply back (usually within
1 business day) with the status of your application.
What they check at this stage, among other things, is that you don’t already have an AdSense
account and the validity of the information provided.
In case you are approved, you continue to the second phase which basically includes adding
AdSense code on your website.
What you should know to increase your chances of being accepted to adsense the first time you
apply are:
Add the code above the fold and to all your website pages. Once you add the code the adsense
crawler will access the website and start taking statistics. If you place the ads above the fold in
as many pages as you can, they will receive more hits.
Until you are fully approved, the ads will show blank so don’t worry you did not do anything
wrong.
This process may take up-to 1 week, during this time adsense specialists will also review the
website to make sure that is in accordance with adsense guidelines.
If everything goes well, you should see live ads on your website and receive a welcome email
from Adsense.
In case your application was not approved, you will also receive an email explaining why you
were not approved.

How to increase your chances of getting approved to

Adsense
I already explained this above but to make it clearer, these 4 things are the most important for
getting approved by Adsense.

 A website that is at least 6 months old

 A great website with unique and original content.
 A website with decent traffic.
  When you add the adsense ads the first time, make sure that you place the ads
above the fold.

10 Reason Why Your Google AdSense Application

Will Get Rejected
Google AdSense is one of the most well-known advertising services and for a good
reason. They offer you a large selection of ad sizes, delivery methods, reporting tools, and
most importantly prompt payouts.

Since many people and companies rely on advertisements on their websites as a way of
making money, it's not uncommon for them to apply for Google AdSense from the moment
they launch their websites.

More often than not, however, these applications will get rejected. Paying attention to the
list of 10 common mistakes below will help you avoid getting rejected for an AdSense
partnership and improve your chances of joining one of the best ad serving services.

1) Your website is too new

This is one of the first things that you should pay attention too. Google does not want to work
with newly created websites. It is an indicator that their AdSense campaign is not going to be of
that much benefit neither for you nor for them.

Therefore, if your website is younger than 6 months, you should postpone the application for
AdSense.

2) No content, poor-quality or inappropriate content

Google is a big company that wants to provide its customers with outstanding service. They
want to steer away from websites with inappropriate or incomplete content, or poor content in
general.

This is why if you have no content on your website, or if the content is of low quality or
inappropriate, you will get rejected automatically.

Therefore, make sure that you are creating the best content possible. It will also guarantee that
the traffic on your website is going to increase in the future which is exactly what the people
behind AdSense want - a broader audience for their ads.

As for inappropriate content (including content for adults, hate speech, etc), it's simply not
acceptable and there's no way around it.

3) Poor quality or non-organic traffic

It is very important that you have some stable amount of traffic to your website. Organic traffic
shows that you are creating legitimate content and that your website is of high quality.
If you follow sneaky tactics in attracting visitors to your website, chances are you'll have a high
bounce rate. Also, if you are paying for your traffic, Google will know about it.

Patience is the key here, work on making your website visited by other people naturally.

4) No privacy policy

This is a strict rule for AdSense users as Google takes users' privacy seriously, and they want
you to do the same. It is mandatory to have a privacy policy on your website. Ignoring this step
will result in immediate rejection.

5) You encourage users to click on the ads

While you may ask your readers to use your affiliate links and talk about them in your
disclosure, asking them to click on AdSense ads to support you is against their terms and
policies. Keep everything clean and organic on your website to avoid this.
Display ads where appropriate, try different placements on your website to improve
conversions, but do not entice your users in any way to click on the ads.
 6) Links are from or lead to harmful or inappropriate sites

Google does not want to be affiliated with any type of website that leads to inappropriate or
suspicious websites. Double-check your own links and backlinks that point to you from other
websites. Remove any that have anything to do with inappropriate content.

7) Server downtime

AdSense wants to collaborate with websites that are actually accessible at all times. This is why
server uptime and downtime are so important. Double-check the capabilities of your hosting
provider, as you want your website to be online at all times.

If your website is constantly crashing and going offline, AdSense will reject your application, as
it means that the ads on your website are going to go offline quite often and is simply perceived
as unprofessional.
 8) You sell counterfeit goods

Selling counterfeit goods, or conducting any type of online scam is not supported by most
companies. If you are planning to conduct shady business online, don't hope for AdSense's
approval.

Make sure that everything you are doing is completely legal before you send an application to
AdSense.

9) You are under 18

In order to apply for AdSense, it is necessary for you to be older than 18. If you are underage
they will not approve you.

If you are under 18, a good way to get the application accepted is to work with your parents or
another trustworthy person who is older. That will allow you to work on your website with
AdSense enabled, even though you are underage.
 10) You've already been banned before

If you've already been banned, your application will get rejected automatically. If this is the case,
it is necessary for you to get in touch with AdSense's customer support.

But, the chances of being accepted are quite slim, as you have already broken the rules of
conduct in the past. Nobody likes this, including AdSense.

Put yourself in the company's position. It is quite evident that Google and AdSense want to work
with serious people who will present their ads to thousands and possibly millions of visitors.

With this in mind, go through every one of these steps and make sure that you meet all the
requirements before you send in the application.

If you get rejected, pay attention to the reasons why you got rejected and take action that will
allow you to be accepted next time.

To better understand all of the rules, you can visit the official Google Support page to get more
information.

What to do if you are not approved

If you are not approved you should study carefully the email they have send you explaining the
reasons of not accepting you into the program.
You can then go to the adsense forums and see what others have done that faced the same
problems.
Read the adsense guidelines again and create a list of the things you need to correct, wait for a
couple of weeks at least and apply again.
While there is no maximum number of attempts you can make to get accepted, don’t apply if
you have not first taken corrective actions.
Have also mind that there is no way to contact the Adsense team directly and ask why your
application was accepted other than the official adsense forums.

Is adsense the same as adwords?

I saw in the forums that some people get confused and they apply for adsense although what
they really wanted was an adwords account.
Adsense is not the same as Adwords. Adsense is for web owners who want to show ads on
their websites and adwords is for those who want to advertise their products on Google.

Final thoughts and conclusion

Getting approved for an adsense account is not difficult provided that you meet the criteria
explained above.
Adsense is a great way to make money but always remember NOT to violate any of their
guidelines for any reason.
Once you break the rules you are out of the program once and for all.
Play by the rules, try to get more organic traffic (converts better when it comes to adsense)
and soon enough you will start seeing the benefits adsense has to offer to publishers. If you're
new to AdSense, here are some pointers to help you find your way around your account. Take a
few minutes to explore the main pages: Home, Ads, Blocking controls, Reports,
and Optimization. Also check out the Account page where you'll find options for your settings
and payments, etc.

The main pages

In the left navigation panel, your AdSense account has the following main pages:
  Home: When you first sign in to your AdSense
account, you arrive at the Home page. This
page gives you a snapshot of your earnings
and account performance, and provides links to
more detailed reports.
 Ads: Here's where you set up and manage your
ads.
 Blocking controls: This page contains all of your
ad blocking controls.
 Reports: Here's where you'll find all of your
reporting options.
 Optimization: This page can help you get more
out of AdSense—it's a one-stop shop for
improving your account performance.

Other useful pages

 Account: Here's where you access and manage your account settings, account status,
and payments.
 Feedback: You can send us problem reports, feature ideas and general comments via
this link
 Help: This link opens the AdSense help widget. Here you can find answers to your
AdSense questions without having to leave your account. You can also browse all
articles in the AdSense Help Center and access the AdSense Help Forum.

Notifications

To keep track of important messages and account alerts, check your notifications .
Grow your online business
10 things you should know about AdSense and how it can help your business grow

1) The Google Display Network

As an AdSense publisher you’re part of the Google Display Network, (previously known as the
Google Content Network). The Google Display Network comprises all of the sites where
advertisers can buy ads through Google, including the over one million AdSense and Double-
click Ad Exchange partners as well as YouTube and Google properties such as Google
Finance, Gmail, Google Maps, and Blogger.

With AdSense, you can gain access to the largest pool of advertisers without having to maintain
individual relationships

 With Google Adwords Advertisers and certified ad networks, Adsense has the largest
global advertiser pool on the web, which means more competition for your unique
content.

 Our real-time auction gives you the best yield for each impression you serve, helping
you capture demand for your inventory at any given point in time.

While AdSense is designed for publishers to monetize their websites with Google ads, it’s also
designed to extend the reach of our AdWords advertisers, providing them with high quality ad
real estate. It’s a place where advertisers can engage with their target audience at the moment
of relevance. Once the ads are in front of the right eyes, it’s a great way for advertisers to
engage with their customers online.

To maximize the value for advertisers displaying on your site, we recommend focusing on
developing a high–quality site with original content that’s valuable to your users. And in the
meantime, we’re working hard to offer the best advertising solutions. We look forward to
continue introducing new features on the Google Display Network that help advertisers reach
their goals and that help our AdSense publishers earn more revenue.

2) Experiment with our optimized tips

The best way to determine how to maximize revenue on your websites is to experiment with
various ad sizes, colors, and placements. Here’s a four–step process to optimize the ad
performance on your site.

Step 1: Analyze your website(s)

The first step is to ask yourself the following questions as you think about placing ads on your
site: A) What type of content do you have? B) How can you integrate ads into your site? C) How
would advertisers like to appear on your site?

Step 2: Set up custom channels to track performance

Custom channels are a great tool for tracking the clicks and impressions on your ad units, as
well as testing which ad placements, sizes, and colors perform the best.

Step 3: Optimize your ad unit design and placement

The next step is to look at the color, position, and size of your ad units and optimize them for
user experience, advertiser experience, and performance. Use colors electively. Blend ads in,
but not so much that users don’t see them. Borderless ads tend to work well, as does
highlighting the link and URL. Implement ad units above the fold (area of page that users can
view without scrolling down) and near your content, where users are already engaging with your
site.

Step 4: Maximize revenue from multiple units

We recommend adding multiple ad units to your pages, while still keeping the user experience
in mind when deciding on placements. Custom channels reporting can help determine which ad
units perform well, so you can structure your page to optimize performance based on that.

3) The bigger picture

The Google Display Network offers a growing number of ad formats–text, image, rich media and
video ads – enabling publishers to take advantage of higher revenue earning potential available
through online display advertising. With that in mind, there are two tips we recommend that can
help you benefit from the investments we’ve made.

Wider ad sizes

With 11 ad sizes to choose from, you’ve got a lot of options. In general, the best performing ad
sizes are the wider ones – such as the 160x600 wide skyscraper, the 300x250 medium
rectangle, or the 728x90 leader board. Wider ad units are the preferred sizes for advertisers
looking to target your site, and there are also more rich media (image, flash, video and gadget)
ads available in wider ad sizes.
Rich media ads

By choosing to display image ads in addition to text ads, you can help ensure that you’ll have all
available advertisers bidding to appear on your site. Both text and all rich media ads will
compete in the same auction to display on your pages, and we’ll automatically display the ad(s)
that are the highest performing and most relevant to your site.

4) Robust targeting options

Our advanced suite of advertiser targeting options enables advertisers to reach their audiences
on your site, which translates into more revenue for you and a better experience for your users.

Contextual targeting: AdSense displays ads related to the content of your page, so those ads
are thematically relevant to what your users are reading.

Placement targeting: An advertiser can choose to specifically target your site based on
demographics, category, geographic location, or URL.

Interest–based advertising: An advertiser can show ads based on your users’ interests and
previous interactions with that advertiser.
5) Control your brand and the ads that appear on your
site
AdSense helps you protect the value of your brand to ensure a positive user experience by
giving you control over how ads are displayed on your site.

Control who can advertise on your site

 Increase competition by allowing placement–targeted and interest–based ads to

compete for your ad space.
 Block ads from specific advertisers and ad networks using our advertiser URL and
network blocking options.
 Prevent ads from specific categories from showing on your pages, by using the category
blocking feature.
 Search, review, and manage ads that have been placement–targeted to your site, using
the ad review center.

Manage how ads are displayed on your site to enhance your users’ experience

 Choose which ad sizes you’d like to display.

 Customize the colors and fonts of your ads to match your site’s look and feel.

6) Track and measure

AdSense provides you with a wide array of performance reports. These reports supply you with
extensive information, allowing you to track and measure the impact of individual variables of
your site. Using these insights, you will be able to make more informed business decisions.
1. Generate custom channel reports: Generate reports on your custom channels and group
results by channel to see how different sizes, colors, and placements are performing.

2. Utilize detailed ad reports: You can run detailed performance reports by ad type, ad size, ad
unit, targeting type, and bid type for total earnings and other metrics, over a custom date range.

3. Set up descriptive graphs: Graphs allow you to customize data to understand the impact of
individual variables, easily view trends in your performance, and discover key insights. Overlay
different variables to help identify and compare these trends across the different features of your
website.

Track and measure... even more

Integrate AdSense with Analytics. By integrating your Google Analytics account with your
AdSense account, you’ll have access to additional reports that can help you isolate the track
sources that contribute the most to your revenue.

Google Analytics is the web analytics solution that gives you rich insights into your website
traffic and marketing effectiveness. You can use Google Analytics to measure the traffic coming
to your site to better understand where your users are coming from, and where on your site they
spend their time.
Discover untapped markets: Use the geographies report to determine which regions are
under-represented in your sites user base. Optimize your sites user base. Optimize your sites
content to attract more of these under–represented users.

Drive high–earning traffic to your site: Use the ‘Referring sites’ report to determine where the
users who are making you the most money are coming from. Focus your efforts on getting traffic
from these sources.

Delve deeper into AdSense reports: Use the visualization feature to look at trends in your
site’s AdSense performance over time, or by time of day.

Armed with this new data about user behavior, you’ll be able to make more informed decisions
on how to improve the user experience on your site and optimize your AdSense units to
increase your revenue potential.

7) The power of Google search on your site

Bring the power of Google search to your very own website. AdSense for Search, powered by
Custom Search, allows you to earn revenue while helping your users find what they’re looking
for on your site and across the web.

Help your users find what they’re looking for: Visitors come to your site to find something.
Whether that is information, a certain product, entertainment, or just a way to spend time,
AdSense for search allows you to enable them to do just that. By offering you new
customization options, like what to let your users search and keywords to tell us what your site
is about, AdSense for search leverages your expert knowledge to show Google search results
and targeted ads that are particularly relevant to visitors in the context of your site.

Utilize the power of the Google Custom Search Platform: By integrating AdSense for search
with Google’s Custom Search platform, you now have more control over what your search
engine searches across, from individual pages on your site to the entire web.

Provide the most relevant ads to your users: By providing keywords related to your site’s
content, you can help fine–tune ads and search results so that they’re even more relevant to
your users.

Get more comprehensive site search results with improved indexing: We’ve recently
improved our indexing technology so that you can provide a more enhanced Site Search
experience for your users. Now, AdSense for search will index even more pages of your site, as
long as we’re able to crawl them, so that your users will see more results from your site in your
AdSense for search results.

Integrate your search box with your site seamlessly: In just a few minutes, you can
customize the look and feel of the Google search box to match your site. Choose from a variety
of search box appearances, select a background and where to place the ads, and customize the
color scheme of your ads and search results.

8) Additional solutions to help your business grow

In addition to monetizing your content with AdSense, Google gives you access to a full suite of
monetization products designed to increase your efficiency, give you more access into your
data, and explore new & emerging revenue opportunities.

Double-click for Publishers (DFP) Small Business

DFP Small Business is a free, hosted ad serving solution that helps you manage your growing
online advertising business. If you’re ready to start monetizing your site using multiple ad
networks, or using a combination of ad networks and your own sales team, DFP Small Business
(visit www.google.com/dfp/info/sb/index.html) can help by providing a complete toolkit for ad
delivery and revenue optimization across all your online revenue touch points.

Increase your efficiency with a simple interface – our workflow and inventory management
systems make it easy to get up and running quickly.

Take advantage of a sophisticated feature set that grows and evolves with your business,
including robust forecasting, reporting and targeting capabilities.

Maximize your revenue by enabling real–time competition between Google AdSense, third–
party ad networks, and other non–guaranteed advertisers for any inventory on your website.
DFP Small Business will optimize your revenue by automatically selecting the highest paying
ad.

Double-click Ad Planner Publisher Center

The Ad Planner Publisher Center is a part of Double-click Ad Planner, a media–planning tool

that helps agencies and advertisers find sites that cater to their target audience. As a site
owner, you can use the Publisher Center to showcase your site’s audience and unique value to
advertisers, choose categories that describe your site’s content, and share your Google
Analytics data with advertisers to reflect the most accurate traffic numbers for your site.

Based on this information, agencies and advertisers using Ad Planner will be able to identify
appropriate sites to include in their placement–targeted campaigns. As more advertisers
become aware of your sites and bid to show ads on them, the competition among your ads will
increase and so should your earnings potential. Visit www.google.com/adplanner/publisher/for
more information.
Webmaster Central: There are additional things you can do to help search engines better understand
your website. Google o!ers a one–stop shop for you to get all the information you need about how Google
understands your websites. This destination is Webmaster Central (visit www.google.com/webmasters)
which aims to provide free, scalable and equitable support for all webmasters and websites, no matter
how large or small. Webmaster Central is a great resource for all web publishers. It comprehensively
answers questions about crawling, indexing and ranking questions; provides an avenue for feedback and
issues; and offers free diagnostic tools that help you understand and fix potential crawling problems.

Webmaster Optimizer: Website Optimizer is easy to use tool for testing site content that delivers actionable
results. When we talk about optimization in AdSense, we usually focus on testing different sizes, colors, and
locations for your ad units. But it’s just as important, if not more so, to optimize your site’s content to make it
as user–friendly as possible. Which homepage design do your users respond most to? Which headline or
graphic will entice your users to spend more time reading your articles?

You can use website Optimizer (visit www.google.com/websiteoptimizer) to answer these questions and
more, as it lets you try out different layouts and content for your site by running various tests.

9) A world beyond AdSense for content

Google offers a wide array of products and services to help you enhance your site’s content and
monetize your webpages. You can earn additional revenue by displaying ads on your other
properties as well, including web elements, mobile webpages, videos, or even maps

AdSense for video: AdSense for video allows publishers with video content to earn revenue
using relevant, non–intrusive ad placements from Google’s extensive advertiser network.

AdSense for mobile content: AdSense for mobile content allows publishers to generate
earnings from their mobile webpages using targeted Google ads. Just like AdSense for content,
with AdSense for mobile content Google matches ads to the content of your mobile website.
You’ll earn money whenever your mobile website’s visitors click on your ads.

Google Web Elements: Google Web Elements is a new, easy way to add richness and
interactivity to your site simply by copying and pasting a snippet of code. Inspired by the
convenience of embeddable YouTube videos, each Web Element is built upon existing Google
products. For example, the Google News element, dynamically pulls in content from Google
News based on news topics you select and displays within an embed on your site.

Google Friend Connect: Google Friend Connect is a service that lets you easily add social
features like commenting, rating, and friend invitations from gadgets created by Google and the
open social developer community. We’ve just integrated AdSense with Google Friend Connect,
giving publishers the option to show ads that match visitors’ interests.

Google Maps API: With tools like Street View, Google Maps is altering the way people interact
with their surroundings, letting you see the facade of the store you’re about to visit, plot
directions, and find a place to park before you even leave the house. We’ve released a Google
Maps API feature, which overlays AdSense ads on an embedded Google map on your site. The
ads are targeted to the map’s current view and update as the user moves around the map.

To learn more visit: www.google.com/ads/pubsolutions

10) Right from the resource

We know there’s a world of information out there and we want to help you figure out where to
go, to find what you’re looking for.

Enjoy interacting with other publishers?

Our help forum is the best place to ask questions and share tips with other AdSense publishers
at google.com/support/forum/p/AdSense

Communicate via Social Networks?

To get updates from the AdSense team you can find us online: Inside AdSense blog at
adsense.blogspot.com follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/adsense) and Facebook
(facebook.com/googleadsense)

Types of AdSense Ads

Google offers a variety of ad types to run on your website, including:

Text: Text ads use words, either as an Ad Unit (one offer) or a Link Unit (list of offers), and
come in a variety of sizes. You can customize the color of the box, text, and link.

Images: Image ads are graphic ads. They come in a variety of sizes. You can choose an ad
feed option that mixes both text and image ads.

Rich Media: These are interactive ad types that can include HTML, video, and flash.

Video

Animated Image

AdSense for Search: This allows you to have a Google search box on your website or blog.
When a user enters a term and conducts a search, a search results page opens with AdSense
ads. You can customize the color scheme of the search results page to harmonize with your
website.

Google AdSense Payments

Google pays through direct deposit or check each month your earnings reach or exceed $100. If
you don't earn $100 in one month, your earnings roll over and are added to the next month.
Each time you reach the $100 threshold, Google will issue a payment on the next payment
period. Through your AdSense account, you can see your current earnings, what ads are
generating the most clicks, and other helpful data.

Making Money with AdSense

Making a significant amount of money with AdSense requires a plan. Here are tips for
maximizing AdSense revenue:

Read and adhere to Google's rules: Webmasters must comply with Google's webmaster
policies, as well as the AdSense program policy.

Don't click on your own ads or ask others to click on them: Incentivizing clicks, buying Pay
Per Click (PPC) space, or using a program designed to drive traffic to AdSense pages are
against the rules. Remember, Google isn't very forgiving about breaking the rules, so be sure to
adhere to them.

Have great content your target market wants to read: Ultimately, money is made, whether
through AdSense or other monetization methods, by providing valuable content and quality
traffic to your blog or website.

Use honest, organic traffic-building website marketing techniques: Search engine

optimization and article marketing are effective in getting free traffic to your site.

Make sure your website/blog is optimized for mobile (responsive): The number of people
who use mobile devices is high. Also make sure you're using responsive ads so Google can
send appropriate ad sizes to mobile devices viewing your site.

Test ad types and placement to find the options that lead to the most income: Start with
standard sizes (300×250, 728×90, and 160×600), and then switch them out to see if one size
leads to more clicks than another.

Max out your ad placement: You're allowed three standard ad placements per page. Use
them all for maximum benefit.

Have ads above the fold: This is the section of your page that is viewable without scrolling.

Have a leader board ad below your header/logo: Instead of putting an ad at the very top of
the page, put it near your logo where it's more likely to be noticed.

Include in-content ads for visibility: This means having ads within your articles, which can
increase clicks because they'll be seen during the course of reading the post.

Monitor your results: Google can overwhelm you with tools and feedback but do your best to
analyze your data to see what it says about your results so you can make the most of your
effort.

Read email from Google: This can be especially important if Google is sending a warning
about something it doesn't like on your site. Failure to deal with Google's complaints will lead to
termination in the program.

Advanced AdSense Tips

Once you have ads running on your site, you'll want to make sure you are getting the most of
your AdSense program. Here are some additional tips to consider when you're ready to boost
your AdSense income:

Run experiments: You can A/B test your ads through AdSense.
Experiment with link and box colors: If your colors match your theme, consider changing
them up to see if it impacts results.

Enable placement targeting: This allows advertisers to choose where their ads appear.

Set up custom channels: This gives you a better sense of what's working and not working to
generate income on your site.

Dealing With Competitors' or Questionable Advertisements

If you offer products or services on your website, you may find that some ads Google delivers
come from your competitors. Another issue that can occur is ads that may not be completely
legitimate or they might offend your market. To prevent these offers from showing up on your
site, Google AdSense allows you to block up to 200 URLs from appearing on your site. The
challenge of blocking URLs is two-fold.

You don't know what ads are running on your site until you see them there.

Since you can't click on your own links (to the get the URL), you need to be careful about
obtaining the URL to block. The best way to get the link so you can block it in AdSense is to
right-click the link, select Copy Link Address, and paste it into a document or text editor (i.e.,
Notepad). The Google URL is long, but within it is the URL of the page the ad goes to. Copy
that URL and paste it into your AdSense blocked ads account.

What is Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is the process by which an affiliate earns a commission for marketing another
person’s or company’s products. The affiliate simply searches for a product they enjoy, then
promotes that product and earns a piece of the profit from each sale they make. The sales are
tracked via affiliate links from one website to another.
There are actually different types or classes of affiliate marketing, and the number of types will
depend on how one will classify them. The most basic affiliate marketing programs, however,
falls under two categories: pay-per-click (PPC), and pay-per-performance (PPP).

• Pay per Click (PPC)

PPC is the most popular type of affiliate marketing for affiliates with small websites, and
probably the easiest way for them to earn money. In this affiliate marketing type, the merchant
pays his affiliate whenever a visitor is referred to his site that is whenever someone clicks
through the merchant's banner or text ads. The affiliate gets paid a certain amount even if the
visitor he referred does not purchase anything from the merchant's site. However, typical fees
for PPC affiliate programs are small, usually not exceeding a dollar for every click.
• Pay per Performance (PPP)

PPP affiliate marketing is the most popular among merchant and is also the most lucrative type
for the affiliates. In this type of affiliate program, the merchant only pays the affiliate whenever
his referral translates into an action—that is whenever the visitor he has referred actually buys
something from the merchant's site or when the visitor becomes a lead. This means a lot of
savings for the merchant. On the other hand, it becomes the most lucrative type for the
dedicated affiliate, for commissions in PPP affiliate marketing usually comes in the range of
15% to 20% of the actual product sales.

Pay-per-performance affiliate marketing can be further classified into two popular types: pay-
per-sales (PPS) and pay-per-lead (PPL).

• Pay per Sale (PPS)

In a pay-per-sale type of affiliate marketing, the merchants pay the affiliate a certain fee
whenever the visitor he has referred to the merchant's site actually buys something from the
merchant's site. Affiliates are often paid on commission basis, although other merchants would
opt to pay a fixed fee. But no matter what the basis of the fee is, it is generally higher than the
fee paid to affiliates in a pay-per-click affiliate program.

• Pay per Lead (PPL)

The pay-per-lead type of affiliate marketing is a slight variation of the PPS type and is often
used by insurance and finance companies and other companies who rely on leads for their
company to grow. In this type of affiliate marketing, the affiliate is paid whenever the visitor he
referred to the merchant's site fills up an application form or any similar form related to the
business of the company. Compensation for this type of affiliate marketing is based on a fixed
fee whose rates approximate that of the fixed fee in the PPS type.

Aside from these three specific types of affiliate marketing, a lot of other affiliate marketing types
exist. If the classification is based on the depth of the affiliate network, it can be classified as
single-tier, two-tier, and multi-tier affiliate marketing. There is also another type of affiliate
marketing that pays the affiliate each time the customer he has referred purchases something
from the merchant's site.

• Single-Tier, Two-Tier, and Multi-Tier Affiliate Marketing

These types of affiliate marketing are based on the different levels or tiers in the affiliate network
by which payments are made. In a single-tier affiliate marketing program, the affiliates are only
paid based on the direct sales or traffic he has referred to the merchant. All the previously
mentioned affiliate marketing types (i.e. PPS< PPL, and PPC) fall under the single-tier
classification.

In two-tier affiliate marketing programs, the affiliate is not only paid for the direct traffic or sales
that he refers to the merchant's site, but also on every traffic or sales referred by various other
affiliates who joined the affiliate program through his recommendation. Multi-tier affiliate
marketing works the same way, although the affiliate gets additional commission for a wider
number of affiliates in different tiers in the affiliate network.

• Residual Income Affiliate Marketing

In residual income affiliate marketing, the affiliate gets paid not only once for every customer he
has referred to the merchant's site. Rather, the affiliate is also paid whenever the customer he
has referred returns to the site and purchase another product. Compensation for such type of
affiliate marketing is based on either sales percentage commission or fixed fee basis.

The different affiliate marketing types would virtually work differently for merchants and affiliates
alike, and each would generally have their own list of benefits. Which type of affiliate marketing
will work best for you? It is not really for me to tell. Rather, it is for you to choose which type of
affiliate marketing program will suit your needs and characteristics best.

How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

Because affiliate marketing works by spreading the responsibilities of product marketing and
creation across parties, it manages to leverage the abilities of a variety of individuals for a more
effective marketing strategy while providing contributors with a share of the profit. To make this
work, three different parties must be involved:

 Seller and product creators.

 The affiliate or advertiser.
 The consumer.

Let’s delve into the complex relationship these three parties share to ensure affiliate marketing
is a success.

1. Seller and product creators.

The seller, whether a solo entrepreneur or large enterprise, is a vendor, merchant, product
creator, or retailer with a product to market. The product can be a physical object, like
household goods, or a service, like makeup tutorials. Also known as the brand, the seller does
not need to be actively involved in the marketing, but they may also be the advertiser and profit
from the revenue sharing associated with affiliate marketing.

2. The affiliate or publisher.

Also known as a publisher, the affiliate can be either an individual or a company that markets
the seller’s product in an appealing way to potential consumers. In other words, the affiliate
promotes the product to persuade consumers that it is valuable or beneficial to them and
convince them to purchase the product. If the consumer does end up buying the product, the
affiliate receives a portion of the revenue made.

Affiliates often have a very specific audience, to whom they market, generally adhering to that
audience’s interests. This creates a defined niche or personal brand that helps the affiliate
attract consumers who will be most likely to act on the promotion.
3. The consumer.

Whether the consumer knows it or not, they (and their purchases) are the drivers of affiliate
marketing. Affiliates share these products with them on social media, blogs, and websites.

When consumers buy the product, the seller and the affiliate share the profits. Sometimes the
affiliate will choose to be upfront with the consumer by disclosing that they are receiving
commission for the sales they make. Other times the consumer may be completely oblivious to
the affiliate marketing infrastructure behind their purchase.

Either way, they will rarely pay more for the product purchased through affiliate marketing; the
affiliate’s share of the profit is included in the retail price. The consumer will complete the
purchase process and receive the product as normal, unaffected by the affiliate marketing
system in which they are a significant part.

How Do Affiliate Marketers Get Paid?

A quick and inexpensive method of making money without the hassle of actually selling a
product, affiliate marketing has an undeniable draw for those looking to increase their income
online. But how does an affiliate get paid after linking the seller to the consumer? The answer is
complicated. The consumer doesn’t always need to buy the product for the affiliate to get a
kickback. Depending on the program, the affiliate’s contribution to the seller’s sales will be
measured differently. The affiliate may get paid in various ways:

1. Pay per sale.

This is the standard affiliate marketing structure. In this program, the merchant pays the affiliate
a percentage of the sale price of the product after the consumer purchases the product as a
result of the affiliate’s marketing strategies. In other words, the affiliate must actually get the
investor to invest in the product before they are compensated.

2. Pay per lead.

A more complex system, pay per lead affiliate programs compensates the affiliate based on the
conversion of leads. The affiliate must persuade the consumer to visit the merchant’s website
and complete the desired action — whether it’s filling out a contact form, signing up for a trial of
a product, subscribing to a newsletter, or downloading software or files.

3. Pay per click.

This program focuses on incentivizing the affiliate to redirect consumers from their marketing
platform to the merchant’s website. This means the affiliate must engage the consumer to the
extent that they will move from the affiliate’s site to the merchant’s site. The affiliate is paid
based on the increase in web traffic.
Why Be an Affiliate Marketer?

What are the reasons to become an affiliate marketer?

1. Passive income.

While any “regular” job requires you to be at work to make money, affiliate marketing offers you
the ability to make money while you sleep. By investing an initial amount of time into a
campaign, you will see continuous returns on that time as consumers purchase the product over
the following days and weeks. You receive money for your work long after you’ve finished it.
Even when you’re not in front of your computer, your marketing skills will be earning you a
steady flow of income.

2. No customer support.

Individual sellers and companies offering products or services have to deal with their consumers
and ensure they are satisfied with what they have purchased. Thanks to the affiliate marketing
structure, you’ll never have to be concerned with customer support or customer satisfaction.
The entire job of the affiliate marketer is to link the seller with the consumer. The seller deals
with any consumer complaints after you receive your commission from the sale.

3. Work from home.

If you’re someone who hates going to the office, affiliate marketing is the perfect solution. You’ll
be able to launch campaigns and receive revenue from the products that sellers create while
working from the comfort of your own home. This is a job you can do without ever getting out of
your pajamas.

4. Cost-effective.

Most businesses require startup fees as well as a cash flow to finance the products being sold.
However, affiliate marketing can be done at a low cost, meaning you can get started quickly and
without much hassle. There are no affiliate program fees to worry about and no need to create a
product. Beginning this line of work is relatively straightforward.

5. Convenient and flexible.

Since you’re essentially becoming a freelancer, you get ultimate independence in setting your
own goals, redirecting your path when you feel so inclined, choosing the products that interest
you, and even determining your own hours. This convenience means you can diversify your
portfolio if you like or focus solely on simple and straightforward campaigns. You’ll also be free
from company restrictions and regulations as well as ill-performing teams.
6. Performance-Based rewards.

With other jobs, you could work an 80-hour week and still earn the same salary. Affiliate
marketing is purely based on your performance. You’ll get from it what you put into it. Honing
your reviewing skills and writing engaging campaigns will translate to direct improvements in
your revenue. You’ll finally get paid for the outstanding work you do!

7. Do Not Underestimate the Power of SEO.

There’s a ton of organic traffic you can get from search engines if you do SEO properly. The
days when Search Engine Optimization was about cheating Google are gone. Today, it is about
making your website better for visitors. People naturally look for information online. That’s why
you should learn the basics of on-page SEO, keyword research and link building to be the
information source they find first. Who wouldn’t want to rank #1 for terms such as “best product”
or “product review” in Google?

Common Types of Affiliate Marketing Channels

Most affiliates share common practices to ensure that their audience is engaged and receptive
to purchasing promoted products. But not all affiliates advertise the products in the same way.
In fact, there are several different marketing channels they may leverage.

1. Influencers.

An influencer is an individual who holds the power to impact the purchasing decisions of a large
segment of the population. This person is in a great position to benefit from affiliate marketing.
They already boast an impressive following, so it’s easy for them to direct consumers to the
seller’s products through social media posts, blogs, and other interactions with their followers.
The influencers then receive a share of the profits they helped to create.

2. Bloggers.

With the ability to rank organically in search engine queries, bloggers excel at increasing a
seller’s conversions. The blogger samples the product or service and then writes a
comprehensive review that promotes the brand in a compelling way, driving traffic back to the
seller’s site.

The blogger is awarded for his or her influence spreading the word about the value of the
product, helping to improve the seller’s sales.
3. Paid search focused microsites.

Developing and monetizing microsites can also garner a serious amount of sales. These sites
are advertised within a partner site or on the sponsored listings of a search engine. They are
distinct and separate from the organization’s main site. By offering more focused, relevant
content to a specific audience, microsites lead to increased conversions due to their simple and
straightforward call to action.

4. Email lists.

Despite its older origins, email marketing is still a viable source of affiliate marketing income.
Some affiliates have email lists they can use to promote the seller’s products. Others may
leverage email newsletters that include hyperlinks to products, earning a commission after the
consumer purchases the product. Another method is for the affiliate to build an email list over
time. They use their various campaigns to collect emails en masse, then send out emails
regarding the products they are promoting.

5. Large media websites.

Designed to create a huge amount of traffic at all times, these sites focus on building an
audience of millions. These websites promote products to their massive audience through the
use of banners and contextual affiliate links. This method offers superior exposure and improves
conversion rates, resulting in top-notch revenue for both the seller and the affiliate.

Review Sites: Review sites are genuine opinions from customer point of view and works as a
significant factor to build trust and boost business profile.

Coupon Sites: Coupon sites provide deals and promo codes on various product and services.
This in turn is used as a most winning approach for driving maximum traffic and converting
leads to sales.
Tips to Help You Become A Successful Affiliate Marketer
1. Develop a rapport.

When beginning your affiliate marketing career, you’ll want to cultivate an audience that has
very specific interests. This allows you to tailor your affiliate campaigns to that niche, increasing
the likelihood that you’ll convert. By establishing yourself as an expert in one area instead of
promoting a large array of products, you’ll be able to market to the people most likely to buy the
product.

2. Make it personal.

There is no shortage of products you’ll be able to promote. You’ll have the ability to pick and
choose products that you personally believe in, so make sure that your campaigns center
around truly valuable products that consumers will enjoy. You’ll achieve an
impressive conversion rate while simultaneously establishing the reliability of your personal
brand.

You’ll also want to get really good at email outreach to work with other bloggers and influencers.
Use a tool like ContactOut or Voila Norbert to gather people’s contact information and send
personalized emails to garner guest blogging and affiliate opportunities.

3. Start reviewing products and services.

Focus on reviewing products and services that fall within your niche. Then, leveraging the
rapport you have created with your audience and your stance as an expert, tell your readers
why they would benefit from purchasing the product or service you are promoting. Almost
anything sold online can be reviewed if there is an affiliate program – you can review physical
products, digital software, or even services booked online, like ride-sharing or travel resort
booking. It is especially effective to compare this product to others in the same category. Most
importantly, make sure you are generating detailed, articulate content to improve conversions.

4. Use several sources.

Instead of focusing on just an email campaign, also spend time making money with a blog,
reaching out to your audience on social media, and even looking into cross-channel promotions.

Test a variety of marketing strategies to see which one your audience responds to the most.
Make frequent use of this technique.

For more information, you can check out this article on how to start a successful blog this year.

5. Choose campaigns with care.

No matter how good your marketing skills are, you’ll make less money on a bad product than
you will on a valuable one. Take the time to study the demand for a product before promoting it.
Make sure to research the seller with care before teaming up. Your time is worth a lot, and you
want to be sure you’re spending it on a product that is profitable and a seller you can believe in.

6. Stay current with trends.

There is serious competition in the affiliate marketing sphere. You’ll want to make sure you stay
on top of any new trends to ensure you remain competitive. Additionally, you’ll likely be able to
benefit from at least a few of the new marketing techniques that are constantly being created.
Be sure you’re keeping up to date on all these new strategies to guarantee that your conversion
rates, and therefore revenue, will be as high as possible.

What are the Top Affiliate Marketing Trends of 2020?

1. Improved affiliate reporting and attribution.

Many affiliate programs run with last-click attribution, where the affiliate receiving the last click
before the sale gets 100% credit for the conversion. This is changing. With affiliate platforms
providing new attribution models and reporting features, you are able to see a full-funnel, cross-
channel view of how individual marketing tactics are working together.

For example, you might see that a paid social campaign generated the first click, Affiliate X got
click 2, and Affiliate Y got the last click. With this full picture, you can structure your affiliate
commissions so that Affiliate X gets a percentage of the credit for the sale, even though they
didn’t get the last click.

2. Influencer niches are becoming hyper-targeted.

In the past, large affiliates were the mainstay, as catch-all coupons and media sites gave traffic
to hundreds or thousands of advertisers. This is not so much the case anymore. With
consumers using long-tail keywords and searching for very specific products and services,
influencers can leverage their hyper-focused niche for affiliate marketing success. Influencers
may not send advertisers huge amounts of traffic, but the audience they do send is credible,
targeted, and has higher conversion rates.

3. GDPR is changing how personal data is collected.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which took effect on May 25, 2018, is a set of
regulations governing the use of personal data across the EU. This is forcing some affiliates to
obtain user data through opt-in consent (updated privacy policies and cookie notices), even if
they are not located in the European Union. This new regulation should also remind you to
follow FTC guidelines and clearly disclose that you receive affiliate commissions from your
recommendations.
4. Affiliate marketers are getting smarter.

Merchants receiving a large percentage of their revenue from the affiliate channel can become
reliant on their affiliate partners. This can lead to affiliate marketers leveraging their important
status to receive higher commissions and better deals with their advertisers. Whether it’s CPA,
CPL, or CPC commission structures, there are a lot of high paying affiliate programs and
affiliate marketers are in the driver’s seat.

What Affiliate Marketing Strategies Should You Employ in 2020?

1. Only recommend products you are extremely familiar with.

Building trust with your audience is paramount in affiliate marketing, and the quickest way to
lose trust is to recommend products either you haven’t used before or that aren’t a good fit for
your audience. Also make sure you never tell anyone to directly buy a product, you are
simply recommending the product. The more helpful you are and the more you make quality
recommendations, the more likely your web visitors will come back for your expertise.

2. Promote products from many different merchants.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. If you only promote one merchant’s products, you are
stuck with their commissions, their landing pages, and ultimately, their conversion rates. It is
important to work with many different merchants in your niche and promote a wide range of
products.

This affiliate marketing strategy will diversify the amount of commissions you make and create a
steady stream of revenue when building an affiliate website. Some examples of affiliate
merchants include brands like BigCommerce, Bluehost, and SimplyBook.me.

3. Constantly test and optimize your conversion rates.

Let’s say you have a promotions page where you’re promoting a product via affiliate links. If you
currently get 5,000 visits/month at a 2% conversion rate, you have 100 referrals. To get to 200
referrals, you can either focus on getting 5,000 more visitors or simply increasing the conversion
rate to 4%.

Which sounds easier? Instead of spending months building Domain Authority with blogging and
guest posts to get more organic traffic, you just have to increase the conversion rate by 2%.
This can include landing page optimization, testing your calls-to-action, and having a conversion
rate optimization strategy in place. By testing and optimizing your site, you’ll get far better
results with much less effort.
4. Focus on your affiliate traffic sources.

It’s important to know where your traffic is coming from and the demographics of your audience.
This will allow you to customize your messaging so that you can provide the best affiliate
product recommendations. You shouldn’t just focus on the vertical you’re in, but on the traffic
sources and audience that’s visiting your site. Traffic sources may include organic, paid, social
media, referral, display, email, or direct traffic.

You can view traffic source data in Google Analytics to view things such as time on page,
bounce rate, geo location, age, gender, time of day, devices (mobile vs. desktop), and more so
that you can focus your effort on the highest converting traffic. This analytics data is crucial to
making informed decisions, increasing your conversion rates, and making more affiliate sales.

Benefits to Joining the BigCommerce Affiliate Program

1. Industry leading commissions.

In the BigCommerce affiliate program, you receive a 200% bounty per referral and $1,500 per
Enterprise referral, with no cap on commissions. Plus, the more referrals you drive through the
program, the higher your commission tier will go. BigCommerce uses an industry leading 90-day
cookie, so you will receive credit for up to three months for the referrals you generate. Also,
there are no obligations or minimum commitments to join the program.
2. Strategic growth.

BigCommerce provides unique strategies to help you grow, increase your website’s visibility,
and drive more sales. You’ll be able to save time and money on content creation by linking to
WordPress blogs, webinars and more with content developed by BigCommerce for your
audience.

3. Powerful tracking.

Our affiliate dashboard offers a comprehensive look at your clicks, trials, sales, and
commissions. You can view your earnings, track performance, and get paid at the same time
every month.

4. A dedicated account manager.

You will have direct access to an affiliate expert who understands your business and your goals.
BigCommerce will work with your team and our conversion rate experts to maximize your
commissions and earnings per click. We provide 1-on-1 support through phone and email,
quarterly affiliate contests, and our latest product updates.

5. Promotion made easy.

In your dashboard, you will have easy access to our pre-made text links, banners and content.
Promote BigCommerce anywhere on your site by simply inserting our affiliate links on your
pages.

Executive Summary

Affiliate marketing is an ideal solution for those looking to gain control of their own income by
focusing on performance-based revenue options. Working in tandem with a seller, a motivated
affiliate marketer will be able to achieve a passive income from the comfort of their home
without worrying about producing their own product or service.

Although the success of the job does depend on the affiliate’s marketing skills, it can prove to be
an effective way to meet your income goals as either a primary career or a profitable second
job.

An elegantly straightforward process, affiliate marketing via reviews, blogs, social media, and
other platforms is a new frontier in marketing that’s just waiting to be utilized. Follow the tips
included in this article, and you’ll be able to engage your audience, convert passive readers into
active consumers, and enhance your paycheck one click at a time.
Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

Affiliate marketing is a logical and flexible sales model that creates multiple income streams.
However, it is not an easy, get-rich-quick model of income.

Earning an income through affiliate marketing requires:

 Research into products, web traffic patterns, and follower interests

 Consistent engagement with the products and brand networks that you choose to
endorse
 Hours of maintaining a relationship with the readers or followers who purchase
products through your affiliate links
 Understanding and using search engine optimization and social media marketing to
consistently attract new followers and generate additional income

Like any form of self-employment or business model, affiliate marketing has both advantages
and disadvantages. Understanding these will help you decide whether affiliate marketing is a
good fit for your financial and business goals.
Pros of Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is ideal for bloggers, coaches, information entrepreneurs, and those who
build and maintain their own digital properties such as YouTube channels. There are many
aspects of affiliate marketing that make it a good home business model, including:

 Low overhead costs: Most affiliate programs are free to join, so your costs are usually
related to your referral and marketing methods.
 No physical products: There is no need to create a product or service because you are
choosing one that already exists. You don't have to stock or ship products.
 Flexibility: You can work anytime and from anywhere as long as you have internet
access.4
 Supplemental income: There is passive income potential, depending on how you
market your affiliate programs. It can be added to your current home business to create
an additional income stream.

Cons of Affiliate Marketing

Like any business model, there are drawbacks and challenges to affiliate marketing as well,
including:

 Time: It takes a commitment and experimenting over a length of time to generate the
amount of traffic needed to result in income.
 Lost payments: Affiliate hijacking can occur in which you're not given credit for your
referral. Some companies fail to pay their affiliate marketers.
 Lack of control: You have no control over the businesses' fulfillment of a given product
or service. A bad affiliate referral can ruin your credibility with followers, so it's crucial
that you research and select quality businesses.
 Competition: Affiliate marketing is highly competitive. Many affiliates promote the same
products and compete for the same traffic and customers. It can be difficult to get
approved as an affiliate for popular companies or products.
 Lack of ownership: The customers belong to the merchant. Your stats will let you know
how many sales were made of what product, but in most cases, you'll have no
information about who made the purchase. This can make it difficult to tap into recurring
sales.

Successful Affiliate Marketing

It can be difficult to earn a steady income from affiliate marketing, and even more difficult to
stand out among other marketers promoting the same products. Once you've built up a website,
blog, newsletter, or social media, there are steps you can take to become successful and
generate a more reliable revenue stream.

1. Know your partners. Research each affiliate program you consider joining so that you
will understand how and when you'll be paid.
 2. Build trust. Buy the products you intend to market so you can personally attest to the
quality. You'll be judged by the product or service you promote, so focus on the quality of
your own brand and recommendations, not just the earning potential. Your followers will
come to trust your recommendations and be more likely to buy from you.
3. Have a brand. Choose affiliate items that match your niche and the content of your blog.
Don't rely on SEO or social media alone to drive people to your website and affiliate
referrals. Understand who your target market is, where you can find your audience, and
how to entice users on your site.
4. Use variety. Mix and match affiliate ads so you don't overwhelm your visitors (content-
embedded affiliate links usually have the best click-through rates over image links.)
Consider using a lead page and funnel system to market your affiliate business. Lure
prospects to your email list with a free offer and include links to your affiliate product
pages.
5. Know the legal requirements. Most visitors will probably understand that
advertisements lead to your personal compensation, but if you write a review or use an
in-text link as a recommendation, you must explicitly state that each purchase using that
link can generate revenue for you. This isn't just good business: it's also required by law.
If you don't disclose affiliate or revenue-generating links, you could face legal and
financial penalties.
6. Track your traffic and earnings. Monitor the success of your affiliate programs,
particularly if you work with several different ones. Know which programs are the most
successful and which products resonate with your followers so you can plan future
campaigns.

Like any other type of home business, success in affiliate marketing depends on investing the
time and effort to grow your business and build relationships with your customers and partner
brands

If you decide to pursue affiliate marketing, understand that it's not a fast or automatic business
model. But it is possible to earn a reliable and legal income as an affiliate marketer.

The Best Affiliate Networks in 2020

1. ShareASale
2. ClickBank
3. CJ Affiliate (formerly Commission Junction)
4. Amazon Associates
5. eBay Partner Network (EPN)
6. FlexOffers
7. Pepperjam
8. Rakuten Marketing (formerly LinkShare)
 5 Steps to Getting Started
With Affiliate Marketing

01. Get Your Head in the Game

Some bloggers cast affiliate marketing aside because they think it’s pointless to advertise a
company for free without any income guarantee. That’s the wrong mindset to have.

These same bloggers have no problem investing their time into things like social media because
they know with just a little effort every day, they’ll eventually grow their audience and client
base.

The same goes for affiliate marketing and your income.

I encourage you to start by experimenting with different offers, products and messaging
until you find the right mix for your audience. Over time, your income will grow if you double
down on what works and eliminate what doesn’t.

02. Use Proper Disclosure Statements

Just like with a sponsorship, you must disclose your paid relationship when promoting
companies as an affiliate. Blogger disclosure statements became important in 2009, when the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) updated its outdated policies to include new media - setting
fines at up to $11,000 per violation for anyone endorsing a company or product without proper
disclosures present.

For some reason, I see bloggers ignoring FTC guidelines all the time. If you think it won’t
happen to you, think again:

 The FTC is a large organization with over 1,000 employees.

 They do spot checks and continually roll out new initiatives to crack down on bad
behaviour - maybe it’s big brands today but tomorrow it could be travel bloggers, course
creators or fashion influencers.
 On top of that, anyone can report you including your competitors, audience or affiliate
manager.
I’m not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV. So while I’ve created a list of do’s and don’ts based
on what I felt would be relevant for this article, I highly encourage you to read the latest FTC
document to see if there are additional guidelines you’ll want to follow based on your unique
situation.

03. Choose Your Affiliate Products

With your disclosure messaging out of the way, it’s time to choose your affiliate products.

The easiest way to figure out what to promote is to start with:

 The products you currently use and love

 The products you’ve used (and loved) in the past
 The products you think your audience will benefit from

While you may have heard it’s only okay to promote products you personally use and
love, it’s also okay to promote products you’ve used in the past too - especially if what you
used in the past was more affordable than what you currently use today.

Sometimes there are also special circumstances where you spend a lot of time researching
(and possibly even testing out) a product for the sake of your audience. Perhaps you need to
round out your article with additional options, or you know including a lower price point product
will make your readers happy.

Regardless, if you invest your energy into investigating a certain product to share your findings,
don’t refrain from linking to it as an affiliate because you deserve a little somethin’ somethin’ for
the time you devoted for the sake of your audience.

To speed up the product picking process up for you, I’ve rounded up 31 affiliate
programs to consider as a freelancer or designer below:

Envato Market

Commission: 30% per sale (new customers)

Cookie Length: 30 days

Shopify

Commission: 200% per sale

Etsy

Commission: 4% per sale

Cookie Length: 30 days

Adobe

Commission: 85% on customer’s 1st monthly payment / 8.33% per sale on yearly subscription

SkillShare

Commission: $10 per lead

ConvertKit

Commission: 30% recurring each month

FreshBooks

Commission: $5 per lead or $100 per sale

Cookie Length: 45 Days

Shoeboxed

Commission: $30-$60 per sale

Cookie Length: 60 Days

MyFonts
Commission: 10% per sale

Cookie Length: 45 days

Mixbook

Commission: 15% per sale

Cookie Length: 120 days

Printful

Commission: 10% recurring each month for 9 months

Acuity Scheduling

Commission: 50% per sale, up to $30 per referral

Tailwind

Commission: 15% per sale

Cookie Length: 90 Days

DesignModo

Commission: 25% per sale

Society6
Commission: 10% per sale

Cookie Length: 30 Days

CreativeLive

Commission: 20% per sale (new customers) / 10% per sale (existing customers)

Cookie Length: 30 Days

YouWorkForThem

Commission: 20% per sale

Designer Blogs

Commission: 10% per sale

Cookie Length: 60 Days

CreativeMarket

Commission: 10% per sale for customer’s first year

StudioPress

Commission: 35% per sale + 5% two-tier

Cookie Length: 60 days

Pretty Darn Cute Designs

Commission: 25% per sale + 5% two-tier

Cookie Length: 60 Days

White Oak Creative

Commission: 10% per lead

Cookie Length: 30 Days

BluChic

Commission: 30% per sale

Moo

Commission:

 $8 per sale (new customers) / $2.50 per sale (existing customers) / $300 per Eligible Bigger
Businesses (with 10+ employees)

WebinarJam

Commission: 40% per sale

ScreenFlow for Mac

Commission: 15% per sale

Cookie Length: 90 Days

GoDaddy

Commission: 40% per sale

BlueHost

Commission: $65 per referral

HostGator

Commission: $50-$125 per signup

Gravity Forms

Commission: 20% per sale

Wix

Commission: $100 per sale

04. Get Approved To Your Programs

Once you select a handful of affiliate products, start applying to each program. You aren’t
guaranteed approval but here’s a few ways to increase your chances:

 Ensure the website URL you provide is live and in presentable shape. That means if
you’re in the process of a redesign or getting ready to launch, wait to apply.
 Make sure your website content relates in some way to the program category you’re
applying to. For example, don’t apply to a fashion program if you’re blog is about UI
design.
  Sell yourself in the personalized message box most programs provide when applying. If
an affiliate manager questions your application for some reason, this is the first place
they’ll look to make their final decision.

If you’re still having trouble with this step, check out my free “Always Get Approved” Affiliate
Application Guide for more tips.

05. Start Promoting

Once you get approved, it’s time to start using your affiliate links. A few smart ways to do this as
a freelancer is:

 Write a step-by-step product tutorial that helps clients learn how to get started with a tool
that would benefit them.
 Round up a bunch of products your clients might find useful, either on a resources page
or in a blog post.
 Show your clients how to create something really cool using the affiliate product - just
like Jessica Safko did in her post about designing awesome sidebars using Adobe
Illustrator.

To help you take action, I created a fun Affiliate Experiments Planner for you to help you get
started (or more serious!) with affiliate marketing. I also outline 31 ways to experiment and profit
with affiliate links in this post so definitely check it out if you’re looking for outside-the-box
promotion ideas.