How to Optimize Content for AdSense
Optimizing for SEO and CPC Revenue using AdWords, AdSense and Google
Mar 28, 2009
This article is about optimizing content to attract visitors and earn revenue from them. It is geared towards AdSense, as the title implies, but the same techniques can be applied to any affiliate scheme:
- ClickBank
- Amazon
- CafePress
- etc.
The key is in identifying an easy to target niche, being able to specify exactly what kind of traffic visits that niche, and identifying the keywords used by visitors ready to buy.
The money that can be made from niches ranges from paltry to extreme; comparative success in small niches may only lead to moderate revenues, but this article is aimed at making sure that the content provider maximizes the potential of any niche.
Google Optimization for Traffic
Optimizing for traffic means that the reader needs to examine the link between keyword phrases that are easy to target (niche), and relevant to their proposed article. So, before writing it, it is a good idea to jot down five or six words that encapsulate the subject matter.
- Go to the Google AdWords Keyword Tool;
- Enter the keywords, one per line;
- Enter the CAPTCHA text;
- Click the button.
In the results, the researcher should then sort by Searches – this will yield a list that is ordered according to how many Google searches were performed for the keyword phrase.
AdSense Optimization for Revenue
There is also a column that the reader can activate from the drop down box, called CPC. This is the anticipated cost per click that the AdWords advertiser would have to pay and is a relative measure of the income that an AdSense publisher could earn from each click.
It is not an absolute value, it is a guideline.
If the list from above is sorted by CPC, then a slightly different take on the results is apparent. Some move to the top, others move right down, depending on competition, anticipated intrinsic value, etc.
The advertisers have far more resources dedicated to keyword research, and a much better understanding of the market, than 99.99% of content providers, so riding on their coat-tails is an absolute must.
The Google AdSense SEO Paradigm for Maximum Income
Now that the reader understands the principles driving AdSense, it is time to pull the techniques together and look at how to optimize the SEO paradigm to maximize income. In essence, the publisher wants to both garner as many visitors as possible, whilst making the most of each potential visitor.
This means picking keywords that:
- attract traffic
- attract advertisers
- can place highly in search engine results
This last is vital – if nobody sees the entry in the search engine results pages (the SERPs rating), then they won't be able to click. They won't know that the page even exists.
Therefore, the publisher should be realistic in their choice of keywords, and measure the anticipated effectiveness by using the phrase length (number of words) as an indicator. Building this measure in will cause lower ranked phrases to outrank phrases with more anticipated competition, and be more readily selected by the publisher.
This assumes, of course, that longer tail keyword phases have less search engine competition. To validate this for their niche, the reader will, naturally, need to experiment and test.
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