Make money from blogs - What do those arrows in the Google Adsense ads mean ?

If you have ever spent your time thinking about the ads you see served by the Adsense program, you would have seen some arrows displayed near the bottom, but it is quite possible that you would not have investigated too much for fear of violation the terms and conditions of the Adsense program. Well, read this post to learn more about what these arrows mean, as well as optimizations planned for these arrows (link for the post):

With the 'next' and 'previous' buttons, users can view more cheese ads until a Swiss cheese ad appears. As a result, we'll soon be making a few minor aesthetic changes, including darkening the arrows to make them more visible and orienting all arrows to point left and right. In addition, to help users understand what the arrows do, hovering over the arrows will soon show the labels 'previous ads' and 'next ads'.

If somebody copies from your blog, then report to Google Adsense

One of the most critical ways to grow the readership of your blog is to get fresh content on a regular basis. Another important criteria is that your blog has content that is not copies onto many other sites, and is more exclusive (having exclusive content means that somebody searching for this content in a browser search will find your blog first; on the other hand, if other sites have the same content, then it is likely that atleast some of them will be listed before your site in search, reducing the potential of people visiting your blog).
And even on a matter of principle, why should you accept somebody else copying your content ? You do the hard work, and somebody copies your content and has a free time ? There are many tools available that enable you to determine whether somebody is copying your content, and you should use these tools on a regular basis. Once you find somebody copying your content (if the person just uses a few words or lines to refer to your blog, that is something you can consider since that means that the other blog is actually driving content to your blog; but if the other blog is totally copying your content, don't accept that).
Send an email to the blog owner, leave a comment, write to their hosting company, do all these steps to escalate. Further, if the person has Adsense on their site, certainly report this copyright violation to Google Adsense (link to article):
From this page:

If you believe that another site is illegally copying the contents of your site, you may send a notice of alleged infringement by following the procedure below. Once we've received your report, rest assured that we will take appropriate action. To file a notice of infringement with us, you must provide a written communication (by fax or regular mail -- not by email, except by prior agreement) that sets forth the items specified below. Please note that you will be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys' fees) if you materially misrepresent that a product or activity is infringing your copyrights.

File the report at this actual Google AdSense DMCA complaint form (link)

Make money from Blogs - Earning money from Videos on Youtube - not so easy

You must have seen those videos on Youtube, where either the bottom section of the video shows an ad from the Adsense program and you also have Adsense advertisements appearing to the right of the video in a block, similar to the 250X250 ad block. Now consider that you have some cool videos that are getting circulated on Youtube, and would like to have your own videos making some money for you from these Ads. How can you do this ?
Well, I was also interested in trying to make a percentage of earnings from these videos (I have started getting some videos on Youtube and the views are increasing, although they have a long way to go). And the short answer on this was, Not right now. Google Adsense used to have a program about Video Units (link1, link2), but they appear to have discontinued this program now. Now, if you need to try and make some advertising money now, you need to apply to become a partner (link to page).
However, becoming a partner is not so easy. As opposed to the nature of Adsense which allows people to get in irrespective of the number of their blog visits or subscribers, Youtube has put some controls. They actually have a page that lists their requirements for becoming a partner (link to FAQ listing requirements to be a youtube Partner).

To become a YouTube Partner, you must meet these minimum requirements:
- You create original videos suitable for online streaming.
- You own or have express permission to use and monetize all audio and video content that you upload -- no exceptions.
- You regularly upload videos that are viewed by thousands of YouTube users.

In addition, the FAQ page that provides more details for the Youtube partner is at this link.
If your partnership account was not approved, then some of the reasons could be derived from the reasons listed on this page (link to article).

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Make money from Blogs - Learn more about Adsense success stories

For people who write blogs, there are various approaches with regard to making money. There are some people who disdain the idea of anything to do with advertising; there are others who believe in their writing, but don't look away from the prospect of making some money on the side; there are others who fill their sites with ads (including Adsense ads) and whose sites can look fairly ugly; and then there are the ones who learnt a lot about how to use Adsense optimally and started a huge jump in the amount of money that they have started making.
Wouldn't you like to make more money from your blogs ? More money means that you can devote more time to your hobbies, to doing things that make you happy rather than toiling away on a job ? Well, it can be done, but it is not a one day effort. People who have learnt to make a lot of money from Adsense have done so after doing a lot of reading, trying out tips, experimenting and deciphering what works for them, and what does not.
One good place to start is by using the success stories posted on the Google Adsense Help page at this link.
As an example, consider the case of a site called http://seatguru.com, where the creator of the site originally was struggling with several affiliate links, and then finally stumbled upon using Adsense. After experimenting with different formats, he uses channels to determine which of these experiments are successful, and hence has worked out a lot of optimization to increase his Adsense revenue.

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Here are some more videos from Youtube that might help you.

Google Adsense Tips



5 Surefire Ways to Increase Google Adsense Earnings



AdSense Optimization by Lockergnome

Your Adsense account was disabled. What can you do ?

For a lot of users who have Adsense accounts and started dreaming of making big money, there are a fraction of them who see their dreams get smashed when they suddenly get a notification that their Adsense accounts have been disabled because of some sort of inappropriate behavior, either in terms of the site, or in terms of around the ads themselves. When this happens to people, they can't believe that their activities were detected by Google, or that Google would bother with individuals.
However, there are a few tips you should keep in mind. Google Adsense program has a list of Program Policies available at this page and you should read this page. These policies control how ads should be placed, who should click ads (you should never click ads yourselves, or encourage people to click on Ads). Google (and other advertisers) have click fraud as one of their high priorities, and determining and removing people who indulge in click fraud is one of their top priorities.
Now, for whatever reason, your Adsense account has been disabled, and you are struggling to determine the reason, next steps, and what you can do to convince Google that you are innocent.

First item, read the Disabled account FAQ (available at this page). Remember, if you are looking for Google to provide you with a lot of information about why your account was disabled, which specific clicks, etc, then you will have to wait for a long time. Google does not provide any help in terms of detailed information, it is for you to convince them that you have a genuine account, and have not committed any wrong doing.
Some of the queries answered on this page are:
Why was my account disabled? Can you tell me more about the invalid click activity you detected?
Can my account be reinstated after being disabled for invalid click activity?
My account was disabled and my appeal was denied. Is there any way I can rejoin the program? Can I open a new account?
My account was disabled for being related to another disabled account. Can you tell me more about this relation?
Will I still be paid out for my AdSense earnings?

If your account has been disabled due to Invalid activity, then please go to this form:
Invalid Activity Appeal (link)

Read more before appealing, since that helps you present your information in a more convincing way. For example, refer to this article (link)

Finally, do refer to this FAQ on invalid clicks, and remember, Google takes invalid clicks very seriously.

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Changing your Adsense password

When Google started with Adsense, it allowed users to have a non-Gmail account with a separate password; it was only later that Google started linking everything to a Gmail account and password. For people, it can be a bit confusing as to what they need to do if they are unable to access their Adsense account because the password does not seem to work. There are others who prefer to change their password on a regular basis to keep it secure.

How do you change your password from within Adsense ?

1. Log in to your account at https://www.google.com/adsense
2. Click the Login Information [edit] link
3. Enter your current and new passwords in the fields provided
4. Click Save Settings to update your password, or Cancel to return to the previous page without saving.


If you want to reset your Adsense account and currently don't remember your account password, or the one that you have does not seem to work, then you should go to this url:

https://www.google.com/adsense/assistlogin

If you have more queries regarding to Adsense, then you should go to this Google Adsense help page:

https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/topic.py?topic=8431

Making money from photo-blogs - second part

In my previous post, I had talked about some of the concepts around creating a photo-blog, and making money from that (through Ads primarily). This post will talk more on the same subject, and should hopefully help you move further on that line.
1. As part of a post on Wordpress optimization, I had mentioned that it puts less load on your server if content / scripts, etc, are loaded from a different server. So, wherever possible, put your photos on a different server, or on some reliable web hosting solution elsewhere. For example, you can put your photos on Amazon AWS, Photobucket, Flickr, or any other photo sharing site, and have the thumbnail on your own site. Thus, when somebody clicks on the thumbnail, you will get the actual photo on your own site.
2. Make sure that you have a system of analytics setup on your site. This will help you determine which photos are being viewed the most and are in demand. You could focus more on photos that seem more in demand, and get more visitors to your site.
3. Once you start getting people to your photo blog, explore whether you want to join the world of photo stock (where you can sell your photos, either as part of Micro-stock, or as Rights Released photos). Some of the more popular sites are: CanStockPhoto, BigStockPhoto, The3dStudio, Fotolia, Shutterstock. Learn more about stock photography at these locations.
4. There are a large number of photo directories on the net (you can find many of them on Google), so make sure that you enter your site on these site; these increase the chance of more people visiting your photo sites
5. Post your better photos on places such as your Twitter account, Facebook account, etc, and refer your photo blog location. This also attracts more people to your photo blog
6. There are many sites on the web that offer free photos. Don't feel in the least bit hesitant about copying the photos from these locations, and putting them on your blog (as long as you don't claim that they are your own - follow the terms of their copyright).

Making money from photo-blogs - a start

Many of us have some good collections of photos, and they live in obscurity in our computers or in the form of printed albums / collections, just idling there. Photographs are very precious in terms of attracting user attention, as long as you are able to present a good story that keeps the user interest alive. The chance is that if you have a good collection of photos, people will not stop at one, but look at more. So if you have a collection of railway engines, tracks, etc, and enthusiasts find your collection, you will start to get a good reputation with people looking to get more than one.
It is impossible to define everything related to a photo-blog in one post, so this one is a starter, with the essentials. How do you start ?
1. Well, you need to find a template where you can put your photos. So, you can either get a good photo-blog template that can be put on top of Wordpress or Blogger, or if your host (for example, Hostmonster (click to know more)) allows you to insert a photo software such as Gallery 2, you can use that. The advantage of a photo software is that it allows you more photo-centric option, but it requires some additional learning.
I have 2 different photo based sites Gallery (a specialized software), and Photo Blog, a photo blogging template put on Wordpress.
2. Recognize that photos can get stolen, so don't put very high quality, full size photos. They take the user more time to download, and there is no concept of copyright on the net, so use some standard resoulutions such as (1280 X 960) with a watermark.
3. Always make sure that you are attaching the 'Alt' tag to your photos. This helps in ensuring that Google and other search engines can find your photos.
4. Place ads such that they appear to blend in with the photos. If you can find image ads, they look more tasteful and fit better in with existing ads.
5. Mine your data to see which photos attract a bigger audience, and highlight it by a side panel that shows which photo is viewed the most.
6. Look for affiliate opportunity, so if you have travel related photos, put ads from tourist operators of that location.
Take the plunge, it is not very difficult.