As an AdSense publisher, one day can be much like another. Each day, you update your content, check your stats and make sure that your traffic is flowing freely. With users coming, clicking and giving you income all day every day, it can be very easy to forget which day, week or even season it is.
That’s a waste of an opportunity. It’s also not true that Internet time is separate from real time.
You can certainly expect your clicks to dip on holidays. Most people are too busy stuffing turkeys -- and their bellies -- on Thanksgiving to surf the Web. And unwrapping gifts is always more fun than downloading updates. There’s nothing you can do about those one-day blips in your income... except to forget about them and enjoy the day yourself.
But there are some things that you can do in the build-up to holidays to really give you something to celebrate.
With Christmas approaching, for example, this is a great time send your earnings through the roof.
Your users are all going to be thinking about their Christmas shopping. You want to make sure that as many of them as possible buy as much as possible through the ads on your site.
You can do that by heading to Amazon.com or Shopping.com to see what’s selling in the areas you write about. If you blog about home improvements, for example, and you can see that a new power drill is a top Christmas gift this year, gear your content towards that product and try to get those ads on your Web pages.
Now, more than ever, when people are eager to buy, it’s vital that you serve ads for products that people want.
You could also offer buying tips and product reviews to help your users shop wisely. That’s always a great way to encourage ad clicks.
And, of course, you can decorate your website to match the season... and use the decorations to lead eyes to your ad units. (Google usually brings out seasonal-themed units too, so keep an eye out for those too.)
Get your preparations right this Christmas, and you could find your biggest gift comes from Google.
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
December 4, 2006 08:45 PM
Hi Joel,
I live a few blocks down the road from you here in Flower Mound Texas.
Of all the posts I receive and have received, I appreciate yours the most of all.
You are down home, honest, and sincere. It really warms the heart knowing there are some "real" folks out there.
I know the reason for "constant com" (no pun intended) is to build and retain trust. To this end you are the best.
Look forward to your notes, even if it is a little insight into your travels or movies.
Thanks.
December 6, 2006 11:08 AM
I've just read with great interest Brad Callen's blog entry about somebody from the UK doing well with Arbitrage between Adsense and Adwords.
Joel - what's your 'take' on Arbitrage?
As a fellow Limey, looks good to me but needs testing all the way.
Charles
December 31, 2006 05:04 AM
Hi Joel,
Regarding Charles's arbitrage article, I've read about Google's new policy to track down arbitrageurs who made a lot of $ from sending google users to rubish websites. Is it true about the new policy, Joel?