My experience with Google Adsense

Sometimes when I tell people that I blog and Google sends me checks, they look at me perplexed. Isn't it just a hobby? Well, yes, but if I can pull off a hobby and make a little cash while I'm at it, then I'd be silly not to, right?

Following yesterday's post, Kate, left a comment asking, "...I'm curious about the monetary aspect of blogging-would you be willing to share how it works and how much can be made??? No one seems to discuss it, but I'd really like to know..."

Let me start by saying, there are ladies that I consider "real" bloggers that have addressed this and know LOTS more about it than me. I don't consider myself a "real" blogger only because my goal isn't to make money off my blog. My primary use of this blog is to gain local exposure so that my design business will grow. The truth is, I was too cheap to pay for a website so a blog seemed like a great alternative.

Once I jumped into blogging and quickly realized how much time it takes, that's when I began to entertain the idea of signing up for Google Adsense. I had lunch with Allison from House of Hepworths one day and she offered up some words of wisdom. She told me, "It doesn't matter how much traffic your blog is getting...sign up now!" She went on to tell me that the longer you're a part of their network, the better your ads will become. So, initially the ads they run may not be ads that grab the attention of your readers. But over time your traffic will grow and the ads will get better. Better ads means more clicks which in turn means more money in your pocket.

Setting up Google Adsense was really easy. In your dashboard, go to "Earnings" then follow the directions to set up Adsense. You can control where the ads are placed on your blog and you can also control the type of ads that run on your blog.

So, how do you make money? Every time a reader clicks on one of the ads, you make a tiny profit. 

Google requires you reach $100 in earnings before they send your first check. It took me 6 months before I met this criteria. Here's a breakdown of my history with Google Adsense (money accrues over each month until you receive your first payment)...

January  $9.50

February  $14.17

March     $7.03

   April     $8.00

     May      $14.41

    June      $18.23

    July       $65.44

Woo hoo... I reached $100 so Google issued my first check for $136.78.

August $94.91 (wow...almost reached that $100 mark in one month)

September $170.98 (yea...huge jump)

2nd Google payment $265.89

October $231.13

Please know that I only share this information in order to encourage fellow bloggers to take advantage of opportunities, not to make anyone uncomfortable. It's a bit awkward talking about "how much you make" but I know I was constantly wondering when I first entered this crazy little corner of the world.

If you're looking for other opportunities, Mandi at Vintage Revivals, wrote a great post breaking it all down in more technical terms. Read her post HERE.