This article is all About Those Ads! I'll try to shed some light on ads on The Lime Springs Page. You might have wondered about:
- Who puts them there?
- Why are they there?
- Have you ever noticed the ads?
- Have you ever clicked on one?
- What happens when you click on an ad?
- ...and so on.
Who Puts the Ads There?
I set the size, type, general appearance, and location of the ads. The ad supplier mostly determines the content. In the case of Google-supplied ads, that is 100% true. Amazon ads can be "fixed" when I make a selection or can be a series of ads selected by Amazon.
Why are There Ads on The Lime Springs Page?
The simple answer: to generate income. It would be great, I thought, if this site (or any of my sites, actually!) were self supporting.
There is a real cost associated with most websites, although there are ones with no cost. Nearly all of my sites are "hosted sites," which means that I rent space on a server. That server stores the web pages and "serves" them to you when you request them.
Actually, I have two hosts. Combined, they cost nearly $500 each year. Fortunately, I can put several multiple websites on each server so the cost per website gets spread out.
?One way for a website to earn income is by carrying ads—just like a newspaper or magazine. Think of it this way: I'm renting space on this page to Google and Amazon so they can put ads on this page.
How Much Revenue Do the Ads Bring In?
Not much! In the past, it's taken about three years to bring in $100 from Google ads. Amazon ads have only brought in about $25 total.
Some people make big bucks from these ad sources. Big bucks, as in hundreds or even thousands of dollars each month!
One key difference: they have hundreds of visitors each day while, on a fairly good day, this site might have 20 visitors. Another difference: they might have dozens or hundreds of websites. I have less than half a dozen, all with a relatively low number of visitors.
What Happens When I Click on an Ad?
The first thing that happens is that you are whisked away to the ad sponsor's website. In the case of a Google-supplied ad, that might be to a site selling cars or shampoo or a newsletter.
The sponsor pays Google for delivering your click to his page. Google then pays me about 68% of whatever they get paid. Most of the time, I end up with a penny! Sometimes a nickel, 20 cents, or even more. But almost always less than $1. I have gotten a few clicks which paid a few dollars, with the max being about 6 bucks, as I recall.
When you click an Amazon ad, you get taken to amazon.com where you can purchase just about anything! It's just like Sears and Target and Walmart and AutoZone and PetSmart and Best Buy all combined!
But I don't make anything; not yet. Only when you buy something do I get paid by Amazon.
They pay me what they call an "Advertising Fee." It starts at 4%. If you buy a book for $15, I'll get 60 cents.
I know many people buy regularly from Amazon. I buy from them myself, but not frequently. To those who have purchased after clicking a link on The Lime Springs Page: Thank You! I appreciate it!
Again, this is a numbers game. With a few hundred visitors every day, more would click and order. With only a handful of visitors each day, and many of them being loyal visitors returning, orders are pretty few and far between.
What is Advertised on This Site?
Google decides what is advertised. In general, they base it on two factors:
- The subject matter of the page on which the ad appears, and
- Your browsing history. If you've read a lot of articles on the 'net about raising and training dogs, chances are that you'll see lots of ads related to dogs. This would be especially true if I wrote an article about dogs! From your experience, does this seem to be the case?
In the case of Amazon ads, often I select an ad or class of ads. For example, right now there is an Amazon ad related to gift cards because I find them extremely convenient to use.
In other cases, I let Amazon pick the subject matter. In that case, they often rotate different ads through the space.
What's the Future for Ads Here?
Good question! A real good question!
Ad income has decreased considerably since I changed the format of The Lime Springs Page earlier this year. I believe I also changed some things about the ads, too. Unfortunately, I didn't document the changes well so can't go back to what I had before.
I'm now experimenting with different ad presentations. You know, changing the location, appearance, or size, mostly.
What Do YOU Think of Ads?
Most of us become blind to ads. I believe I do! But if I see an ad for something which interests me, I don't hesitate to click it. I can always ignore it if I find it useless to me.
I'm interested in what you think of ads. Do you consciously ignore them? Do you "sort of" scan them and click on one if you're interested in the subject?
Do you have a question about ads? Perhaps I can answer it.
Let me know! In many cases, you can email me just by clicking here: Keith@syntheticsaves.com.