I started Three Wheel Revolutionwith the intent of using Google Adsense exclusively on the site. I liked the idea of contextual advertising, where Google scanned my site and determined the most appropriate ads to display, and I liked the fact that I would have one advertising account. So I set up Three Wheel Revolution to a great extent to take advantage of the ad formats that Google offers. I even went so far as to pick my theme based largely on this. But soon into the website’s public existence I started to have a change of heart.

The first thing that bugged me was that I was getting ads for all sorts of non-related products. I was getting ads for Spyder paintball guns, and mobility scooters, and cars. Since my niche was somewhat new, I didn’t expect ads for my specific focus, but nothing was getting close. Another thing that prompted change was, simply, no one was clicking on any ads placed in a certain place. I had purposefully designed the website to be able to place an ad between the navigation bar and the main content, thinking this would get the most looks, but in two weeks I didn’t get one click. The last thing that motivated change was that at first I was getting ads that paid based on the number of impressions, in other words, if you saw the ad I made money, but after a week or so Google changed that to only ads that pay when they are clicked. Google claims that there is a process by which Google determines what ads would make the site the most money, but I’ve come to believe that Google actually determines what ads cost their advertisers the least.

So my “income” from Google dropped to nothing for about a week. That’s when I implemented change.

The first thing to go was any ad format that hadn’t ever earned me a penny, from clicks or impressions. The side bar ads went out, as well as the footer ads. The only Google ads I kept were the large rectangles on the main and post screens that from time to time loaded a Cadillac ad that I got impression pay from. Though I left this, it was only to keep “some” money coming in, until I could find a better way.

I searched out an Affilliate. I wanted to advertise something I knew and I could sell to my viewers honestly. Thankfully I discovered that my favorite online motorcycle accessories store had an affiliate program. It only pays if someone buys something, but I can promote it on my site effectively because it is relevant to the site’s topic and because as a satisfied customer I give the recommendation weight. I would have replaced the side bar ad space with an ad from them, but it was two colorful, and I thought it would detract from the look of the site. So I settled on the footer banner that I use now. The color scheme fits in well, and it is non-intrusive enough to not take away from the content. I used the now open to side bar space to move up some navigation links, which I believe will get people moving through my site, and, effectively, looking at more ads that way.

The third thing I did was to learn to use the Google Adsense filter. With the filter you can “weed out” innaproriate advertisers by blacklisting them. I’ve noticed a huge improvement in the last 48 hours after implementing this strategy, I get almost exclusively motorcycle related ads now, and today I had my first click through in over a week.*

You may wonder, if all of these changes are for the better, why I haven’t changed this site’s ad placement as well. Well, two reasons, really. The first is that I get more relevant ads here, though for a lot of sites for companies I would rather you not use, since I’m trying to get you to sign up with the companies I use. The second is that, by leaving the layout the same, I can visually demonstrate through the differences in layout the progress Three Wheel Revolution was gone through.

So, at three weeks into it, would I recommend Adsense. Sure. You might get much more relevant ads than me, and, despite all I have written, it is still the only source of advertising income I have yet to see.

 *In the short space of writing this and editing it (a couple of hours) I have received two more clicks on Adsense ads.  Not a lot, but better than any other day so far.