A VC

Home / Archives / Tumblog / Radio / About / RSS

This week marks my one year anniversary using AdSense.

It's been a decent relationship.

I don't like the ads that run on my blog for the most part.

But its been a great learning experience.

And I made just over $500 in the first year.

All of that goes to the Grameen Foundation so that they can loan money to women in Uganda who are setting up cell phone businesses in their homes.  I figure that at least 10 women are in the phone business in Uganda because of this blog and that's a really good thing.

Here are some stats that come from my Adsense account.

My daily earnings have steadily increased throughout the year. It's been about $2/day in the past month.

Traffic has also grown pretty steadily over the past 12 months.

And click thru rates have been a mixed bag.  They moved up nicely in late 2004, but they've been coming down recently. At this point, it appears that 1% is about what I can expect from Adsense.  This is directly related to the bad ads that I don't like and nobody clicks thru on my blog.

And finally, the cost per click is pretty low at less than $0.20 although there is a recent uptrend which I hope will continue.

After running through all these charts, I come away thinking that $500 per year is great but way less than I could earn if I really wanted to optimize the ad revenue on this blog. I've learned most everything I can about AdSense in the past year and if I am willing to spend some time on this, I may well end up moving to something better suited to my blog going forward.

I am sure that the phone ladies would appreciate that too.

Fred Wilson, a venture capitalist in New York City who writes his own blog, takes the lead on telling ... [Read More]

Tracked on Mar 5, 2005 4:39:50 PM

» Thinking Like a Publisher from Fractals of Change
It’s a good thing most bloggers have day jobs. [Read More]

Tracked on Mar 10, 2005 10:05:53 AM

» Some blog details from Patent Chronicles
Some technical details and other misc thoughts I have been meaning to blog about. Thank you readers and subscribers. I know that you are there (through stats if nothing else), and I appreciate it. I have enjoyed blogging so far and am now committe... [Read More]

Tracked on Mar 10, 2005 8:46:05 PM

» Google verbetert AdSense, start advertentiecampagne op nederlandse weblogs from Michiel Frackers' Kladblog - over media, technologie en innovatie
Venture capitalist en blogger Fred Wilson had kritiek op de verdiensten die Google's AdSense programma hem opleverde (en schond met openbaring van zijn verdiensten overigens de terms of service van Google). Een belangrijk terugkerend punt van kritiek o... [Read More]

Tracked on Mar 13, 2005 12:47:01 PM

» The First Rule of AdSense? from Buzz Marketing with Blogs

I was all set to tell you about Fred Wilson, a venture capitalist in New York who just publicly posted his exact Google AdSense revenue figures for the year. He made $500, he says, and he's got charts to back it up! This is notable not because ... [Read More]

Tracked on Mar 16, 2005 6:15:33 AM

» The Flattening of Almost Everything #3: Bureaucracy from Fractals of Change
The communal water spigot on Mrs. Gowri’s lane in Ramachandra Nagar, India had gone dry. [Read More]

Tracked on Mar 18, 2005 10:02:55 AM

» Google Incetivizes Bloggers to Push Firefox from Micro Persuasion
Some of you have noticed that I recently started running Adsense ads on my blog. In about six weeks I have earned a grand total of about oh, $20. Once I hit a $100 I will get a check from [Read More]

Tracked on Nov 6, 2005 9:08:11 AM

» Google Incetivizes Bloggers to Push Firefox the Google Toolbar from Micro Persuasion
Some of you have noticed that I recently started running Adsense ads on my blog. In about six weeks I have earned a grand total of about oh, $20. Once I hit a $100 I will get a check from [Read More]

Tracked on Nov 6, 2005 9:11:30 AM

» Google Incetivizes Bloggers to Push Firefox the Google Toolbar from Micro Persuasion
Some of you have noticed that I recently started running Adsense ads on my blog. In about six weeks I have earned a grand total of about oh, $20. Once I hit a $100 I will get a check from [Read More]

Tracked on Nov 6, 2005 9:12:49 AM

Posted March 3, 2005

Comments

Don't forget that officially the adsense T&C's prevent posting of this info!

Posted by: Joe | Mar 3, 2005 7:39:48 PM

Interesting and very noble gift, but you can't share stuff like this it's against the Adsesne TOS ...

Posted by: Graywolf | Mar 3, 2005 9:49:57 PM

Fred,

Thanks for breaking the Google "code of silence" and sharing. So what if they kick you out of their "adsense program."

Following is a post I wrote on your story on my blog today:

Venture Capitalist Fred Wilson has a post out explaining how he's made $500 in the last year with Google's Adsense (which is being donated to charity). While I thought that Google didn't allow people to talk about how much they made with Adsense this hardly seems compelling.

From the graphs on his site it would appear that if your traffic is about 1,700 hits per day that you'd end up with about $2 per day. His click through rate is about 1% so I'd assume that would translate to about 17 a day.

I'm curious as to 1. Why Google thinks it's so important to keep all this adsense stuff top secret. I've always felt more transparency is better than less and 2. Is Google giving bloggers a fair shake? If they are paying out less than 20 cents a click to Fred, what are they getting for the click and how does this compare to other advertisers? I'm all for Google making money, but is the split 10%/90% is it 50%/50% is it 80%/20%?

I've always been surprised at how easily the blogosphere has just let Google go top secret on this one. I'd hope even some "anonymous" comments could better clarify the situation.

Oh and one more thing. I do have to say that I like the adsense approach. It seems unobtrusive and a really acceptable way in my opinion to advertise. On the other hand, recently I've begun seeing Vibrant Technology's IntelliTXT annoyance and I really really hate it. If you haven't noticed it yet, these are where ads are actually tied to words in articles as annoying green links and push pop ups out at you as your mouse goes over the text word. Ugh, it's really ugly, distracting and creates a pretty negative impression.

I can't believe that The Green Button has begun using these. Can't someone at Microsoft just write TGB a check to help subsidize their program -- the whole TGB concept while very helpful to the Media Center user is still one big ad for Media Center really.

I understand that bloggers and website operators have to make a living somehow but I really hope that the horrible IntellitTXT approach is not the way they do it. Honestly it turns people off and if anything will drive away traffic.

Best,

Tom

Posted by: Thomas Hawk | Mar 4, 2005 8:49:13 AM

Finally someone breaks the Google "code of silence" !!! What a ridiculous rule. Of couse the usual nitwits will all post warnings like "oh my Fred that is illegal ..tsk tsk". Who are these people?
Bloggers should rebel against this rule, not cower. Google needs us the same that we need them, why should they control what we can say?

Posted by: johninspace | Mar 4, 2005 10:17:41 AM

Posting anonymous so as not to risk my own AdSense account. My site is iPR6, just like this one. With minimal updates and little optimization, I have never had a month where I received less than $100 from AdSense. I'm sure that A VC can do better than my site, based on its popularity alone. Thanks for sharing!

Posted by: anonymous | Mar 4, 2005 2:21:27 PM

If your weblog was more focussed on a specific niche (ie, venture capital) rather than just a random slice of your life, Google would show better ads and you'd earn substantially more money.

I blog on a tangential subject and make $500 a week off your traffic.

PS, I'm posting anonymously because I take the Adsense T&C seriously and don't want to jeopardize anything.

Posted by: Anonymous Blogger | Mar 4, 2005 2:21:52 PM

That previous comment should have read, "My site is PR6, ..." PR == PageRank

Posted by: anonymous | Mar 4, 2005 2:22:19 PM

What software of script did you use to generate those graphs ?

Posted by: anon | Mar 4, 2005 3:02:59 PM

Thanks for starting the conversation and getting other people to share information..

I learned about tribe visiting your site too...neet idea.

Posted by: Tom Norian | Mar 4, 2005 5:17:02 PM

Thanks for answering the question that everyone wants to ask, and no one ever wants to answer.

Posted by: Ron | Mar 4, 2005 8:45:42 PM

Suggestion: add an ad to the end of your posts before the comments and you will likely see your CTR go up, hence CPM increasing.

Posted by: Oliver Thylmann | Mar 5, 2005 12:57:17 PM

Thanks for taking the lead and opening up a discussion on this topic. One thing that does amaze me is the same people who advocate an open and transparent blogosphere are afraid of crossing the boundaries with Google for fear of losing a small bit of revenue. Wouldn't being open and sharing some of the information on how to maximize your earnings through boosting the performance of the ads you place in your blog improve the game for everyone, including Google?

Posted by: Fred Fabro | Mar 5, 2005 4:26:23 PM

I find it interesting how little everyone claims to make from AdSence. My experience is that you can make perhaps $500 or more a month. I guess it depends on the kind of site you have and the amount of traffic. For example if your site focuses on, say, digital cameras, you can probably make $500 a month even if your site doesn't get that much traffic. Having a focus for your blog matters a great deal. If it's just a personal blog about who knows what, well, ya, I could see how you could make only $500 a year. This is just my experience as an AdSence customer.

Posted by: anonymous | Mar 5, 2005 7:59:11 PM

I too experienced that blogs are only served with low paying, general ads. Although it's probably from the broad range of topics that are written about in blogs, I feel that google should try to do something about that. I personally never had a click pay out more than 3, 4 or 5 cents.While my site has occasional clicks up to 5$.

Posted by: anonymous | Mar 7, 2005 3:34:19 PM

Actually, generating these sorts of graphs from stats is easy: download the stats in csv format, then import them into a spreadsheet program to make charts.

Posted by: anon | Mar 8, 2005 7:51:59 PM

I know that this is of course relatively meaningless as I am posting anon, but I average well over $500 / day and have had a few at $1000+

I started in Jan on brand new URL's so no PR at all. Big problem is of course all eggs in one basket and there is no way of course knowing if Google one day will simply at whim turn me off. Im not doing anything wrong - just that google isnt clear and like paypal makes up the rules as they go. I cant wait for MSN or Yahoo to offer contextual just so I can diversify income risk.

Very few people seem to know how to build websites particularly for adsense. One of key factors at the moment is MSN is delivering 90% of my traffic, but google is paying up which I find kinda cool :)

Short answer is Adsense does work. It does pay way better than any other sponsor I have tried with same types of sites.

Stick at it.

Posted by: Anon | Mar 9, 2005 9:54:37 AM

Oh - and just for the record, I know 3 others doing over $1k per day. One guys record is $2k for a day. Im trying to beat him, but he has been running 12 months :)

Posted by: anon again | Mar 9, 2005 9:55:45 AM

Many people are making peanuts from Adsense.
Don't go out there thinking that it's all gold and that easy.

Posted by: anonymous | Mar 9, 2005 3:35:39 PM

Good work! Today, Google changed the Adsense TOS to allow the sharing of revenue stats.

Posted by: Jordan | Mar 16, 2005 12:20:06 AM

Right! Good work Fred! Check out the new terms:

"You agree not to disclose Google Confidential Information without Google's prior written consent. 'Google Confidential Information' includes without limitation: (a) all Google software, technology, programming, specifications, materials, guidelines and documentation relating to the Program; (b) click-through rates or other statistics relating to Site performance in the Program provided to You by Google; and (c) any other information designated in writing by Google as 'Confidential' or an equivalent designation. However, You may accurately disclose the amount of Google's gross payments to You pursuant to the Program."

Posted by: David | Mar 16, 2005 2:54:20 PM

amateur couple amateur gay amateur gratuit amateur libertin amateur nu amateur porno amateur sex amateur sexe amateur video amateur webcam amateur x amateur anal fisting anal anime asiatique nu asiatique bite black anal blacks on blonde webcam gratuit webcam sexe femme black webcam chat cul cul gratuit couple amateur erotique ejac feminine ejac facial defloration coquin blonde salope bondage voyeur gratuit erotique gratuit bukkake cul de femme black teens ejac faciale chatte chatte humide double anal film x amateur free porn movies femme mature femme nu femme erotique femme facile xxx fetichisme femme mure film amateur femme en chaleur femme cochon film sexe femme sex x amateur femme coquin femme mure nu femme sexe fille facile femme nu gratuite film sexe gratuit femme photo hardcore gros penis grosse salope hentai x histoire erotique young porn gros teton gratuit sexe jeune gay video grosse femme grosse bite jeune femme gros sein gros cul gros sexe jeune amatrice hentai jeune chatte jeune femme nue hard sexe jeune lesbienne mangas erotique jeune nu voyeur france mangas sexe jeune vierge mature lesbian mature gratuit lesbienne nu mamie jeune gay masturbation femme lesbienne photo lesbienne gratuit lesbienne gratuite jeune sexe jeune salope lesbienne jeune fille voyeur mature mature sex sex mangas sexy lingerie video coquin video de cul transsexuelle sexe video sexy mature triple penetration video amateur video amateur x sexe vieille sexe mature sexe porno sex xxx teen amateur sexe webcam sex femme video cul gratuit sexe video gratuit teen porn sexe video gratuite sex mature sexe photo mature women photo gratuite sexe photo de cul photo gay gratuite photo de cul gratuite photo amateur mure petite chatte photo salope photo lesbienne mature sexe video hentai video lesbienne photo gay gratuit photo femme video erotique partouze photo cul gratuite photo sexe amateur photo de chatte penetration photo gratuite femme nu photo fille photo xxx portail du sexe photo sein photo sexe gratuit video salope porn porno asiatique photo sexe porno mature porno black sein de france video mature photo sexe gratuite sein salope gratuit photo transsexuelle porno amateur photo voyeur porno sexe poitrine salope salope gratuite video sexe sexe femme video xxx gratuit sexe hard gratuit sexe fr sexe amateur gratuit sex amateur gratuit sexe en direct sexe gratuit photo sexe hard sexe gratuis sexe gratuit sexe feminin sexe amateur sexe gratuit video video sexe gratuit video xxx sein enorme sein gratuit sexe sexe gaulois sex amateur sexe extreme sexe hardcore blague codec divx ad aware antivirus divx a telecharger antivirus en ligne chanson a telecharger codec telecharger carte postale ancienne antivirus gratuit blague humour divx codec carte postale virtuelle blague blonde divx dvd clone cd bitdefender carte postale antivirus a telecharger antivirus gratuit a telecharger emule telecharger gratuit film gratuit a telecharger film porno a telecharger film porno gratuit a telecharger film x a telecharger fond d ecran a telecharger horoscope horoscope cancer divx gratuit edonkey edonkey 2000 emoticone a telecharger emoticone a telecharger gratuit emule france emule gratuit emule telecharger film a telecharger emule film x gratuit a telecharger firewall horoscope taureau horoscope verseau jeu a telecharger jeu pc a telecharger jeux a telecharger jeux a telecharger gratuit jeux a telecharger sur pc jeux de voiture jeux flash a telecharger horoscope capricorne horoscope chinois horoscope du jour horoscope gemeau horoscope gratuit horoscope lion horoscope poisson horoscope sagittaire horoscope scorpion horoscope vierge imesh kazaa msn messenger 7.5 telecharger messenger 7.5 mp3 gratuit telecharger mc afee logiciel gratuit mp3 gratuit msn messenger telecharger kazaa telecharger messenger mp3 telecharger logiciel antivirus msn messenger plus kazaa lite telecharger kazaa lite logiciel architecture mp3 telecharger gratuit msn 7.5 telecharger msn messenger 7.5 messenger msn recette partition guitare nero burning rom partition de musique musique mp3 musique mp3 a telecharger nero 6 norton antivirus 2005 nero express nero norton 2005 musique a telecharger gratuite musique musique a telecharger gratuitement norton musique a telecharger gratuit nero burning musique a telecharger msn telecharger partition gratuite recette minceur recette de salade shareaza telecharger recette gateau chocolat recette punch recette courgette recette gateau recette cocktail sims 2 telecharger recette sangria recette pain recette facile sims 2 telechargement recette paella recette crepe recette de cuisine recette dessert recette de julie recette de confiture recette barbecue telecharger kazaa lite gratuit telecharger emule telecharger les sims gratuitement telecharger kazaa little telecharger kazaa gratuitement telecharger gratuitement msn telecharger kazaa lite telecharger emoticone telecharger emule gratuit telecharger kazaa en francais telecharger gratuitement kazaa telecharger e mule gratuit telecharger gratuitement msn messenger telecharger divx gratuit telecharger les sims 2 telecharger les sims gratuit telecharger jeu flash telecharger kazaa gratuit telecharger gratuitement logiciel telecharger emule gratuitement solution jeu telecharger divx solution jeu video telechargement gratuit de film telecharger clone cd telechargement film x gratuit telechargement logiciel telechargement film divx telecharger antivirus gratuit solution telecharger codec divx telechargement film telecharger chanson skype telechargement film porno gratuit telechargement film porno telecharger acrobat reader telecharger antivirus tablature guitare tablature telecharger mp3 telecharger mp3 gratuitement telecharger msn telecharger msn 7.5 telecharger msn 7.5 francais telecharger msn 8.0 telecharger msn gratuit telecharger msn gratuitement telecharger msn mesenger telecharger msn messenger 7.5 telecharger msn messenger 8.0 telecharger msn messenger plus telecharger msn plus telecharger music mp3 telecharger musique gratuite telecharger logiciel divx telecharger logiciel gratuit telecharger logiciel mp3 gratuit telecharger messenger telecharger messenger 7.5 telecharger winamp telecharger windows messenger telecharger winzip telecharger winzip gratuit telecharger yahoo messenger zone alarm telecharger nero telecharger nero 6 telecharger nero gratuit telecharger nero gratuitement telecharger norton antivirus 2005 telecharger shareaza telecharger shareaza gratuit telecharger shareaza gratuitement telecharger video telecharger video porno gratuit telecharger video sex telecharger video x

Posted by: amateur couple | Nov 30, 2005 8:03:48 AM

Hi Fred, First, check the three to five previous comments on this post, someone either hacked in or added some spam comments that somehow made it onto your $500 Per Year post.

Second, I realize this is a year after your original post - but I think it now allows some reflection. I noticed you now have Yahoo ads instead of Google Ads. Was Google made about your disclosure? According to John Battelle (the way I came across your site), you can now actually disclose this according to AdSense updated TOS - so you may wish to shift back.

Lastly, AdSense allows you some options to steer the ads in a particular direction, especially to weed out ones you don't want. You could also give them a bit more prominent placement and that might help increase the CTR and thus your revenue. Best of luck!

Posted by: Jon Payne | Mar 31, 2006 10:10:59 AM

Post a comment

This weblog only allows comments from registered users. To comment, please Sign In.

You are currently signed in as (nobody). Sign Out

Comments:

©Fred Wilson, AVC.com • • Design by UX Hero