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How To Make Money With Adsense Part II - Writing The Article That Makes Money

Updated on May 9, 2011

Having Trouble With Adsense?

Part two of my series on increasing adsense revenue focuses on converting traffic to profit. After all, we want thousands of page hits to convert to thousands of ad clicks, right?

Sorry ... I can't hear you through the screen, could you nod so I could understand your answer?

... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Okay, you can stop nodding now! I wouldn't want to be blamed for some kind of internet-based neck injury. You're here to learn ... I'm here to teach ... and we'll both be a lot happier once we start fulfilling our roles. So, let's get started, eh?

Today, we'll begin with an understanding of where ad clicks come from and will progress onto how to work toward your fair share. Along the way we'll bump into a few odd terms you might never have heard of before, but I'll carry you over each one and make sure you don't fall into the snake infested pits of confusion. Ready? Good!

An Afternoon At The Magic Show

I'm certain you have already spent hours googling the best way to increase your adsense profits. Perhaps that's how you wound up here.

Like sideshow barkers, many people scream out on the internet how they have 'the system' that will increase your profits. Interestingly enough, many of them work, but only for the few people who are willing to enslave themselves.

A good example is creating backlinks to raise your site to number one on Google. It works! It really works! However, if you are competing against a highly ranked site, prepare to spend several months non-stop at it. After all, backlinking is all about creating a worthwhile link back to your site, and such links take time to find and time to set up. This system isn't for most of us out there.

There are also systems developed around exploiting extremely small niches. These work too, but they also bring in extremely small incomes and require a lot of research. Wouldn't it be nice to just make money off of writing things you know about and not worrying about 'working a system'?

You're doing that vigorous nodding thing again. Here ... take this pencil and just raise it in the air when you agree with me ... that way I don't need to worry so much.

Ah ... that's better. You can put your pencil down as you aren't ready to write anything yet - but you will need it later. Better yet, you can bookmark this site so you can return to it later, which precludes any need to write anything at all.


The Profit Wheel

Are you still with me? Good! Before we can move on we need to understand the profit wheel. You see, there is a cycle all internet articles go through to generate profit and to increase adsense revenue one need only determine where to push on the wheel to make it move faster.

Every internet marketing system is based on the profit wheel, and yet, none of them seem to understand it exists or why it works. After all, why take the time to understand something if it works, right? Because we aren't fools ... that's why! We prefer to get the most out of each push of the wheel, which means finding a sweet spot we can all push on that will work for all of us. Where is that sweet spot? Content ... But first, let's watch the wheel in motion.

  • A new web page is created. The Google Beast walks over and sniffs at it and if it doesn't think it smells like spam then it tosses it on the inner rim of the wheel (this is called 'being indexed', where it spins with the other articles. The size of the wheel is determined by how many similar articles exist
  • The Google Beast watches the expressions on everyone's face as the wheel turns around. If they like the looks of the new article then the Google Beast lets it on the inner room where it's seen more. However, if the crowd shows little interest then the article is moved toward the outer edge of the wheel (reindexed) where it is seen less. This is because articles on the outer rim of the wheel take longer to pass into view.
  • Another trick the Google Beast likes to pull is to take your article of the wheel and hide it for a few weeks, and then mysteriously drop it back onto the wheel in some random spot. We do not understand this behavior, but we do know how it creates undo stress to the writer of the article and this typically happens to articles that have shown some or little interest.
  • This process continues, as the Google Beast strives to keep the best content in the middle of the wheel for all to see, while moving the not-so-good stuff to the outside - totally off of the wheel

This means that your best chance at staying in the center of the profit wheel is to get noticed. And now we will see how each 'system' moves you toward the center of the profit wheel.

Backlinking

Backlinking creates cardboard stand-ins for onlookers. The Google Beast sees these and mistakes them for real people, which tends to make it believe you should be kept toward the inner rim of the profit wheel. However, the Google Beast isn't so easily fooled. Create too many cardboard stand-ins at once and the Google Beast smells a rat, which typically will get you tossed to the outer rim or off the profit wheel entirely.

This is why a backlinking strategy - while it works - takes time to implement properly. It's also a lot of work as you need to make your cardboard replicas appear as upstanding citizens the Google Beast should be paying attention to.

As this strategy can be difficult, we won't use this one.

Exploiting Micro Niches

First off, what's a micro niche? Well, in article writing a micro niche is a phrase that few people are wring about. By keeping the competition low, the author hopes to easily stay on the inner rim of the profit wheel ... and often does, making very little profit.

A good example of a micro niche would be looking up "purple dragon pendants" in Google. Include the quotes in your search as this tells the search engine that you are looking for that specific phrase.

Find a lot? I found two when I performed my search. Now THAT is a micro niche ... and one that probably isn't very profitable.

Keyword Spamming

Keyword spamming is all about trying to force feed an article to the Google Beast until it bursts. By inundating the beast with keywords, the hope is that it will fall over from indigestion and allow your article to remain on the center of the wheel. However, the Google Beast sniffs every article before chewing on it and has no issue with tossing such an untasty wafer aside - forever.

Of all the schemes one can try, this one is the worst. And oddly enough, the best scheme isn't a scheme at all ... it's all about creating delicacies that the Google Beast is interested in, which is what the rest of this article will be about - creating edible content for the Google Beast!

Need A Break? Here's Some Comic Relief!

The Truth About The Profit Wheel

We can never spin the profit wheel ourselves, nor can the Google Beast. The only ones that can spin the profit wheel are the onlookers, so it's really all about appeasing them and forgetting the Google Beast ever existed. But how do we do that?

In Part I of this series I mentioned looking up quality keywords. Here's the link, in-case you lost it:

facts vs. interest

Now that you have your keyword, you just need to write an article about it, but not just any article - you need one that will sell. Unfortunately, that's where many adsense article writers fail.

You see, if you write it like it's an article in the newspaper then you are just sharing the news ... and newspapers don't move a lot of products. However, magazines do, which is why we need to treat this as a magazine article.

So, what's the difference between the two? It's subtle, but distinct. Newspapers relate facts and magazines create interest. As such, any article written for profit that expounds a bunch of facts and generates no interest is doomed to fail.

Why?

Because we read the news to become informed and read magazines to explore our interests. Beyond the cost of a newspaper, information is free and rarely leads to other purchases. However, your interests will often lead to wants and desires - which leads to spending money to fulfill your inner child. Advertisers already know this, which is why they load magazines with ads.

Look at the ad to article ration in any local newspaper and then look at the ad to article ration in any magazine. Provided you didn't pick a magazine about read to go belly up, the magazine should have a much higher ratio. That shows conclusive proof that interest sells and facts put people to sleep.

So, how can we use this info wisely and what does this have to do with the profit wheel, the Google Beast, and the Prince of Wales. Well, it has nothing to do with the Prince of Wales (anyone could correct me on that if they see it otherwise) but it has everything to do with the other two.


Back To The Profit Wheel

We already discovered how the Google Beast and the profit wheel work, and we know that the spectators spin the wheel. Knowing all of this, it makes sense that interesting articles gain the attention of the spectators and those articles of interest are then kept toward the center of the wheel.

Are the gears clicking yet, or do I need to hit you with it?

*bam*

Sorry, I couldn't let you suffer there in confusion. You see ... you only need to make your article very interesting to stay on the inner hub. The more readers that like it ... the better chance your article has to make you a profit. And it gets better ...

The longer your article remains in the center of the profit wheel, the better the odds that it will get even MORE attention! Now THAT is exciting! (you can jump up and down now)

So, let's talk about writing these interesting articles, eh?

The Rules of Friendship

Okay, I need you to stop jumping up and down and to focus on me, because I am about to give you some really good secrets that will help you get your articles noticed.

First off, you need to change your role from that of an internet article marketer to that of a best friend.

???

Read on ... I'll explain.

We all trust our friends and listen to them, but we hate marketers ... especially internet marketers. Get this free today!!! Lose 100 pounds in eight minutes!!! Make $1,000,000 in a day. Blah blah blah blah blah. They sicken me as they violate every rule of trust, and trust is what friendships are built on.

Consider your best friend. What qualities make that person endearing? Here's a few I thought of:

  • honest
  • loyal
  • always there for me
  • watches out for me
  • would never steer me wrong
  • cares about the things that are important to me

Is my list similar to yours? Probably so, as these are the characteristics we commonly look for in our friends, and the things we most likely use to rank them.

Our relationship to our readers must be the same. We need to always be honest with them, look out for them, and care about what matters to them. We need to be their friend - and foremost - a genuine one. This means we can never, ever, ever, betray that trust - for any reason.

Example: You write an article about a great razor, but it has a fault that can cause it to nick your chin at times. Should you hide that fact? Absolutely not! Tell the reader. If you know it and are still using the razor then you thought it a good enough product to overlook this flaw and so will your reader.

As another example (and this one really happened to me) you write about a product and express what you have learned. Another person come by and says ... 'You got it all wrong! How could you spread such lies?'

Well, I have to say I was hurt as I did a lot of research on that article. For those of you wondering, it was an article on a pet med called metacam and part of the article stipulated it was safe for cats. After all, my vet prescribed it, all the vet sites I looked at said it was safe for cats, how was I to know any different. So, here was this person calling me to the carpet. Did I ignore them or did I investigate their concern?

Well, I would never ignore a friend, and my readers are my friends. I researched what they provided and then cross-referenced each fact to find ... they were right ... metacam was dangerous for cats! That night, I rewrote that portion of my article to reflect the new truth I had been shown, thanked the person who brought the info to light, and earned a whole new level of respect. I made many new friends that night, some of which who even repaid my dedication by helping me earn some adsense bucks. Friends help friends ... that's the rule of internet marketing.



A Poor Example Of Conversation

Conversational Article Writing

I'll get into the hows and whys on this topic, but first I need to share with you another story.

One of my early articles has always been a high performer ... but it shouldn't be! You see, I wrote it before I understood keyword research, Google ranking, and all of that goobledy goop. It still indexes at number one on Google today, and it has taken me a long time to understand why.

You see, I bought an enV Touch cell phone and really liked it so I wrote a review (my first article). At the time, I was just sharing a great experience and when I saw the response ... I wanted more ... so I started writing about other things, but never quite got that same response.

What was it that had worked? I studies all about SEO (search engine optimization) and everything I learned said I had got it all wrong - and yet I was there - number one. Maybe I had inadvertantly got it all right?

And indeed I had, as I spent the next five month working the formula, testing it, and retesting it. So, should I sell it? I only wish I could, but once I explain my system you'll understand that it's really not a system at all, but a way of thinking as you write, which is impossible to patent or resell. As such, I offer it up for free with the hope it will help you and others. That's what friends do, right?

Good!

So, what is conversational writing? Simply put ... it's placing a person in your mind and having a conversation with them, and writing down on the screen what you talked about. Sounds a bit insane, but trust me ... you won't end up in the nut house over it = at least I hope not.

Let's Sit Down And Talk

To break it down real simply ... Close your eyes and envision your best friend in front of you. Erm wait, if you close your eyes you won't be able to read what I have wrote. Perhaps you can practice in-between paragraphs. Will that work? Good!

Where was I? Oh yeah ...

Envision your friend in front of you and you have something very interesting to share. As this is something you have never discussed with your friend before you want to tell them enough to understand what you are talking about and you want them (when the conversation is over) to be excited about it as you are.

Now, many paragraphs back I told you to get out a pencil. We will use that here. Grab a piece of paper as well. I'll wait ...

Okay, here's what I want you to do ....

The Assignment

Pick a topic you want to share with me (I'll be your friend for this one, if it's all right with you). What I want you to do is close your eyes (not yet - read your assignment first) and write down a full conversation between me and you where you tell me all about your topic. Don't tell me about the article .. tell me about your topic, and be certain to write in ALL of my responses.

It should look something like this:


My Topic: Purple Dragon Pendants

Me: Do you like dragons

You: Yeah, dragons are pretty cool

Me: Did you know they make pendants with purple dragons on them?

You: Really? That's cool!

Me: Yep, I saw them online

You: How much?

Me: Oh, I don't know. Anywere from $5 on up

You: What do you do with them?

Me: My aunt says if you wear one all of your dreams will come true ...

***and on and on ... until the conversation is over.

Now, the next step is to remove the other speaker and try to place it all into paragraphs. My version looks something like this:

*Do you like dragons? Did you know they make pendants with purple dragons on them? Yep, I saw them online. Oh, I don't know. Anywere from $5 on up. My aunt says if you wear one all of your dreams will come true ...*

This doesn't flow too well, so we'll edit it about - like so:

*Do you like dragons? I do! Did you know they make pendants with purple dragons on them? I saw them online from $5 on up. My aunt says if you wear one all of your dreams will come true ...*

Why Do Conversational Articles Work

Conversational Articles make the reader feel a connection with the writer. During the duration of the article they become friends and develop a trusting bond, allowing the writer to deliver their message without the reader feeling they are being pressured into a sale.

Through the conversation building process you anticipate the reader's questions, answer them, and make the reader feel at ease. You also develop a lot of interest which could carry the reader forward to click on an appealing ad for more info.

How often does this click occur? Well, when I first started article marketing I had a click through rate of less than 2%, that's less than one click per 50 page views. Since then, I have ramped things up to over 6%, which shows the system actually works - and why others inevitably fail.

It's not all about traffic, as some believe, as some traffic will rarely ever generate revenue. Pictures articles rarely generate income as the reader isn't reading - they're ogling. Videos articles do the same. However, a combination of conversational writing, videos, and pictures makes for a toolbox that brings home the bacon. Better yet, as the click percentage increases so do your profits. It's all about earning trust to earn revenue.

Videos Seal The Deal

A good video keeps a reader on your page longer which attracts the notice of the Google Beast. By placing a good video on your site you greatly enhance your odds of generating revenue, but how does one pick the wheat from the chaff, and where does one find such videos?

One word ...Youtube.

People post videos on Youtube to be seen. You post videos on your site to helps better express your topic. It's a win-win. All you need to do is go to youtube, search for your topic, then preview a few videos to find a winner. Here's what you should be looking for in a good Youtube video:

  • it must fit in well with your topic
  • it needs to back up what you are saying. If it sings a different tune it will only discredit you
  • it should provide some new info
  • it should be at least 3 minutes in length and rarely longer than 10 minutes
  • Any person in the video must appear credible

If the video you chose fits these rules then you have found a winner! Find a few that fit the bill and you can gently place them into your articles in places where you feel they can add a punctuation point to what you have said - making your words even more powerful. Just don't go crazy with 500 videos, as they are more powerful when used sparingly - one or two an article.


Is There More?

There's always more ... That's why we have movies like Rocky III, Rocky IV, etc. However, all sequels need to be planned out, based on how the previous movie was received. As such, I will be looking at the comments on this article and will determine from there what I could have explained better and what new information could be of help to you - the reader.

What I have given you today will increase your adsense revenue over time. Remember, it's all about becoming the reader's friend, having that talk with them about your topic, then rewriting it so that you have the same conversation with the rest of us.

So long as your keyword choice is good and your article is conversational in nature, you can't lose - unless your spelling and grammar are atrocious, at which point I would recommend hiring on a ghostwriter to put your thoughts to the screen.

That's all I have for today. Now, go out there and write an article that will knock everyone's socks off, or if you are currently starving for new ideas, rewrite an older one that hasn't been doing so well. Either way you will win!

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