Are Ads on your Website a Good Idea? 

I used to think, “Eh, a little pain, potential gains, why not?” 

Now I think otherwise. 

My Bold Plans When I started Writing Money Prowess

 When I started writing in 2016, I had visions that I’d be dutifully dedicated to producing content at a regular cadence. I’d take steps to network and outreach with others in the community. I’d produce such excellent content that of course I’d quickly draw an organic steady stream of visitors. And this writing would help me be financially independent. 

One easy way to monetize my content I thought would be to put ads on the site. I assumed they’d be few enough and unobtrusive enough that the experience would still be fine. Google makes it easy within a few clicks to generate your own custom code to embed in your site html to track visits and ad clicks. 

Ads May Not Be The Right Choice For Your Website

I realized ads are a trash experience on my site. I’m posting about my net worth, but people are being served ads about very random things. I have very little, limited control to make sure ad content is something that my readers may actually want or value. It wasn’t a natural stretch. The nature of article flows is such that it’s not really the place to be swept away to an ad about shoes, or something else. 

If You’re Expecting to Strike it Rich on Ad Revenue, Think Again

Also – I never made any money. Of course I didn’t. I didn’t regularly post. I didn’t continue with my initial outreach steps. I didn’t produce top organic content. I think my account shows 7 cents earned. A payout doesn’t come until you reach a minimum of $100 worth of impression earnings. So, every reader who did come was being assaulted by garbage ads across their experience while I received nothing for the trouble of making my content less readable and visually appealing. 

I’m sorry about all of that. I’m sorry for being the equivalent of the loud TV ads stationed at gas pumps. You just wanted gas, which you need. It wasn’t an invitation to be exposed to a barrage of video ads. And when you came here, you wanted to read and see what I had to say. You didn’t ask to be served up ads for conferences and shirts. 

Ad Revenue May Not Bring You Riches But They Do Impact Your Readers Experience

Ads are now gone. I can’t promise ads will never return. But if they do return, I intend to have control over them. Tp make them relevant and interesting and for items that I think are worth serving to my readers. For instance, I still have an Ebates button on my page. I really like Ebates (now Rakuten). I’ve earned $178 in cash back just from going to their site first before doing my normal shopping at a few leading stores. If you click that link, you can sign up and get a bonus for joining. I’d also receive a referral bonus. 

But rando Google selected ads that break mid-article and are on the sidebar? Gone for good. 

(dismount soapbox)