Ads and Affiliates Doctor Ebiz Q&A

Email this article Printer friendly page

Aren't Google AdSense Ads a Diversion?

"[Site name] reveals an amateur approach to their business by allowing Google ads on their pages. Considering all the effort it takes to get visitors to one's web site, what are they thinking? Or are they thinking at all? Yes, I know you do it on your own website -- and I respectfully suggest that such diversions are counterproductive if the purpose of the site is to sell your own product or service." -- Joe Harkins, www.BuildingHosting.Com

On some sites Google ads are a diversion. But let me explain my philosophy that applies to my particular site only. The core purpose of my site is not to sell my own products and services, but to earn a living by helping people learn how to market their businesses on the Internet.

Perhaps 1% of visitors will make a purchase while they are on the site -- most are not there to buy but to gather free information. Perhaps 2% to 3% will click on a Google ad. That leaves 97% to 98% still on my site to buy my products -- if they will. So I haven't lost much.

What I have gained, however, is a way to diversify my income so it comes from various sources. That way, if one revenue source is less productive, others can still provide revenue. It was this philosophy that allowed me to survive the Dot-com-bust in 2000. I was receiving lots of advertising revenue in 1999 and 2000, but it suddenly dried up in August 2000. I was just fine, however, since other sources of revenue continued. One of the keys to a resilient online business is multiple sources of revenue.