Question: How can you get free content for your blog. Is there a tool that can automatically feed your blog?
I have a question for you dear reader, and that is…
Why do you want free content for your blog?
I ask, because I cannot think of one legitimate reason why you would want to not write your own original, high-quality content for your blog. Can you?
It makes no sense, unless you’re looking to try and create an MFA, or “Made for Adsense” site. And personally, that’s not something I recommend, because Google is cracking down on this practice, and you will get your account banned for life.
Not to mention that “taking” content from someone else is copyright infringement. Why should you be able to take content from someone and use it for your own purposes? You shouldn’t.
Question: How do you put Google AdSense ads in the middle of your blog post? I know how to add it to the top or bottom within the post but not sure how you put it in the middle of your posts. Thanks for the info.
Great question, and actually, the answer is much more simple than you imagine. In my experience, you can do it two ways.
The first way is to simply just do it manually. That’s how I do it here at AsktheBlogger.com. See the Adsense block above, just below the question? I manually placed it in using a simple cut and paste. The problem with that method is I have to keep a copy of my Adsense code handy for every post, and it’s unnecessary really.
The right way to do it is to use a Wordpress Adsense plugin. This one called the AdSense-Deluxe WordPress Plugin is great because it uses both Google Adsense & Yahoo! Publisher ads, your choice.
AdSense-Deluxe is an easy-to-use plugin for WordPress 1.5+ (including WP 2.0) for quickly inserting Google or Yahoo! ads into your blog posts, and managing when and where those ads are displayed.
What if I don’t use Wordpress?
Well, then I’m afraid you’re probably stuck manually pasting your code in the blog entry, or finding out from your blogging platform if they have some type of plugin you can use.
Question: How do I go about putting advertisements on my blog?
Putting ads on or in your blog requires that you know a little bit of “code”. Sure, it varies between blogging platforms, but with most you still have to be able to figure out how and where to place a piece of code that the advertiser gives you into your blog.
Don’t worry, it’s not that hard. Let’s use Wordpress (which AsktheBlogger uses) as an example.
Let’s say I want to place an ad in my blog sidebar. Here’s how I would do it.
1. Login to my blog account.
2. Go to “presentation”, then “theme editor”.
Now’s the tricky part. If you have not already set permissions on your theme pages, you need to do that now. FTP into your blog and look for the “wp-content” folder. In that folder you’ll see the folder of the theme that is powering your blog. Open it.
In that folder you’ll see a bunch of .php files. These are what power your blog, the pieces parts. Find “sidebar.php” and right click on it. Choose “permissions”. Now, change permissions to “777″, which means that it is now “writable”. In other words, it can be edited now.
Now go back into your Wordpress admin. Onto step 3.
3. Click on “sidebar” link. You’ll now be able to edit the file directly in the admin.
4. Copy the code from your advertiser and paste it into the sidebar area where you want it.
Now you can save the file and look at the blog to see how the ad appears. If it’s not in the right spot you want it in, go back and and grab the code and move it again. Keep trying till you get it in the spot you want.
That’s it! Other blogging systems may vary. Consult your blog help file for detailed instructions or contract your local blog consultant to help you out.
I have signed up for a Google Adsense account and got a number, but can I use it on my blog?
Absolutely! Google Adsense is an amazing tool that can help your blog earn either just a few bucks or millions! It depends on your blog’s traffic levels of course. But everyone who has a blog should at least try to use Adsense and see if they can make some money from their blogging efforts.
Once you’ve signed up and have an account, you need to create a piece of code to fit within your blog. You’ll then need to copy that code and paste it into your blog’s theme or template. You can find an explanation on how to edit your Wordpress blog themes here.
If you’re not using Wordpress, please consult the help files from your blog software provider. Look for “how to edit blog templates” or “how to put ads in my blog”. They should provide some level of documentation that can help you along.
I’ve got a free blog with wordpress. Am I allowed to put ads on my Wordpress blog, and if so how do I do it?
Answer: Yes, if you are using the free blog software from Wordpress.org, you can put anything you want on your blog, including ads. If you’re using Wordpress.com, which is the hosted version, you are limited to what you can put on your blog.
To put ads on your wordpress blog, you need to be able to edit your themes. A theme is the design of your blog, and they are located in the “wp-content” folder, then inside “themes”. Locate the theme you are using and login to your blog via FTP (file transfer protocol).
You will need to locate the files in your theme that you want to edit and change permissions on them to 755, which means they are now editable. To do this, right click on them (on a PC) and choose “permissions”, make change and hit ok.
Now, you can edit your theme files directly through your Wordpress login in your browser. Login, go to “presentation”, choose “theme editor” and you’ll see a list of the files your blog uses. You can now edit those files.
AsktheBlogger Short Video Explanation!
Now comes the tricky part. Where do I place the ads?
This can be a tad scary for people who aren’t Internet geeks. If you’re placing an ad in your sidebar, you locate the theme file probably called “sidebar”, then place the ad code (for example Google Adsense) in that file, wherever you wish it to appear. You may have to place it and save the page and then view it to see how it looks, then come back and move it around till you get it where you want it to appear.
It’s gets even more tricky when you want to put ads in or around your blog content. AskTheBlogger suggests looking into the Wordpress support community for answers. Here is a link to get you started.
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