Question: I would like to know how to put ads on my blog that relate to my interests. I speak of daily things that happen in my life, my love for cooking, my family, etc. I have even mentioned some sites that I order from like Amazon UK, I am also selling a property. Yet I only get stupid non-related ads! How do I fix this? I don’t even know how to get people to follow my blog. Help! Thanks. – Luisa
Even after following all the advice in my post about Why Aren’t My Adsense Ads Relevant, it is very likely you will still see what you consider non-relevant ads appearing on your blog. Especially given the varied topics covered by your site.
Luisa gave me the actual blog address, and I spent some time looking at the topics, structure, hosting, and of course the google adsense ads being displayed. Here is what I found out.
- Having a blogspot URL/domain name can trigger ads for blog software, autoresponse software, mailing list software, etc. just by having the term “blog” in the domain name.
- Several little things boil down to one big truism when it comes to personal blogs like yours:
Personal blogs by their very nature do not make the best blogs to put adsense on.
The topics are too varied, the scope of the site is too large, and google gets confused about what your blog is actually about. Unless you are Wil Wheaton, Justin Bieber or a celebrity, personal blogs are one of the toughest to get started, obtain readers, and obtain advertising.
Why don’t advertisers like personal blogs?
Easy – visitors to personal blogs are not as likely to actually click on the ads and buy something. The audience for a personal blog is comprised of a completely different mindset than those who visit a niche topic blog and who may be ready to buy or research a product. Visitors to a personal blog come to read your experiences and stories. The visitors to a niche blog on say paraplegic skydivers are there to not only read the author’s topical posts, but perhaps to book their next adventure, buy equipment, read reviews, etc.
Two completely different audiences.
That is not to say a personal blog is looked down upon, or a personal blog is not “worth” doing – not at all. You just have to be honest with yourself that a personal blog is not generally not going to achieve the type of monetary success an actual niche blog would have. If I were in your position, I would remove all the adsense ads from your personal blog and start up another blog just about your cooking passion. Link from your personal blog over to your cooking one. Place adsense ads on the cooking one and see what happens.
Chances are your cooking blog, since it is more focused, will attract more visitors. Once they get to know you there, they may jump to your personal blog and get to know you on a different level. You might also consider going deeper with your cooking blog and focus on a particular style of cuisine.
Personal or general topic blogs are extremely hard to monetize, I hope this gives you some guidance.