The Emergence of Adsense (2003)
The new hands-free, community run design was progressing very well. I discovered that the site was much more useful to folks when they could get help from the community as a whole, rather than just me in the background trying to fulfill various services. The more regular users we had, the more useful the site became. It was a growing, dynamic community that was helping push the design of the site. I would get suggestions almost weekly for new features. Power-users were the most helpful. They were on the site more than I was, and had countless recommendations for improvements. In a sense, the community was building the site up for itself.
In the past, most website advertising had been in the form of banner ads. I tried them for a few years but never made more than a few cents a day here and there. I had also tried programs like Amazon.com and Commission Junction to try and sell products through their affiliate programs. But these programs required a lot work to keep your site and links up-to-date. Plus I just wasn't making any money earning a 5% commission here and there. My site was content driven. It was more of a research/community tool. It was not an ideal place to sell products.
It was around this time I read an interesting article about a new way for websites to earn revenue through contextual advertising. It was called Google Adsense. I have always been a huge fan of Google, so I thought why not try it out?
So one night I signed up and added the code to a few pages on my site. Interestingly, it generated ads that were related to the page, without me having to do any maintenance. What a great concept, and it fit perfectly with my low-maintenance design.
The next morning I woke up and thought I would check out how well this new revenue program really worked. I logged in an saw $2.74 in my account. Now this may seem like a small amount, but to me, it was revenue!
In the past, most website advertising had been in the form of banner ads. I tried them for a few years but never made more than a few cents a day here and there. I had also tried programs like Amazon.com and Commission Junction to try and sell products through their affiliate programs. But these programs required a lot work to keep your site and links up-to-date. Plus I just wasn't making any money earning a 5% commission here and there. My site was content driven. It was more of a research/community tool. It was not an ideal place to sell products.
It was around this time I read an interesting article about a new way for websites to earn revenue through contextual advertising. It was called Google Adsense. I have always been a huge fan of Google, so I thought why not try it out?
So one night I signed up and added the code to a few pages on my site. Interestingly, it generated ads that were related to the page, without me having to do any maintenance. What a great concept, and it fit perfectly with my low-maintenance design.
The next morning I woke up and thought I would check out how well this new revenue program really worked. I logged in an saw $2.74 in my account. Now this may seem like a small amount, but to me, it was revenue!
I continued to tweak my ad placements over the next few weeks. When my first full month was over, I had earned $138.22! I had my first official revenue stream.
Next up... Getting more traffic...
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