A couple of days ago I interviewed Interviewed web entrepreneur Joel Comm who authored the e-book What Google Never Told You About Making Money with Adsense (affiliate link).
Since that time I’ve had a number of emails from people asking for my opinion of the book as they are considering making a purchase of it so I thought I should give you a brief review here to help readers work out if its the book for them.
I should say right up front that I’ve been using Adsense for over 18 months now on my blogs and whilst I won’t pretend I know everything there is to know about the program, I would classify myself as an advanced user of the system. It makes up a significant part of my income from blogging.
So with this in mind I’ll say the following about Joels E-book:
– What Google Never Told You About Making Money with Adsense is a 55 page e-book which is full of good solid adsense advice. Joel uses real examples to illustrate his tips. The e-book is well laid out and is easy to look at and read.
– It is not tailored specifically for blogs but information contained in it is easily adapted to blogs.
– Joel does mention one other product within his e-book that costs money, however the rest of his tips are free.
– Joel makes $15,000 per month from Adsense – I can see why from his tips. They are good tips, sensible tips and easy to implement.
– Joel writes in an easy to read fashion – his tips are accessible to even beginning publishers.
– I would classify Joels tips as excellent for beginners to medium users of Adsense. As someone who has been using the program for 18 months I did not read too much (if anything) that was new to me. However I still think it was worth the purchase price for me as it reminded me of a few tips that I’d forgotten or gotten slack with. I’m pretty sure that the tweaks I made as a result of these reminders will earn me more than the book cost over the next few months. Likewise I would expect that beginner and medium Adsense publishers who follow Joels tips should find themselves making their money back.
– The only qualification I’ll make to this statement is that to be successful with Adsense you will need at least a good basic traffic level for your blog. You can have the best optimized ads in the world on your blog and have no or little traffic and you’ll never make much. So I’m suggesting that you take a more holistic approach to earning money from your blog and not only work on your ads but also other areas of your blog (see my archives for hundreds of tips on the many facets of improving your blog).
– Joel offers a 100% money back guarantee and writes – ‘‘I’m sure this will work for you, and so committed to see that it does, that if you apply the simple techniques I’ve outlined in my ebook and you don’t see results within 30 days, I will personally review your site and make suggestions to help you increase your AdSense revenue. If you’re still not satisfied, I’ll refund your purchase price in full!’
– I find Joel’s story pretty inspiring. He’s someone who has really harnessed the power of Adsense for the good of him and his family. In a relatively short time he’s found himself a very decent income for himself.
– Each Adsense expert has their own particular style of using the program. Its worth remembering that Joel is sharing from his own experience on his own sites. Use his tips as starting points – but as he recommends you should make them your own and experiment with them on your own site.
So should you buy What Google Never Told You About Making Money with Adsense? Only you can really answer that question but I’d give it some consideration depending upon the level of your experience with the program. Whilst I didn’t learn a lot from it I’m glad to have read it and won’t be asking for my money back because it’s given me food for thought on a few areas. In short – its a great introduction to Adsense and will give newer users a fantastic head start (I wish I’d read it 18 months ago). If you’re more experienced with Adsense you might use it as a refresher course – or maybe give it a miss if you are happy with what you know.
If you want to ask me clarification questions or have had some experience with it yourself please feel free to leave your thoughts in comments below.
Update: Joel has recently updated this e-book significantly. It now has many more tips and pages and is updated to include some of the newer Adsense features. While the first version was probably more targetted at a beginner level – the newer version is more helpful for intermediate users of Adsense.
Update: Joel has also released a couple of other similar ‘secrets’ book which you might like to try out also:
I am just beginning to evaluate my use of Adsense on my blog and just by following some of your tips (moving my ads to the top right of my blog for instance) has made a huge difference. The question for me when trying to decide whether I should order this e-book is whether it will be helpful to a site like mine that blogs about rock and roll? I don’t think that this is the type of subject that attracts big ads. The other issue is of minimum traffic. While my site is growing, it only attracts 30,000 – 32,000 page views a month. To me that’s great but I wonder how much I can expect to get out of Adsense. I am making money with Adsense but it is measured in coin not bills!
I am looking at trying to better utilize my affiliate programs and Ad Sense so that together they can hopefully cover my site expenses. The other issue is I have been burned before on things like this so I am naturally quite wary.
I understand your concern Mark.
I agree that adsense is probably not ever going to pay you massive amounts per click. Your blog might be better suited to affiliate programs like Amazon’s and other CD/music ones.
Having said that, and please don’t take offence at this, your use of Adsense on your blog could improve a lot – whether by using Joel’s book or whether you do it by yourself (or reading my Adsense section :-) )
Moving it to the top is the first move but there are plenty of other tips around that could take it to yet another level.
Again – whether you buy the book is really your own decision but I’d encourage you to keep working on your blog and I’m sure that as you grow it in terms of traffic and design you’ll continue to see your adsense earnings increase.
No offence taken at all. I signed up for Adsense in November and Amazon a couple of months before that but have really not integrated them well into the site. Moving the ads was but the first step but now I will try and tweak both the site and my Adsense ads and then from there move on to my affiliates. I just discovered this site but it has become quite helpful in the short time that I have been reading. The Adsense section is what originally hooked me.
Kudos.
2 things
1. Whilst you’ve got the link to the e-book marked (aff. link) I think you need to note more strongly that you are potenitally profiting from the revue, just to be on the safe side, I mean, I picked it up straight away but others might not
2. The problem with any ebook promoter in using “celebrities” to promote the e-book on the page is that you can always visit their site to work out what the great advice is. I won’t give the secret here, but I know you’ve previously discussed the issue yourself Darren, one visit to Lockergnome sorts its out! Now if only I had the time and inclination to implement the strategy myself!
1. thanks Duncan – have changed it to read ‘affiliate link’ – hopefully thats clear enough now.
2. You’re right – some of the advice in Joel’s book can be gleaned by looking at those who talk about his book. Some of it is more obvious than others. There isn’t just one ‘secret’ in the e-book, in fact as I said above I didn’t find any of it particularly new to me because I’d seen it all written before in different places on the net and have written a lot of it myself – however the helpful thing about what Joel’s done is that he’s put it all in one spot and laid it out in an easy to comprehend and use way.
Anyway – I’m hoping that my write up isn’t seen as me just trying to make money from the affiliate link – I’ve tried to be balanced and tell it like I see it.
Don’t buy this book — it’s a total waste of money. You can find the same tips by searching at google.com.
[…] The product I’ve seen the most success with is Joel Comm’s What Google Never Told You About Making Money with Adsense (affiliate link) which I reviewed here. I think I had some good results with this product because I’d personally read and used it and gave an honest appraisal with it for my readers. Personal recommendations are important with all affiliate sales – but especially with Clickbank as some of their products have a pretty average reputation. […]
[…] The best results I’ve had from affiliate programs are where I give an open and honest appraisal of the product – including both it’s strengths and weaknesses. The most successful affiliate program I’m involved with here at ProBlogger is Joel Comm’s e-book which I reviewed here. If you read the review you’ll see that I not only tell readers who I believe the book is for but I also mention those it is NOT for. In a sense I critique it. On a surface level one might think that this wasn’t a wise move and that I should have given a glowing review – however the sales that I’ve had through the program have proven otherwise. People want to know what they are buying first and even if they know a product has limitations they will buy it if it meets their particular need. […]
I made course on this topic http://spivak.pl.ua
interested in independent review
Wow, how much did you get paid to write a positive review?
Duncan, “The problem with any ebook promoter in using “celebrities” to promote the e-book on the page is that you can always visit their site to work out what the great advice is”
I think what is not big problem here . You can just on you brine )
Duncan, “Don’t buy this book — it’s a total waste of money. You can find the same tips by searching at google.com. ”
I searching from google.com. most of them are fake. Which one should I believe.
[…] Adsense Secrets – My Review […]
Adsense Gold und MyBlogLog: Investition in die Zukunft
Ich habe heute meine Adsense Einkünfte des letzten Monats investiert, um noch mehr aus meinen Blogs heraus zu holen.
Investition 1: MyBlogLog
Wir Blogger möchten gerne wissen, woher unsere Besucher kommen und wohin sie gehen, wenn sie unse…
[…] All in all, AdSense is doing quite well for me. There is a wealth of information about Google AdSense available all over the Internet. A good source of information is the AdSense category on problogger.net, and more specifically Darren Rowse’s review on What Google Never Told You About Making Money with Adsense. […]
I am in the process of reading it now…I make a modest income from Adsense but would like to see it rise.
Sounds like a waste of money to me. Just google search adsense tips and you will find plenty. Just my honest opinion.
I am just starting out with ADsense and making a whopping $9.45 a MONTH! lol, hopefully this ebook and get rid of that decimal and add some zeros.
tks!!!it’sa good book for me.i need
[…] Even Cursory Associations Can Kill In the wake of this fiasco, some prominent bloggers have been brought into the picture as a result of their relationships with Joel Comm, prior or current. For example, the whole problem started with Yaro’s promotion of Joel Comm’s free AdSense e-Book – where there were some connotations of his endorsement of Joel’s Instant AdSense Templates as well. Later, a reader pointed out Darren Rowse’s review of Joel Comm’s popular AdSense e-Book, which Duncan Riley did not “flame” as much as the AdSense Templates – highlighting perhaps some measure of hypocrisy. All this just goes to show that any links you might have with anybody can hurt you, especially on the web where associations can be found with a single Google search. This perhaps implies a need to conduct in-depth and continuous research before beginning any sort of “endorsement” relationship (which is actually rather ridiculous to expect anyone to do, of course). […]
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I did feel the “conceptualization” was pretty professional, other than that (like I’ve mentioned it on his forum too) he quotes nothing more than google TOS, “blending of ads” ie tweaking them and of course his experiences with certain ads like the “banner ad” which he says does not work well, and people tend to ignore them at the drop of a hat.
I’d rather prefer to adsense videos by Michael Cheney – he tells you how you can increase that CTR rate, rather than just bring in the revenue via zillions of visitors to your website.
Joel Comm’s Ebook does not quote anything out of the ordinary, most of that information as mentioned by many is commonplace, can be found in google help sections, on ebay and on most forums too, although some “tit bits” is something “you learn everyday”.
Overall, his ebook, left me “unsatisfied” and lacked that punch which I so every much wanted to see and read.
He does not mention that he owns 15+ (my estimation is more) websites, and I feel the “brand name sells” factor is the primary reason he manages to sustain those earnings month after month.
Hes far from being an adsense “guru” just smart enough to latch onto something like google adsense since early 1990s, and that the key reason hes so well known on the net with regards to adsense.
Rohan
http://forex4riches.com
I am not dogging this book, but there are so many FREE resources out there that offer great SEO advice. Problogger, Searchengineguide.com, and even Google themselves offer help!
Take these lines seriously by “Darren” in account before purchasing this e-book.
”
The only qualification I’ll make to this statement is that to be successful with Adsense you will need at least a good basic traffic level for your blog. ”
Darren never lies. Thats assure.
I get Darren’s Newsletter and it is great ! Keep it up Darren. But I think you need to send one out more often.
Anyway, about the book. Yes lots of info is available on the net …its information overload when AOL starts advertising on TV about watching their videos online :) ….So I agree with John W. & Rohan that lots of info is still available on the net for free including right here on Darren’s Blog. And according to Sandeep, he hits the nail on the head when he points out what Darren has already mentioned….if your blog/website does not have a good basic level of traffic you might want to work on that before seeing revenues rise via Adsense.
Exhaust all your avenues then make the move to learning more of the tricks and tips from the e-Book ! Just my 2 cents or should I say 2 paise ! :)
[…] The best results I’ve had from affiliate programs are where I give an open and honest appraisal of the product – including both it’s strengths and weaknesses. The most successful affiliate program I’m involved with here at ProBlogger is Joel Comm’s e-book which I reviewed here. If you read the review you’ll see that I not only tell readers who I believe the book is for but I also mention those it is NOT for. In a sense I critique it. On a surface level one might think that this wasn’t a wise move and that I should have given a glowing review – however the sales that I’ve had through the program have proven otherwise. People want to know what they are buying first and even if they know a product has limitations they will buy it if it meets their particular need. […]
[…] The product I’ve seen the most success with is Joel Comm’s What Google Never Told You About Making Money with Adsense (affiliate link) which I reviewed here. I think I had some good results with this product because I’d personally read and used it and gave an honest appraisal with it for my readers. Personal recommendations are important with all affiliate sales – but especially with Clickbank as some of their products have a pretty average reputation. […]
Thanks. I think I’ll hold up on reading it for now, though, since I don’t get but 500 or so hits per day.
Hi to all. I own this book already and I’d like to say all the best about that. The fact is there’s no big secrets inside, but the small ones tripled my AdSense income in just few weeks.
That’s practical book with things that anyone webmaster should read and know at all. Almost anything covered inside is possible to find at Google Search Engine, but it would consume a lot of my time. This book is much more comfortable way to learn instead “Googling” for hours :)
Sorry about my bad English, but it’s not my native language. I am from Croatia.
Bye
Well this is interesting article but i don`t believe it.
I think that no one will tell you for that kind of secret!
Or that kind of knowledge no one cannot understand just like that!
You’re not being very straight here are you? This is an affiliate link – in other words you get paid every time someone clicks through to this jerks site and buys his ebook or program. This guy or his affiliates have been spamming me non-stop ever since I foolishly asked for some so-called free information on Adsense. And reading what he has to say my advice to anyone looking to learn about Adsense is to save your money and just learn what you can for free in forums. BTW Joel Comm’s latest email today was all breathless about how you could get massive amounts of traffic from YouTube and other video-sharing sites just by buying one of his programs that would submit your killer video to all the video-sharing sites out there. WOW. It was dated Novemeber last year. That’s a lifetime in this game. But I had a look at his crappy video. Guess what? It’s had about 5,000 views in 11 months. Pathetic. If you want traffic from videos and you want Google to list you in its Search – make a decent video – and put it on your blog. To get traffic, cheat. Put a booby shot as a thumbnail – at exactly halfway use a still. YouTube (the only one worth bothering with as it gets HUGE traffic) uses that still as the thumbnail. Put a booby shot or at least a sexy shot and you’ll get traffic. It also helps to use all the sexy keywords you can find – or copy the keywords from other successful videos. So yeah…I’m fed up with all these Adsense scammers.
Malcolm – I’m not sure how you can say I’m not being straight here. Directly after the link I say (affiliate link). I think that that’s very transparent.
I’ve followed a link back here Darren. Apologies – I must have missed the “affiliate link” bit. It’s still advertorial though. That’s alright – I do the same. But I won’t endorse something if it’s a stinker. BTW Brad Callen gives heaps of free info on Adsense campaigns. I’ve given up on making significant money off it. I get good traffic but the Adsense results are very patchy. And it’s ridiculous when they serve you ads that make a cent.
BTW Joel Conn was on to something with his video-sharing thingo. It has the cheesiest name – “Traffic Geyser” but I’ve just been using a trial version for a week (costs you your credit card details and $1) and it is AWESOME. To borrow a phrase from a well-known Australian TV marketer of Goo Remover – “I’m Excited”. Using that program DOES get you to the top of Google. And pretty quick too – within the hour in most cases. I’ve seen one video I made, “Getting Your Videos on Top of Google”, go to #1 on Google up against 16.3 Million other listings. Its been there 2 days. Now some of you will say “so what?” but the thing is I’ve got 302 videos on YouTube and a few of them have got a million views or so but most languish with only several hundred. So any help is vital. And heres the other thing (this is the key to it all) – you can make a simple video without even having a video camera – you can use digital images and audio and put it in a video format – so any text, any business, any bunch of images can be promoted by having them dominate the Search Engines (Google mainly). Another video I made – “Video Sydney Harbour Cruises” occupies the top five spots on Google – but with only 564k listings. More on my site. Thanks mate.
Here are good conversations about these tips.
@Darren,
After looking at others comments, I am wondering that if we have to get very huge number of page views for our site to earn decent money it may also mean that the ratio of earnings with no. of views may not be really good with Adsense.
If we cannot earn decent money with thousands of visitors a day, then what is the point in having such traffic? May be all that traffic is not because of new visitors but because of returning visitors..