Should you use Google Adsense to try and make money from your blog traffic?

I’ve done it in the past, but not currently on any of my blogs or sites that are tied to my name, our family or my business.

Here’s the problem with putting Google Ads on your blog: we work hard to earn the loyalty and trust of our readers and customers. It’s easy to lose that trust. Google ads are uncontrolled, full of gimmicks, scams and junk sites. By making money off them via our loyal readers, we abuse their trust in us. We’re making a fast buck and trading their trust for it.

You CAN control the Google ads to a small degree, but I can tell you from experience, it’s impossible to keep OFF ads that you don’t want, ads that will offend your audience, ads that will send out the message you approve of something you don’t really approve of, and ads that are gateways to scams and gimmicks.

You ask your users, by implication, to trust you… they enjoy YOUR content and assume ALL the content on your site meets your approval and you promote it. Your trusting readers are subjected to ads you can’t control, products you haven’t tested, researched or used yourself, and the onslaught of junk sites, gimmicks and traps. I used Adsense for years and finally had to embrace the truth about them, even though I lost income.

Even now, it really “pinches” me because I could be using Google ads to fund the operation of MckLinky – but it would make me a hypocrite. You may have to give up income too because Google Adsense CAN be a source of revenue for sure… however, you have to choose between respect for your loyal blog friends, and a quick buck.

IF Google comes through with a way to properly control what shows on your blog, then I’ll let you know. If they already have, and I just haven’t heard, please let me know.

You can never go wrong by protecting the loyalty and earned trust of your clientele, and open season Google Ads gives a “low rent” taste to a website or blog.

That’s just my opinion and experience, which a LOT of people will disagree with.

~ Brent

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