Adsense Guide for South African Dummies by A Dummy

Siya Mava

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Hey SA newbie bloggers or aspiring bloggers! No offence intended for calling you dummies ;). I am a dummy though, and proud.

Reason I decided to start this thread is because I have seen quite a number of Adsense related questions about the Google Adsense program. I figured most fellow SA citizens are either clueless or confused about Adsense.

I will only provide some basics in regards to Google's biggest ad network for bloggers – Adsense.



Disclaimer: As I said, I am dummy when it comes to this stuff, corrections here and there will be highly appreciated!



First things first, what is Adsense?
Adsense is a nice way to monetize your site traffic, and very easy to implement. It's one of my top ways of making money on the internet. It's a great program that can help you drive additional income to your website -- especially if it's mostly content based.

To add to the above, Adsense is a CPC (cost per click) ad network, they do pay for impressions to, but it's little money you wont even notice. Adsense clicks can be as low as 1c per click! Not sure how high they can go, but the highest click I have experienced was last month at R76. That is rear case (at least on my case), but I am sure it has happened to others too. {What's the highest CPC you have received? Love to know.}

Oh, Yes! A lot of Money can be made with Adsense!

Here's my cheque, it's just a tip an iceberg, you can make 10x this with Adsense!
attachment.php


Registration Phase:
Note: It has been more than 3 years since I signed up for Adsense, so I might make a few mistakes on registration phase. All RED pens are very welcome!

But I do know it does not cost you a single cent to register.

Step 1:
You need to Register for Adsense via this link: https://www.google.com/adsense/signup

I will not walk you through this, the fact that you are reading this means you know how to navigate a web page – almost forgot, you probably have a blog to! :)

Stuff worth mentioning though:


  • You will need at least one (verified) Google.com account (Gmail, Google+ etc) before you sign up for Adsense.


  • Be at least 18 years old.


  • Provide a VALID postal address. Last time I checked, PO Boxes were not allowed.




After submitting your application, Google will review your site to check if it complies with the Adsense program policies. Drugs or adult related sites are a no-no. If it does comply, you will receive an "application successful" email within a few days of applying.


What now?
You wait! Why? Because your registration is not done yet. Adsense has sent you a letter (probably your first from overseas :) ) with a verification code. You will need to input this code on your newly created Adsense account. After then you account will be fully active.

Note: I don't remember completely, but I think you will be able to generate the code for ads to display on your website in the meantime. But Adsense will not make a payment before you put the verification code for your address. {can someone clarify here?}



Step 2:
Read the program policies, it's very important! Do it before you even place ads on your blog! Those guys are so strict, I have heard a lot stories of people who got their account banned! Of all those stories I read, there's a 0% success with trying to recover from a ban!


Here are a few Adsense policies you MUST know:

  • You may not place ads on websites/blogs which do not have a "Privacy Policy" page.


  • NEVER ask someone to click on your ads, let it happen naturally! They have some way of finding out when it's done purposely LOL #TrueStory

  • This goes without saying, but Never click the ads yourself, not even by mistake, DONT TEST them!


  • Never display ads in pop-ups or pop-unders.


  • You should not reveal your click-through rates or other statistics found on the Adsense program. (you may however reveal your program earnings.)


For a full list of policies, visit this link: https://support.google.com/adsense/...o&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=ww-ww-et-asfe_

Please read the policies, for your own pocket's sake!



Step 3:
Now that you have familiarise yourself with the program policies, it's time to put the ads. If you are dummy like me, you know almost zero about HTML, you will need a help of a Plug-in called AD Inserter so you may put your ads almost anywhere you want on your website. Here's the link to the plugin download page: http://wordpress.org/plugins/ad-inserter/

Note: That plug-in is only for Wordpress site, I am clueless about other blogging platforms. {Perhaps someone knows a thing or two?}

The are loads other plug-ins for the job, but I personally use the one I mentioned. Why? Because it works – at least for me!



Important to note about ad placement:

Adsense has what they call content ads (or Adsense for content), Adsense for search and link unit ads.

Image: adsense for content
adsense for content.png

Image: link ads
adsense link ads.png

Image: Adsense for search
adsense custom search.PNG

Please Note: Publishers may place up to three Adsense for content ad units on each page. Publishers can place more than one of all ad sizes except the 300x600 on each page. In addition to three Adsense for content ad units, publishers may also place up to three link units and two search boxes on each page.

Now what?
Cross your fingers and hope people will click on your ads! Kidding, dont just cross your fingers. Write useful content, and more content!

Don't be tempted to click the ads yourself! If your blog is still new, it will take time so be patient. On my first month, I made R15! Yep, not R1500. But on my second blog's first two weeks I made over R400, only because I had gained a better understanding of how to go by.

To avoid having very low paying ads on your site, there's a list of "made for Adsense sites" which pay ridiculously low! You need to blacklist those. if you need the list, feel free to request it via PM.



Step 4:
Receiving and cashing your first Adsense cheque will probably be one of the best achievements on your blogging career – it was for me!

What do you need to cash your Adsense cheque in South Africa?


  • An account with any of the SA Banks (yes, including Capitec).


  • Take it to the tellers, they should change it like any other cheque (don't be intimidated when they look at the cheque like they just saw a spooky!).


  • You Adsense cheque is "Non Transferable", meaning it will take a minimum of seven working days to clear (it's usually a day quicker than that with FNB, not sure with other banks. {mind clarifying?} )


  • I think a fee for depositing the cheque differs with every bank. It only cost me R8 on my Gold cheque account with FNB, regardless of the cheque amount. {How much does it cost on your bank?}


Note: Some bank branches may not be able to cash your Adsense cheque because it is treated as foreign! I know the cheque is in RANDS, but it is still treated as foreign! Not all FNB branches deal with foreign cheques (or currencies), this might apply to your bank to.

Yes, Google does have an EFT option, it's just not available for us lovely South Africans.



Note:

  • Before you can be paid you must reach a threshold of R1 000. It's a big number if your blog is new, could take you between 3 – 5 months!
Adsense does give you an insight of how much you have made for the day, yesterday, for the month so far and the previous month. It looks something like the image below:
adsense.PNG

  • Your cheque will take approximately three weeks to arrive from the Adsense HQ (it's usually shorter than that).


  • If your cheque gets lost for some reason, you can request another cheque from Adsense at no cost.




I ran out of questions you may have with Adsense, so for anything, please comment!

Message to the Pros: We would appreciate your 1K on top of our 1c :)



I will appreciate if you can correct any mistake I made in regards to Adsense. Please do not correct any spelling mistake or any other "gramatical" error, it's soooo irrelevant! Dont be a douche! ;)
 
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Wait so I don't need PayPal to use adsense?
 
Are those estimated earnings taken from your sites?
 
Wait so I don't need PayPal to use adsense?

No, Adsense does not use PayPal.

You have some "to the point" kind of blog there. Why not use paid hosting and and maybe change domain name? It will look more professional. Just A Suggestion

Are you a photographer?
 
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Hehe. Again? Adsense don't use Paypal. There's no EFT option for S. Africans as well. You are issued a cheque.

LOL I thought I was seeing things! Thought Maybe I looked too much on a computer screen today! :D
 
What's the fastest turnaround for a cheque for you personally?

I am not sure if I understand your question. Do you mean the fastest time it takes for me to reach the threshold? Or the time it takes for the cheque to arrive?
 
I am not sure if I understand your question. Do you mean the fastest time it takes for me to reach the threshold? Or the time it takes for the cheque to arrive?

I apologise for the obscurity. The time it took to arrive.
 
I apologise for the obscurity. The time it took to arrive.

Ok. normally they send it around the 23rd of each month. Then it arrives around the 7th following month, that's 2 weeks+. So it should land on mail box anytime this week.
 
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