Adsense phobia
So I asked for site feedback recently, which I got, and gave in return and mostly it made me very happy.
Then, I found a message which made me go cold;
"You website looks cute and fun! Just noticed though, the ads or links you included in the about page was not really a good fit, e.g. bitcoin or financial advice. Would be great if you included related and relevant links/ads in the post itself."
I don't have any adverts for bitcoin or financial advice!
I don't have ANY adverts at all!!
BUT, what I did do, when I was playing around and getting ahead of myself, was start to set-up an adsense account, just to see if my site would be accepted. Given that Google is to be our friend in this great adventure I thought I would toss the dog a bone and suggest to Google that there may be a friendly website around and would it like to come over and play sometime. Sometime SOON, ie not yet. Like waving to a new neighbour that moved in across the street but not being ready to invite them over for coffee yet or have their mucky kids round for a play date with mine.
I got the message back that I would be accepted by Google and it provided me with a piece of code to seal the deal. But I am pretty sure I didn't action it yet. If I did, I don't remember. Maybe I am more menopausal than I give myself credit for. Maybe the sleep-walking has started again and given that my brain is purely focussed on WA and my website these days, I got up in the night and did it??
I'm pretty sure neither of these is true, in case you were starting to worry for the sanity of a middle-aged woman pictured above wearing a unicorn wig :-/ I have no history of sonambulism, but I do have a tendency to meddle with things I don't know much about.
Now, my understandig of Adsense is that by the miracle of cookies, and browsing history and other voodoo, adsense simply shows you what you want to see. When I look at my site on my laptop, there are no adverts whatsoever. Then again, I have an adblocker enabled! When I look at it on my phone however there are adverts so I guess those pesky unicorns have been fiddling with the code when I was sleeping...
What I do see on my phone however is all fluffy and loveliness; adverts for shoes, clothes, furniture, cheap tat from China, unicorny-things. Basically, the adverts hold a mirror to my browser history and like the Wicked Queen in Snow White I only see what I want to see until that fatal day when the mirror tells the queen the truth - there are adverts for boring ugly things on your pink girlie website.
So I am throwing this open to my trusted buddies on here;
Have I inadvertently activated Adsense?
Should I stop it right now?
Is it actually a good or bad thing if I have triggered it?
Can I affect what it shows to people or should I just trust it to 'do the right thing'?
Here is my link, please tell me what you see?
https://unicorneverything.co.uk/
Recent Comments
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Great post Ally, humorous and informative. Your site is great also. I feel so carefree when I am there. I only got 2 ads and they were both the same. Sorry I can't give any advice, I am not there yet. I hope you solve the problem and I look forward to following the progression on your site.
Thank you for your kind comments, you've really made me smile this evening. Thank you :-)
Hi - the ads weren't too intrusive but they did repeat themselves. In your latest article there were 6 ads, but the first 2 were exactly the same, then the next 2 were a different ad, but repeated twice and the same for the final 2.
Hi Diane
Thank you for taking time out to look. I am going to head over the the Google Academy today and check out some training. I believe it is possible to limit the number of these adverts and have more control over where they are placed.
Thanks for the feedback, it is much appreciated.
Hi - I just had another look out of curiosity. This time, there are still 6 ads, but they are all exactly the same, advertising anti-virus software.
I just checked your site. Your adsense banners and texts are well laid out attractively and enticingly as I see in many other blogs I've visited.
The one above the fold is relevant to what I do on my computer so I guess you're right about the cookie thing.
As to whether you should do or leave Adsense, my most honest advice is to do it, at least for the side income you'll get.
However, if any time soon you change your mind and want to trash Adsense, don't forget to take your earnings first. I can take a share too. lol!
Thanks Lawal
I just need to find a way to view my site as others see it and then I can decide if the banners are overkill or not. Thank you for kindly taking the time to check it out for me, it is much appreciated.
Yes your posts are full of ads.
Should you stop? Check the income they generate and then decide.
Good or bad? Check the income.
No you cannot change anything, this is all dependent on the search history of your visitor.
Thank you jvranjes
When you say 'full of' do you mean to the detriment of the site? Is there a way to limit the number of these that appear?
I see 8 ads in the last post. I guess you can see them yourself if you go incognito.
I also have many of them with Mediavine, but they generate a 4 figure income. So this should tell if they are harmful or not.
How to limit? Check in your ads settings. I assume you are using AutoAds, I used them earlier but forgot details.
By the way, one shows me glamping in Slovenia, this tells you how they work, you cannot choose what they show.
Thank you for checking for me. 8 sounds like a lot :-/ I don't know how to go incognito, other than looking at the site via my phone but I suspect that changes the appearance in a different way.
I have very little idea what I am doing I'm afraid. The website is in its infancy, I am the only regular visitor. I will seek out some adsense training, there might be something up to date on youtube I hope.
Thanks again for taking time out for me like this, I really appreciate your help.
If you do not have traffic, remove all ads, this is pointless. Wait until you have at least 100 - 200 per day or so. Remove the code from where you added it.
Incognito - see the three vertical dots in the upper right corner of your browser, so click there.
Hmmm...I will be honest and tell you that I don't know much about Adsense but I did want to thank you for the post in case any of us WA buddies have that problem! I also wanted to thank you for giving me the giggles first thing in the morning (it's morning here, at least :) )
Best of luck on your journey to success!
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I went there on my laptop and saw nothing, but I may have forgotten if I have an ad blocker. BTW, your statement about Amazon should be at the top of the page, at least in the U.S.And loved your story about raising a unicorn!
Thank you for your kind words, if I can entertain a writer then that is praise indeed.
I banished adsense back to whence it came. If I learn to control it, it may be allowed to return.
I think I'm ok with the Amazon footer as it's a UK site, but I don't know for sure. Certainly other UK blogs I subscribe to have theirs equally low key. I'm more worried about not having a humongous 'this site uses cookies' pop-up on the landing page. At some point I will investigate that further, when I start getting visitors that is.