I think it could be the weather, because here in NY it’s almost beginning to switch from super hot to comfortably cool.

It may also be that my brain has been pre-programmed to switch to some other gear around this time due to the many years of school starting back up about now.

Then again, it could all just be a crazy coincidence.

Whatever it is, I always seem to end up doing some big time significant things around this time of the year. Some of the many examples:

• You know that case study post I did about how to increase traffic to a new site or blog? Take a look at those traffic stats and pay attention to what month they start at. Yup, the very end of September through October and November.
• You know that post I did about how I increased Adsense revenue from $1,000 per month to $10,000 per month? Nothing in that post actually has a date on it, but it was on October 31st that I first started messing around with the stuff that would go on to cause that increase. I remember literally running back and forth from the computer (to play with Adsense) to the door (to give out candy).
• My very first (real) site – the one that pretty much single-handedly started everything for me and basically put me on the path to where I’m at now – originally started on some shitty free host in 1999. I then redesigned it, moved it to a real host, and registered a domain name for it in 2001. That domain name’s registration date? September 1st, 2001.

Like I said, there’s something wacky about the 3 month span of September, October and November that leads to me starting things that end up being pretty significant in hindsight.

And now, sure enough… it’s happening again.

And a big difference this time around is that I’m going to blog about it all right here.

Blog about what, you ask? The new site I’m about to start working on.

See, this past Saturday (Sept 12th), I had one of those light-bulb-over-head, “I need to write this down immediately” moments.

About 30 minutes later I ended up with this big unorganized mess of thoughts and ideas ranging from stuff as broad as the best way to develop the overall idea and how to market it effectively, to stuff as specific as exactly how the logo should look and the first 3 domain names I should check for availability.

This unorganized mess gradually became bigger and messier over the weekend as I continued thinking about it and adding to it.

So I guess what I’m getting at here is that while I’m still a bit uncomfortable with getting into the really specific specifics of any of my sites (names, URLs, niches, etc.), I will definitely be telling you about everything else there is to tell about this new site, and I’ll be doing it in real time as it’s happening.

This will likely include:

• coming up with and molding this site’s idea/concept
• evaluating its monetization potential
• evaluating my potential competitors
• gauging what type of audience exists for this site and how big this potential audience can become
• naming it
• registering the perfect domain name
• the entire design and development process
• the site’s launch
• the entire marketing process (the part I’m looking forward to the most)
• full traffic stats from day 1
• where that traffic is coming from and what I did to get it
• monetization strategies
• and when the time comes, how much money this site goes on to earn

This is the point when you subscribe if you haven’t already done so. It’s gonna be fun.

In it, I made a pretty bold guarantee that no matter how much money you are currently making from your site or blog, you could definitely be making more.

I even back it up with 2 real life examples of exactly what I mean. Assuming you’ve been reading this blog for longer than a week or two, the first example will not be new to you. But the second example, that will.

So, check it out: How To Make More Money Online

Speaking of that second example, I plan on doing a much more detailed post about it in the future, complete with the results of other similar tests I’ve done/will do.

But forget all of that. The real best part of this post is that, unlike last time, everyone knows who wrote that shit.

Sweet, sweet retribution.

You see that way overly watermarked image to your right? It’s a screenshot from my Adsense account showing my monthly revenue. It’s what I see when I log in, go to “My Account” > “Payment History” and then select “All Time” from the drop down menu.

The reason I needed to select “All Time” is because these numbers are not current. The 9 month span you’re looking at here is actually from a bunch of years ago. However, despite being a bit old, they are still quite relevant and interesting.

How so? Because during those few months, my Adsense revenue increased from about $1,000 per month to about $10,000 per month. Yeah, not too shabby.

What may be even more interesting is the fact that I was only running Adsense on 1 site at the time, and that site had no significant change in traffic whatsoever during this span of time. Traffic remained as consistent as can be.

So uh, I guess the big question now is…

How did you do it?

Alright, brace yourselves. What I am about to tell you is going to blow your f’ing mind.

I tested and experimented.

Shocking right?

Oh, and I had a site that got a significant amount of relevant traffic on a daily basis.

Your mind is blown, ain’t it? Who would have thought?

Alright, sarcasm break. Seriously, what were you expecting here? Some kind of trick? Some big Adsense secret? Are you waiting for me to link to my ebook about unlocking the hidden secrets to becoming an Adsense billionaire? Um, no. Sorry to disappoint.

Although, I am in the early stages of writing “How to unlock the secrets to writing stupid fucking ebooks.” Only $189.99. Look for it in Spring 2018.

Wanna hear an Adsense secret? There is no such thing as an Adsense secret. Anyone trying to sell you one is a moron.

No, seriously, how did you do it?

Well, if you are short on a time, the really quick answer to that question is:

1. I started a site and put in the time and effort needed to turn it into something great, and it went on to get a really nice amount of traffic on a regular basis.
2. I started running Adsense on this site, and tested and experimented with different ad types and placements and all of that fun stuff until my total revenue experienced the growth spurt you see on that screenshot above.

Taaadaaa. It’s practically rocket science.

Stop being so sarcastic you a-hole! I want details!

Alright, the longer version goes a little something like this…

Adsense first came to my attention in 2003. It took me until around February 2004 before I actually created an Adsense account. Why the delay? See the guest post I did the other day. I was just way too busy working on creating something great and building an audience for it to be bothered with this “making money” stuff. I practice what I preach, kids.

So I finally get around to setting up an account. Soon after that I pick an ad format and placement (most likely by doing eeny-meeny-miney-mo), copy the code, paste it in the right spots, and called it a day.

The next thing you know, my site is instantly making an additional $1,000 per month. Some months it was $900, some months it was $1,300. On average though, it was an extra $1,000 per month on top of the money this site was already making. Relevant traffic = money. Simple as that.

This seemed fine and good to me, so right back I went to working on what’s really important… creating something great and building an audience for it.

Then a few months passed, and I was updating something on this site when all of a sudden I had this ground breaking idea. “If I put ads here instead of here, I bet I’d make a little more money.” Yup, ground breaking indeed. Instead of actually doing this though, I brushed it off and went right back to working on the very same stuff I mentioned above. You know, the important stuff.

Then a few more months passed, and I re-remembered this little thought. The difference this time is that I finally talked myself into actually making the change and seeing what would happen.

In case you haven’t noticed, I sometimes find it really hard to actively work on making money. I mean, I love creating something capable of making money, and I love the actual making of money, it’s just that I sometimes have a hard time getting myself to focus specifically on money related things. Like ad placements and sales funnels and conversion tracking and that kind of stuff.

I’d much rather work on doing the stuff that makes this stuff actually worth doing in the first place.

So anyway, I finally made this little ad change. And, just as I suspected, more money instantly got made. My monthly Adsense revenue tripled to about $3,000 for the month. Sweet! See the screenshot above for proof. This was the $2991.79 month.

Watching this happen was both awesome and thought provoking. I mean, if a small change like that could make such a difference, I wonder what some other small changes could do? And just like that, I started off on a nearly 3 month long period of some pretty insane testing and experimenting.

I must have literally tried every single ad unit in every single placement on my site. This ad unit here by itself, this ad unit here with another ad unit there. This like this on only these pages, and then this like this on only these pages. Link units here, ad units there, text ads only, image ads only, text AND image ads, border or no border, this color or that color, medium rectangle or large rectangle, banner or leader board, left side or right side, top or bottom, and so on and so on and so on.

Every possible Adsense test and experiment there was to do on this site, I most likely did it.

And with each successful test, revenue shot up instantly. This was probably the coolest part of the whole thing. Like I mentioned earlier, this site was averaging a fairly significant amount of traffic. So, after each little test, I could see right away (I’m talking like 30 minutes later) whether or not it “worked.” This was extra good because I am crazy impatient. There was no way I was going to let a test run for days (or even weeks) at a time. In most cases I called an end to each little Adsense test within an hour or 2 at most. Some I started before I went to sleep and let the “testing” run overnight.

But the big point I am getting at here is that I tested and experimented… BIG TIME. The first batch of changes took me from about $1,000 per month to $3,000 per month. The next batch of changes doubled that to just over $6,000 the following month. The month after that I was at around $8,000, and the month after that… right up there at almost exactly $10,000. Again, see the above screenshot for proof. I included the next 2 months after that to show that this wasn’t just a one time fluke.

And even though the screenshot doesn’t prove it, I am willing to pinky swear that this site’s traffic remained the same the whole time. I’ll also pinky swear that I only had Adsense running on just this 1 site the whole time, too.

What I’m trying to say here is that this entire revenue increase from $1,000 per month to $10,000 per month happened solely as a result Adsense optimization. You know, experimenting with different ad types and placements and colors and sizes and all of that stuff. It’s literally the only thing that made this happen. And yes, I do feel a little dumb for not doing all of this testing from day 1. You are more than welcome to call me a dumbass in the comments.

But this just goes to show you… there’s a damn good reason that the most often heard Adsense tip in the history of Adsense tips is “experiment.” It’s the key, and this post is first hand proof. On second thought, it’s about 50% of the key. The other 50% is actually having a good site with lots of traffic. Duh.

Gee, wonderful story. Now how about some tips?

Alright alright, tips. Here are my tips for increasing your Adsense revenue. If you’ve read anything like this before, it’s doubtful much of this will surprise you:

• Experiment your ass off. Seriously. Test, test and then test some more. There is no better Adsense optimization tip than this.
• Experiment some more. That’s right. When you think you’ve done everything as perfectly as it can possibly be done and your site is earning as much as it possibly can… test some more. Just when you think there is no longer any room for improvement, there is almost always plenty of room for improvement. Use me as an example. At $1,000, I thought “Yup, that’s probably as good as this can be.” At $3,000 I thought the same thing. Thought it again at $6,000 and $8,000 too. At $10,000 I made a mental note to stop being such a dumbass and remember that EVERYTHING can ALWAYS be improved… at least a little.
• Listen to Google. Nearly everything you’ll ever need to know about this stuff can be found on the Adsense help pages. Read all of the optimization tips and case studies. Pay a lot of attention to the heat map. There’s a reason they are making these suggestions. They work. Use them all as a starting point and test from there. Subscribing to the Adsense blog is a good idea, too.
• Enable text AND image ads. At one point I noticed my CTR was higher when only text ads were enabled, so my first (stupid) thought is that I guess only text ads should be enabled then. Funny thing is, when I enabled text AND image ads, my CTR dropped a little, but the amount of money I made per click went up. And in the end, this caused more money to be made despite the slightly lower CTR. Enable both.
• Be creative. I don’t mean be spammy or do weird crazy stuff. What I do mean is that sometimes, just sometimes, there might be one special placement for one special ad/link unit. Something that works amazingly on your site, but probably sucks everywhere else. Something you don’t see in action on other sites or recommended in Adsense optimization articles too often. Something that just happens to work perfectly in your specific situation on your specific site. The site this post is about managed to have something like this. To this day it remains its best performing ad. Keep testing, maybe your site has this too.
• Play with link units. Huge fan of link units here. Another site of mine is borderline ad-free with the exception of a couple of well placed link units. They don’t work well everywhere, and they don’t work well on all sites, but sometimes they are exactly what you need. Keep on testing.
• Do the obvious stuff that has been recommended a billion times before. You know what I’m talking about. Blend the ads into your site, remove the borders, put them within the content, above the fold, ensure the ad with the highest CTR appears first in your code, blah blah blah. The reason this stuff is so often recommended is because it tends to work. The only way to know for sure of course is by testing. So… test.
• Have a really good site that consistently gets a shit load of traffic. If this list was in any order, this would be tip #1. All of the optimization in the world is useless without this. Confused? See my aforementioned guest post.

There you have it. That’s pretty much everything I did to increase my Adsense revenue from $1,000 per month to $10,000 per month while everything else (traffic, number of sites running Adsense) remained consistent the entire time. If you are looking for all of the hidden secrets that you think I am purposely leaving out, you’ll have to buy the ebook that I’m never writing.

And if you’re curious about what my Adsense earnings have been like since this time (once again, this was years ago) or what my Adsense earnings are like today, consider it all added to my growing list of future posts. You are subscribed, aren’t you?

Basically, if someone asked me what the single greatest way to make money online is, this guest post would be my answer.

Check it out: Stop Trying To Make Money Online

For added entertainment, take note at how 99% of the commenters there failed to realize that it was actually a guest post and not a post written by John himself.

Ah yes, the joys of guest posting.