Not long after Head Rambles was launched, I signed up with Google Adsense.
It seemed like a fair way of covering expenses, and I had heard good [and bad] reports about them.
Before long, I discovered that the only way to make significant gains was to make the ads the primary function of the site, with the content running second.
I hate sites where I have to pick my way carefully around banners and Google links. It’s irritating in the extreme and gives the strong impression that the site owner is more interested in making money than in imparting information.
After running Google Adsense for a couple of years, I have decided it just isn’t worth it. Taking into account the irritation they cause to readers and the server overheads slowing down the site, and balancing that against the pittance that was being earned, I decided to strip them off the site as soon as the payment level was reached.
I reached that level a couple of weeks ago, and the cheque should be in the post shortly. As soon as I hit the magic mark, I removed all traces of Google Adsense from the site. Plugins were removed and all coding in the template was erased. Good riddance.
What is very strange though is that I’m still earning. Within the last two weeks or so, my earnings have continued to grow at their customary snails-pace.
I like that.
Good on ya, Google!