The Search For Keywords — AdSense’s Holy Grail

[Joel Comm]

If I had a buck for every time someone asked me where they can find a list of the highest paying AdSense keywords, I’d never have to optimize another Web page again.

I’d just be able to buy Google.

Top-paying keywords have become the Holy Grail for AdSense publishers: everyone’s looking for them, everyone believes they’re going to bring them untold wealth... and everyone’s got about as much chance of finding them as they have of finding the Grail itself.

That’s not because those keywords aren’t out there (I’m not so sure about the Grail). It’s because they change all the time and — most important of all — they’re different for everyone.

Whenever someone tells me that they want to know about keywords so that they can build a site that makes them a lot of money, I know that they’re never going to make a dime.

You can build a site with the highest-paying keyword in the world, but if the content you create for it isn’t interesting enough to bring in users and keep them coming back, all you’re going to do is build a billboard to put ads. You won’t be building a site that gets clicks and you certainly won’t be creating a site that makes money.

First, pick your content, then find the best keywords to match that topic.

Sounds simple, right? And yet so many people try to take a short-cut by doing it the other way around. It’s just a huge mistake.

I’ve said it before but it’s important enough to keep repeating...

The key to creating a website that generates large numbers of clicks on high-paying ads is to produce a site that you enjoy creating. If you enjoy creating or writing for the site, there are people who will like reading it and visiting it again and again.

Once you’ve done that, you can use one of the many keyword services, either the paid ones or the free ones (there are plenty of good services out there), to see which terms, related to your topic, advertisers are looking for — and paying for.

Sure, that might mean you never get to write about mesothelioma. But you will get to write about subjects that you’re interested in and you’ll be able to make those topics pay your mortgage.

[wwwSENSERELYcom]

It helps if your favorite topic is law, health, banking and all those very boring subjects (to me at least) :)

Indeed it would be more interesting to have those high paying keywords lists summarized in niches so you can have a better view of how different topics are doing, what subject.

[ricklomas]

You are absolutely right Joel (and James who seemed to be writing at the same time as me!). I have loads of sites that are all to do with credit cards, loans and insurance, but the site that earns the most through adsense is one about motorhome hire (http://www.motorhomesdirect.co.uk).
On this site I don't even have adsense on the home page! There are a few phrases within the site that work well though and these get me the most money because they get so much traffic. towing a smart car (http://www.motorhomesdirect.co.uk/cars-to-tow-behind-motorhome.htm) is working very well at the moment as is channel crossings for motorhome (http://www.motorhomesdirect.co.uk/channel-crossings.htm).
In the last example, I am even only targeting the UK population as this is only concerned with ferries between England and France.
I have written more about finding your niche in a page I have just done called Internet Keyword Selection Strategy (http://www.ricklomas.com/internet-keyword-selection-strategy.php):cool:

[shafferb1]

(Oh Joel, you do play with me :) )

High paying keywords have made me more money with Adsense than anything else. The thing though is using them correctly. The one thing to make sure, is that you are using them in a way where the niche that you are promoting is an area when people will make a purchase after clicking on one of your ads. This is what Adsense Smart Pricing is in a nutshell.

I am particularly partial to the 7 part free course on the matter available at:

http://www.adsenseadwords.com/adsense/becomemember.asp

Best Wishes,

Ben Shaffer

[TheUltimatePublishing]

High paying keywords? You mean those which are really competitive? They didn't work for me. I actually made more money from affiliate checks than adsense.

As for writing articles, even if it's on my favorite topic, I can't write, it's too long & painful, I'll just hire a ghostwriter at about US$5-6 per 500 word article.

Keyword research is very important but we don't always go for high paying keywords.

[wm8c]

I think everyone is right in some part of their posts. I definately find it easier to write about things I know and have a passion for but unfortunately, none of those are going to be the "holy grail of keywords" as Joel put it. I have to agree with Ben though. I think the trick is finding a high paying niche and then finding that "obscure" set of keyphrases that will accent your content and entice people to buy.

For example. I have been working on a tageted area of my site that the bids all show should be in the range of $.70 - $3.00 (before Google's cut). The first two weeks the payouts jived with the research. Then all in one day, that changed and it dropped to about a quarter of what it was before, which is where the smart pricing kicked in I'm supposing. I've watched this happen over and over again and it's frustrating to say the least. Are they not buying when they click the ads or? I have never understood this but it's hard to grow your earnings continuously when Google chops it up after few weeks lol!

[golden14]

The most important thing is to go for a keyword tool rather than a keyword list, a keyword tool will help you establish the 'average' price which is just as important as the highest price if not more so.

[Elizabeth]

Great idea! Actually, I'm having a grand time over here writing all kinds of articles about topics I find quite interesting.

Problem is that a certain search engine still claims I do not exist, therefore the only people reading these works of art are myself and a small handful of faithful subscribers that I keep sending over to check out the new stuff.

They say they appreciate it, which I appreciate -- yet my day job is still paying the mortgage. Not as readily as before, I might add, since I've cut back my attention to it in favor of this writing project... :confused: I must be missing something important.

[OnlineGold]

I have seen it work both ways. However I will say that those that write about what they enjoy will definitely be more prone to stick with it and in the end make a much better site that makes more money.

But when you are putting up information sites that are good for the user with high paying keywords as your base you can definitely make a good chunk of money as well!

[strive4impact]

My opinion... high paying keywords may pay you more in the short term, and for the long term, you should have a lot of content dealing with one topic that you're interested in.

I have a single page on one of my sites on a topic I'm interested in which gets over 3,000 impressions and over 100 clicks per day. I tested and tracked this page, and have gotten it to where it consistently produces about $15-20/day. If you figure that out, it means that I'm generally making less than 5 cents/click.

It's a highly searched keyword, but in a very poorly paid for realm of advertising.

$15-$20/day isn't bad, and over the long term, I can likely count on this page to be a solid performer.

There is a lot of money to be made in this arena, period.

Ultimately, it does seem to be best to have a blend: building sites (with other people's articles if necessary) with highly trafficked and highly paid-for keywords to generate revenue as a short-term strategy, and building sites on topics you're actually interested in for the long term business strategy.

Has anyone else been using Adsense Accelerator?

My two cents.

Jonathan Kraft
http://www.identitytheftsecrets.com (currently under redesign)

[strive4impact]

Elizabeth, one of the best ways to get search engines to know you exist is to get a site with a decent Google PR to link to you.

Also, are you sending out your content in an RSS feed?

Just a couple of ideas for getting into the engines.

[phillip.skinner]

Hi one and all ... I think we all know Google are moving the goal-posts
month in month out with google adsense ... obviously because they can!
this income driven concept is wide open to fraud and greed, But as I'm
a member of this forum I can keep track of what's in and what's not and
then again I'm also an avid follower of Joel.Comm, Michael Cheney, Ben Shaffer.
... These guys are walking the talk and paying for there shoe leather with
residual income paid by Google adsense pay-checks ... BUT even there
excellent formula’s are probably having to be tweaked daily-weekly or what
ever it takes to stay in->front of this Google profitable adsense game...

This brings me up to date with a call I was on the other night with
Sean Wu and Jack Humphrey http://ContentAndLinking.com/cal-jack-humphrey.mp3
save me typing on and on listen in this call speaks for its self :eek: HuH!! :D

I think we also know every publisher will have to work a lot harder to keep and earn adsense income
"Learn What No One Is Telling You About Real Authority Site
Publishing On The Web And Why 'Article Sites' Are Totally Dead!"
Tuesday August 22 2006
From: Chris Moos

Find out how to step forward in time and learn how to build sites that CAPITALIZE on the changes in web search traffic and content site profits!

Totally free white paper on the state of internet marketing and content site publishing!
Inside our 21-Page FREE REPORT you’ll learn...

* The Authority Site Formula - the profit-producing Mind Map that outlines the steps you must take to create profitable authority sites.
* Learn the anatomy of a successful authority site - just like any puzzle there are pieces that must be in place for your site rise above the crowd.
* The secrets of Visitor Optimization (VO) and Content Optimization (CO) - the two must-haves in authority site planning and execution.
* The in's and out's of building sites that create return visitors, generate loyal subscribers, and fill your pockets with cash.
* Why Adsense Sites and Mini-Sites are out.. and proof Google is "cracking down" and forcing you to build authority sites.

Just use your first name and primary email below - then click the “Free Instant Access” button to enter (All information kept 100% confidential).
This Important Report Will Be In Your Inbox In A Few Moments!
http://authoritysitesecrets.com/

To the best of Content for you and yours
Phillip Skinner

[Elizabeth]

Thanks for the suggestions, and of course I'm aware that it's desirable to have high PR sites in your niche link to you - the question is how. My main strategy so far has been press releases through PR Web, which so far have not yielded those results. I think the problem must have been with my not getting a unique enough spin on the press release, because both releases that I sent out at the $200 level bombed. I think. I am looking forward to the replay of last Friday's coaching club call - was unable to listen live.

My next ploy is syndicating more articles. I have just begun to tap this. And I do by now have plenty of material that's been posted first on my own sites. :D Just want to edit for syndication so they're not exact duplicates.

Also have been visiting some forums. I've been hard-pressed to find a forum in my niche, which someone suggested may mean I should start one. (Working toward that.)

My blog (Healthy Living DIY - hosted on a separate url from my main website for various reasons) is going out by RSS feed - who reads the feed I'm not sure, but it "pings" several sites everytime I post something. Not yielding much traffic, that's for sure.

Not sure about the logistics of getting RSS feeds from my website article sections - I could look into that. Though I haven't been posting quite as much in those sections due to blasting my blog.

Also, I'm attempting to find someone more technical than myself to generate a google site map - which could help.

[blaire576]

You are absolutely right Joel (and James who seemed to be writing at the same time as me!). I have loads of sites that are all to do with credit cards, loans and insurance, but the site that earns the most through adsense is one about motorhome hire (http://www.motorhomesdirect.co.uk).
On this site I don't even have adsense on the home page! There are a few phrases within the site that work well though and these get me the most money because they get so much traffic. towing a smart car (http://www.motorhomesdirect.co.uk/cars-to-tow-behind-motorhome.htm) is working very well at the moment as is channel crossings for motorhome (http://www.motorhomesdirect.co.uk/channel-crossings.htm).
In the last example, I am even only targeting the UK population as this is only concerned with ferries between England and France.
I have written more about finding your niche in a page I have just done called Internet Keyword Selection Strategy (http://www.ricklomas.com/internet-keyword-selection-strategy.php):cool:

hi ricklomas thanks for the Internet Keyword Selection Strategy link:D

[ricklomas]

hi ricklomas thanks for the Internet Keyword Selection Strategy link:D

I was keeping my fingers crossed with that one as the actual page was using the phrase 'keyword selection strategy" as it has a high KEI.
It worked though....
http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=%22internet%3A+Keyword+Selection+St rategy%22&FORM=QBHP
and I have quite an increased amount of traffic to that site.

BTW I have just written something about using RSS from ebay with a embedded commission junction affiliate ID (http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog&pop=1&ping=1) if you are interested

[strive4impact]

Hey Elizabeth!

One way to get some of the high raning sites in your niche to link to you is to offer them free content. What DIY Health free PDF could you put together and offer up for free on your web site?

BTW, the press releases I've sent have totally BOMBED for me too!

Also Rick, VERY cool tactic you have just demonstrated here on keyword selection strategy.

Also, your idea to syndicate article content is very smart! Where are you submitting articles? There are several available, but it would be interesting to have a list of good article submission sites.

[Elizabeth]

Thanks, Strive4.

Good suggestion on the free pdf. I'm doing that already. (In fact, there is a subscribe box on just about every page where a person might logically enter my website.) The big question is how to cause people to become aware of it. Suggestions on that??? :confused:

I've started experimenting with adwords. My click-through is ok, but conversion when they get to the site isn't as good as I'd like. Still in the experimental phase with a new set that, though. I got better conversion on a different set last yr, but the customers weren't targeted enough -- or my follow-up not persuasive enough -- for them to later buy anything. And I do mean nothing. So I'm trying something slightly different and too soon to tell how it will work.

Here's where they land: http://www.wordcures.com/TransformStress/TransformStressWithTips.html

Part of my current experiment is to see whether offering some tips up front helps or hinders my case. From what I understand, Google looks at it well. The question is will it help conversion or not.

(Notice no AdSense on this page to distract - that's intentional. When they subscribe, I direct them back to the site to pick up one free sample after the next - and there's AdSense on those pages, plus on all the content pages.)

I've tried some classifieds in off-line publications, too. Even though the adwords click-through rate was ok, the classifieds (using about the same ad) didn't do well.

Article publishing @ ezinearticles.com. Which reminds me, time to post some more. But first, gotta move my blog over onto my main domain. That may help.

So many ideas! Now if just they'd start working!

By the way, I got a phone call last week for a newspaper interview from a press release I sent out in May via prweb. I just sent the additional material she requested, so we'll see. A nibble! :cool:

[blaire576]

elizabeth you could also convert those tips to pdf. file so that they could just download it automatically and give ease;) and the header part i think it would be much better if its centered than left indented

[Elizabeth]

Thanks, Blair 576, for checking out the page. :D I appreciate your suggestions!

We do address tips 1-6 in the pdf I hope they'll sign up for at tip 7 - maybe I could point that out somewhere, huh? :rolleyes: (More editing...)

The centering versus left-justify issue isn't as simple to solve as it probably looks like it would be. Perhaps the solution would be to find something else (that doesn't detract from the page's mission) to fill the right-side space on this page with so it balances better.

Thanks!

Elizabeth

Update: made revisions to .pdf doc and landing page thx to input! We'll see how conversion goes.

[blaire576]

ah i'm sorry for that anyways keep it up!