Blogs would be one of the ideal media through which the individuals belonging to this generation of internet users can share their views, understanding, and experiences with the rest of the world. It has evolved from just an ideal creative platform but is also a means of generating income through monetizing activities, but the most prevalent is advertisement. Out of all the ad networks available out there, it still remains one of the most popular options that can be utilized by bloggers for making money from advertisements. So here’s a complete guide through a confusing process of starting a blog and getting that longed-for AdSense approval. So take a cup of coffee sit back relax get into the world of blogging
1. Choose a Topic and Suggest a Domain Name for Your Blog
First, and perhaps most importantly: when building a successful blog is to limit your focus towards a specific topic or niche that really fires up your imagination. This could range from travel, foodie, and the kind of experiences that would take the reader to far-flung places, technology insights that bring cutting-edge advancements within their reach, tips that make lifestyle better, or even personal finance strategies that help you gain complete independence towards money. The trick here is that you’ve picked something you are to write upon in which you are thoroughly interested; your zest will ooze out through your writing, making readers hold onto the content.
Next comes the selection of a focus: As soon as you settle on this, it is time to pick a domain name-that’s the digital address that will represent your blog in the vast online landscape. A good domain name is that which reflects well with the topic you have chosen and also that which is quite memorable and easy to spell. Consider this your brand identity for your blog; it should be the vivid essence of your blog that is as simple enough for readers to remember intuitively. Brainstorm several names and make sure the name you settle for is available by conducting a search for its availability so that your preferred name can pop out in this usually loud blogosphere.
2. Select a Blogging Platform
The kind of blogging platform you settle for is what will determine what your blog will be in the long run as well as its functionality. This means that there is one for fulfilling needs and abilities of most people with so many versions, all having their different separate features and qualities. Among the most popular, WordPress is prized for its flexibility and has an enormous library of plug-ins and themes that can enhance the blogging experience-it is suitable for beginners and advanced users.
Some of the most popular include Blogger with an easy setup for beginners, and Wix, whose drag-and-drop interface will make designing a much easier process. Determine what features they offer in terms of usability, flexibility of design, and how well it supports monetization, right before you settle on your final choice. It is something that will not only satisfy your needs in this phase but also grow with your blog.
3. Establish your blog
Now that you have selected your blogging platform, let’s begin. Get your blog established and ready to go. Here is the step-by-step process to set up your blog:
Register your domain: This is the first step by buying a name for your domain you have chosen by using a reliable domain registrar. This is usually an easy process that might take as little as several minutes.
Web Hosting : You’ll be provided with web hosting account. All your blog’s files will hosted and accessible through the web. Most of the companies providing hosting allow easy integration with popular blogging platforms such as WordPress, so it should be quite easy to set up.
Install the Platform: Installation of your preferred blogging platform is nothing but to follow the instructions issued by your hosting company. More providers will offer the users with the one-click installation option, hence making it easier for the user.
Make Your Blog Custom: Personalize your blog with a theme or template that coincides with the aesthetic of your blog. Most themes offer customization options, from color to fonts to layouts, so you’re going to fit that style quite nicely.
Create the Must-Have Pages: As you get your blog up, remember to get your must-have pages: the About page where you can introduce yourself and the mission of your blog, the Contact page so your readers can easily contact you, and the Privacy Policy page on how you treat user data. While these would give your blog credibility, they also help in user experience.
4. Quality Content Writing
The framework of your blog now in place, it is time to sit down and actually write the thing. Sure enough, content is what makes up the very essence of your blog. Always try to write interesting, informative, and useful content that will do justice to your target audience. A question to ponder over: What do my readers want to know or read about? These include all forms of research, brainstorming of ideas, and even planning for your content calendar.
Mainly, you are looking to integrate different types of content, including how-to guides, personal experiences, listicles, and deep analyses, that would appeal to a broader audience. Last but not least, keep posting regularly; consistent posting with fresh content would bring visitors to come and visit you time and time again. No one would stop you from bringing richness and depth into your content through media, such as images, infographics, and videos.
5. Search Engine Optimization for Your Blog
A blog, however has to be easily locatable from among the millions of information floating around the net. And that is where SEO comes in – an essential tool for any blogger looking forward to becoming more visible. Here’s how you might optimize your blog effectively:
Keyword Research First: identify the keywords that the probable readers are currently looking for within your niche. These will all help you to come up with keywords and phrases relevant to be inserted in your blog posts by Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs.
On-page SEO: Put the words you found into the body of your blog post naturally. Then put those words into your title, meta description, and everywhere else you can. But don’t do it, though: keyword stuffing is like poison to readability as well as ranking. Look for ways to make keywords flow nicely in your writing.
Remember, for example that search engines favor quality content. Ensure you write good articles that add value to your visitors and this will attract them to share as well as backlink – all very vital for ranking your search results.
Technical SEO: Not only that, but the technical end of your blog also needs attention. Improve the website’s loading speed, make it mobile friendly, and make its user experience so good that the visitor wouldn’t leave your website. And a well-optimized site will attract the traffic and retain it.
6. Growth of Audience
Gaining readership is a process that requires time to achieve; it does not happen overnight. Instead, this is an activity that requires some effort and strategy. Here are a few strategies for promoting your blog to increase readership:
Social Media: Publish your posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest so that more people get an access to your content. Since every website has its usage culture, make sure to craft your content by including those interesting visuals and captions.
Email Marketing: Let people subscribe to your newsletter. This means you now open channels by which you can notify your readers of new posts, and probably exclusive content you may have, can open up a community and inspire loyalty in the readers.
Guest Posting: Try guest posting on other niche blogs. It not only expands your reach but yields great backlinks further making your blog more credible and enhancing its SEO performance.
Networking: Identify other bloggers with whom to collaborate and co-promote, and which can culminate in other projects, etc.
7. Google AdSense application
Once you have laid in a good base of content and attracted a steadily increasing readership, it’s time to apply for Google AdSense. Wheeee! Here is an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide :.
Sign Up: You have to sign up to your Google AdSense account. While activating your request to have your blog live for review, you had to provide a lot of information about your site- accurate and detailed.
Requirement Fulfillment: Know the policies of AdSense. Your blog itself, as according to their rules, cannot contain duplicated texts. The navigation must be understandable, and it should have basic pages like a Privacy Policy page. If all these were met, then your application would be approved.
Place ads: You have now approved and it is now time to start inserting the ad units of your AdSense to your blog. Position them in strategic places where they will probably do quite well-in posts, the sidebar, or even article endings.
Wait Till Approval: The review takes some time, so wait for it to be done. Google will then contact you to let you know what happened, and you can start making money on your blog when your AdSense content is approved.
8. Ad Optimization
Once your AdSense ads are activated, that’s just half the work. It is fundamental that you continue testing different placements and ad formats to get the highest possible earnings out of your AdSense. Experimentation is key. Use the dashboard from AdSense to follow the earnings, then try to figure out which ads performed exceptionally. A/B testing would further reveal which ad placement causes the most engagement to those exposures so you will always find ways to perfect it over time.
You can take users’ actions performed on your site and represent them as heat maps. This may be very helpful in showing where your visitors are clicking the most so that you may place your ads at the very best locations possible.
9. Respect the AdSense Policies
To remain effective in the long term, continue to be enjoyable while remaining compliant with Google AdSense. Maintaining the highest level of compliance regarding all the program policies will of course keep potential pitfalls at bay. Here are a few of the key practices to keep up with.
Never Click on Your Own Ads: Clicking on one’s ads to make some money, no matter how small they could be, is highly against the policies of programs and can suspend your accounts.
Forbidden and Prohibited Content: Know what kind of content you cannot allow to be placed in AdSense. Such forbidden content includes adult content, copyright infringement, and deceptive ads.
Stay in sync: Google’s rules are updated, so do make a visit to AdSense policies to not break with them. This will not only save your account but enhance your whole blogging life.
Conclusion
Moving towards becoming a blogger is tough and exciting at the same time. From niche selection to content production, ensuring proper optimization for search engines and finding your way through the Google AdSense maze, it all comes into place. This too does not happen overnight; perseverance is rewarded. Continuously hone your skill, connect with the audience, and tune into analytics. Persistence and creativity will have your blog mushroom into a thriving launching pad from which you’re not only sharing your voice in the world but are also generating money through Google AdSense.
Happy Blogging!
