A goal achieved and a goal to be Adsense free gained
I managed to achieve another goal of mine this week which was a boost!
At the start of January I stated a list of 7 goals I wanted to achieve in 2008, so far No.2 on the list has been achieved - to get involved in an offline venture, a rocky start with the vehicle breaking down but a few jobs under the belt there and one landscaping job just signed up for this month that comes in at £4900 of which over 50% is naturally profit.
A goal achieved
This week I can chalk off No.7 - goal number 7 was working for one client on one keyword, my personal goal was to get them top 10 and then top 5, we reached top 10 in February and this week we reached top 5 which was quicker than expected. The good news is that this is an ongoing arrangement so the £800 ($1600) per month is to be added to my stable income for the foreseeable future.
A goal added
I really should have added an 8th target on my list - well I’d like to add one more, to be free from Adsense and organic listings, don’t get me wrong I love getting money from Adsense but it’s pretty infuriating that you can do the same thing each month, even have the same traffic and end up with totally difference results.
I wish that when you got to say $5k per month that Google would give you a contract guaranteeing that as a minimum for 6 months or 12 months, the up and down nature of the earnings means you are never really sure what the next month will bring. On top of that to be reliant on making money from my organic listings is hugely beneficial financially but it’s a risk that I don’t have full control over. I cannot guarantee with absolute certainty that I will maintain my organic traffic.
So, I’d like not to be reliant on this money and more than that not reliant on any one website, I won’t be going out of my way to remove any Adsense, I would always like to do something like $5000-$10,000 a month but I would like that not to be money the house needs. I asked the wife to total up all our monthly bills to see what the damage was and what we needed to survive on as a minimum wage. This includes mortgage, tv licence, Sky, Phone, Council Tax, Car Insurance, Home Insurance and food ect. The total comes to £1900 per month. So I want to make sure that I have a fixed income of over £1900 per month which isn’t too bad.
At present my fixed income consists of:
SEO work for a client £800 p.m.
Leased out domain (that was highly ranked) £500 p.m.
So during the course of the rest of the year I want to add £600 to my fixed monthly income and then I shall be Adsense free and not reliant on any organic rankings. My organic rankings and Adense will dwarf any fixed income but it’s probably prudent to make sure that if the shit was to hit the fan for any reason my bills are covered, after all I’d hate to have to get a real job!
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I am disapointed with Adsense so far in 2008 and am planning on replacing them gradually over the next 9 months. As you say, the fluctuations in earnings are just not enough to build a stable income with.
My outgoings are currently about £1850 per month, so I have a lot of work to do to replace that but most things are possible if you “Do” rather then just “Think” about things.
I think it’s got to be high up on the list of things to do for many of us Matthew who have pulled in decent income from a source that can fluctuate so much - not easy to do though.
What do you plan to use instead of Adsense ?
Leasing out some prime domains would be my aim Michael, I also have the option to buy & sell domains to reduce/clear my mortgage which would have the same overall effect.
I intend to look into some other ways of monetization, I don’t like that I make the vasy majority of my money from Adsense atm.
I currently earn around a third of working wage a month online, so my next aim us to push the amount up so it matches half my wage!
For those that look some other ways of monetization a few days ago I’ve found this post, that you might find useful. - http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/03/03/12-cpm-alternatives-to-adsense/
I’m almost Adsense free — but not in the way you mean!
I am working to reach my first goal - a steady $5 a day. Got some way to go!
Sounds like the AA “Adsense Anonymous”… I’m free.
The other crux is I’m relying on Google for traffic as well.
Congratulations on hitting some goals already.
Being adsense free and removing a lot of the risk is obviously very desirable. Risk regarding incoming money when you have a family is no laughing matter.
Congrats on knocking another goal off.
My monthly fixed costs are low (~$2500) which I can cover from other income streams but if I lost my Adsense income it would hurt, so totally agree on diversification.
Scott, have you thought about ecommerce? There are some companies with great products who do not sell online because they do not know how to. If you can identify some of these companies and offer them to handle their online business for a % of the sales, many would probably agree. If you choose the right product and the right partner you could get a good income.
I haven’t Jav to be honest, I prefer to stay away from dealing with clients as much as possible and don’t want to slip back into ‘feeling’ like I am working for others again - but it’s a good opportunity for many.
Also I really want to try and build passive income that does not need my constant attention.
I hate that feeling of “working for others” at the moment. I do it all day at work and did it for several years as a web host which at times could pull you away from family at weird hours of the night.
That’s what happened to me working on other people’s websites, it’s easy for people to think they own you for very little money comparatively.
Matthew of GV, why do you have such high outgoings. Is this amount related to your gadget site or other things as well?
I think Matthew refers like I did to household expenses - which equates to the income we need to earn to keep our homes/families.
That’s the cost of living for me and my family at the moment
It includes mortgage, car, insurances, council tax, tv licence, gas, electricity and what ever else is needed to survive.
£50/month is needed to keep gadgetvenue online although I could pay less. However, I have extra services from my host who monitor my site and keep it up and running if it goes off line for what ever reason.
I don’t understand. You are earning around $30K on CG from adsense, why would you wnat to be come adsense free unless you mean you wnat to be come less reliant on it.
There are two of us who write on the blog Nesa, Al has CG which is a large Adsense earner not myself
However the point is to be less reliant on my Adsense income.
I think Scott’s answered for me there (just to confuse matters more : ) CG pulled in $30K from Adsense in Decemeber but it’s normally at the $15K mark. I wouldn’t want to be Adsense free but like you say not dependant.
Well done on the ranking Scott. Was it a competitive word?
Aye Ian it is well competed for, big business so I am sure the client is making his money from the organic traffic.
thanks for this great adsense article
This is actually a very insightful post, as was your previous one about the landscaping venture. There is a general stigma nowadays that all the money out there is to be made on the net. But people are missing the obvious - just do something you love and do it well, the money will come!
Congratulations on reaching the 7th goal.
Your 8th goals sounds a lot like mine after reading Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad book. If you haven’t read it I highly recommend it.
Just as a note I expect the £1900 to income after paying tax? I wasn’t sure you had thought of it
[...] « A goal achieved and a goal to be Adsense free gained [...]
I’m a little confused. The title of the post suggests that you’re trying to go AdSense-free, and yet I read this in the body paragraphs:
“I won’t be going out of my way to remove any Adsense, I would always like to do something like $5000-$10,000 a month.”
Doesn’t that seem to be a contradiction?
Free from reliance is more the point I am making, not to stop using it, just free from it’s grip as a majority share of my income.
Free Landscaping Ideas…
Thanks for the helpful post. I have visited many sites that have been a complete waste of time. It is good to come across a site that actually helps and informs the users… I have included another really good site at the bottom that also helps me ou…