Yes, we understand that making money online is not an easy job. Making money through monetizing your blogs and quality web content requires hard work, dedication, and patience as well. However, the most difficult part is choosing the ideal monetization plan, which takes us to the frequently asked question, Affiliate Marketing vs. AdSense: which is better?
Let’s face it, none of these online strategies will have you minting money overnight. Both of these programs come with their own set of rules, regulations, and systems that can affect the amount of money you make. Let’s check out the details for both to find out which one is better and more profitable.
Differences Between Affiliate Marketing and AdSense
If you’re an exceptional blogger or content creator, you can make a good sum of money through proper monetization. Frankly speaking, if you want that cash to come flowing in after an initial effort, affiliate marketing can be a good option. Here are some key differences.
- You can make more money from one sale, as compared to AdSense’s weekly revenue. Also, getting approval for monetization is not that easy with AdSense as they have a bunch of strict rules. However, the same is fairly easy when it comes to Affiliate Marketing websites.
- If you’re looking for consistency rather than quantity, then you should go for Google AdSense. This is because it ensures a constant, recurring income, while with Affiliate Marketing, it depends totally on the sales you promote.
- The topic and genre of your website will judge the monetization program that’s better for you. Affiliate Marketing will work for you in case of most niches. Whereas, AdSense is a program relatively limited in its choices.
- Adsense pays you according to the traffic on your blog. On the contrary, Affiliate revenue depends on the traffic of targeted visitors on your blog or web page and sales.
Google AdSense
Google AdSense is the most popular and well-known monetization program. You will find most newbies fighting their way into an established blogging career by trying to get approval from Google AdSense. It’s the go-to method for almost everyone who wants to earn online.
The bane of Google AdSense is that it tends to reject most beginners. Even if you write quality content and work hard, it doesn’t guarantee entry into the AdSense world. Maintaining that, let’s check out some of the benefits that make the struggle worth it.
- You Don’t Have to be Specific
It’s not necessary to write blogs on only one particular topic. You can be managing a news or magazine blog which manages many niches at once. This type of blog is perfect for AdSense monetization. It deals with multiple niches, so you don’t have to restrict yourself to one topic.
- Pay Per Click System
This is perhaps the best benefit with Google AdSense. Every time a user clicks on an AdSense Ad on your page, you get paid. The more traffic on your page, the more you get paid.
- Monetize Every Page
With Google Adsense, you are not restricted to placing Ads only on pages that have meaningful content. You can even monetize pages from your website which have fewer connections to your blogging topics. These include contact, introduction, and disclaimer pages. The more, the better!
- Constant Income
Last but not least, if you are writing quality content and have considerable traffic on your website, then your income is guaranteed. You can generate recurring income every month.
With all these benefits, why do some people refuse to go for Google AdSense? That’s because it has its drawbacks as well.
- Approval Difficulty
Getting AdSense approval is the basic struggle of every aspiring blogger. They don’t reveal defined criteria for approval so you might get rejected even if you have considerable traffic.
- Long List Of Rules
Not everyone is good at following rules. Google immediately disables the accounts that step out of line, sometimes without prior notice.
- The Ban Threat
Getting permanently banned is a huge threat. This means you won’t be able to monetize your website again through Google.
- Meager Income
Yes, even though the income is recurring, the amount is low. Google pays a low amount for each click, so bloggers end up earning very little unless they have traffic in the tens of thousands.
- Visitor Deviation
With Ads on every page, you might end up losing your visitors. No one likes websites which have too many Ads, and Google monetizes every page, so visitors are likely to get tired of them.
While AdSense is a great way to earn money online, it has its advantages and disadvantages. The same goes for Affiliate Marketing websites. Let’s check out the details to get further insight.
Affiliate Marketing
When it comes to monetization through Affiliate Marketing, it’s comparatively more difficult than Google AdSense. However, it’s a straightforward and easy way to earn money if you get the hang of it.
Here are the basic benefits of Affiliate Marketing to help you make your decision.
- Immediate Revenue
You don’t have to continuously work hard on your blogs and content to flourish at Affiliate Marketing. You can start earning from day one by conducting direct sales.
- Easy Approval
Affiliate Marketing programs are conducted by various platforms, whereas AdSense is only operated through Google. This means the chances of getting approved by a program is higher in this case.
- More Cash Flow
As Affiliate Marketing deals with targeted products, the revenue upon each Ad visit is higher. The revenue depends on the product you decide to promote on your website; there are some products like Tech and Men’s Apparel that offer a high commission.
- Earn Without a Website
Like in Google AdSense, it’s not necessary for you to pay for a proper website and domain name before you begin earning. You can earn through direct sales as well without monetizing any blogs or content.
- Regular Visitors
When only selected pages are monetized through Ads, visitors tend to stay longer and pay attention to them as well.
Let’s take a look at the drawbacks of Affiliate Marketing.
- No Pay Per Click Policy
This is a major limitation of the Affiliate Marketing system. You will not get paid for every visit on the Ad, but only if they make the purchase. This diminishes regular income despite good traffic.
- Niche Targeted Blogging
You will do better at Affiliate programs is you conduct proper niche targeting blogging. This is quite difficult as writing quality content for one topic in a long term period can be tedious.
- Shady Programs
Google AdSense is a program you can trust and be relaxed about your payment arriving on time. That’s not the case with all Affiliate programs. Thus, you can end up losing money at times.
Now that we’ve evaluated both of them in detail, it’s time for the showdown.
Affiliate Marketing Vs. AdSense: Which is Better?
The monetization program that works best for you depends totally on your blogging ability, genre, and hard work. If you are an expert on a particular topic and are operating a single niche blog, then Affiliate Marketing is a great option for you.
Similarly, if you have a website catering to diverse traffic, then you should go for AdSense to monetize your work. That’s because AdSense offers a wide range of products and monetizes every page.
In the end, it all comes down to your patience, hard work, and trust. It depends on which platform you trust enough to monetize your day’s work. We hope this comparison helps you make the right decision according to your work and expertise.