Busted the Adsense Threshold for the First Time!

[thehobbster]

I know these threads get old, yet I also remember how much I needed these when I was getting started. I always saw threads where guys are saying they make $100/day, and I was wondering when I'd stop earning pennies per month... and I'd see the threads where people would celebrate their first payment and it would keep me alive. I needed something in an attainable realm, within my realistic reach. So I pass that favor on here...

I broke the $100 threshold today. I was counting down the dollars and the days, hoping to beat it this month. And I did today while I was at the gym on a bike. I got four clicks today, pushing me well over the limit. Heck, one of those clicks was $3.18 which is my record high click! I've got three more days to push it beyond!

Pulling this off took a legit year. I made the mistake of creating buttload of content, but not backlinking. I made the mistake of getting emotionally invested in each minor aspect of each project. Get beyond that. Each one needs to be something you are proud of, but make sure it's not hindering your progress. Once I got that through my head, my quality and quantity went up and I "really" pulled this off in six months. I'm hoping to beat the next one by 2012. I know it'll happen and much more.

So here is my tip I pass to you. Don't go for big time keywords or even medium ones. Maybe take on one harder one so you can get it going since age is a factor in everything, but go for some easy smaller keywords and get paid. You need to know it will be successful. Most people can't delay gratification for a year, so just get it done and then try for the big boy keywords! Create a little bit of content, then get the backlinks going. And for god's sake, get off the "white-hat means manual only" crap. You can go white hat while automating and outsourcing. Do it! You gotta spend money to make money as well. This will accelerate your progress.

Go! Go! Go! Whoooooo!

[beakon]

Yup, proper keyword research is everything now a days

Congrats on your recent success, get that snowball rolling!

[Mel White]

Congratulations! I know that feels good!

[That Guy]

Congrats man! I love hearing these threads about making your first $100 on the internet. Hoping that before the new year I'll be able to get my first adsense cheque. By the way, are you going to cash it in or save it? I have this idea of just saving my first $100 and framing it or something.

[owenlee]

Great...Now lets aim for the next month...that is what i always look forward when starting with adsenese...checking almost everyday..lol...

[movies]

Congratulations, very good thing.

[TryBPO]

Huge congrats, Op. I see many that make outrageous claims, some that think there's no way they can do it, etc. You and I both know it IS possible and that it takes quite a bit of work/determination! It's great (and inspiring) to see others that are finding success...keep it up!

[yukon]

Good job OP!

I remember a few years back when I had my first clicks with Adsense, I couldn't believe I was getting paid to put Adsense on a blogger blog that Google owns, lol.

Once you get the traffic, Adsense gets easier.

[thehobbster]

Originally Posted by That Guy

Congrats man! I love hearing these threads about making your first $100 on the internet. Hoping that before the new year I'll be able to get my first adsense cheque. By the way, are you going to cash it in or save it? I have this idea of just saving my first $100 and framing it or something.

Going to scan and print it and probably frame that bin going to deposit it. After that I'll take automatic deposits. I just want one to see and show people and pu a copy on the wall

[BarryWheeler]

Congrats!

Once you crack the threshold, rinse and repeat! Now you know it's possible, you can continue to improve your sites! Keep up the great work!

[erazer]

Hey congrats hobbster, that is great to hear and I like the optimism. Mind sharing how many sites helped you get there? How many pages per site etc? And when you say go for "smaller" keywords, what do you mean--volume, CPC, competition? What would you consider "small"? Sorry for the barrage of Qs!

[ericnelsonator]

Congratulations thehobbster,

Now aim to double it in 3-4 months. Once you start meeting your goals, it becomes easier and easier to meet bigger goals.

[atomasini]

Congrats!

It took me a year to reach the first $100, then 8 months to the second one (just did it). Hopefully the third won't take this much.

[markowe]

Originally Posted by atomasini

Congrats!

It took me a year to reach the first $100, then 8 months to the second one (just did it). Hopefully the third won't take this much.

Yeah, I think most of us have a sort of curve like that. Once I broke $100 in a month I found I could increase my Adsense earnings by about 25% every month (or most months anyway) just by adding content, doing a bit of SEO, getting at least one decent new keyword ranked etc.

Might not sound like much, but at that rate, within a year you can be over $1000 a month, and within 2 years you will be stinking rich (I haven't quite got there yet )

[manchito]

Congrats in your achievement!

Now rinse and repeat... learn from mistakes(If any) and improve yoiur technique... Sooner than you think you will be getting checks in a monthly basis, and then.... the ski is the limit...


Gratz again

[Amoore9900]

Congrats I agree with you keyword selection is very important.

[Peter Lee]

Congratulations! That's good motivation for many of us. I too use lots of automation tools and they really help me do lots of manual and mundane work.

Peter

[sweetheater]

Congrats and can you suggest what you tools you use for backlinks... Thanks a lot

[lovboa]

Great job! These threads that pop up once in a while create such a positive vibe for WF

[arnie19]

Congrats dude! You make adsense earners motivated. Would love to hear your next progress.

[oogyboogawa]

Originally Posted by thehobbster

Going to scan and print it and probably frame that bin going to deposit it. After that I'll take automatic deposits. I just want one to see and show people and pu a copy on the wall

Congrats!!!

My bank has a setup where you can scan your check in and deposit it online. So I did that and now I have my first Adsense check hanging on my wall for a bit of extra motivation. (By doing it that way I was able to keep the original rather than just a copy)

That's a great feeling to reach that first big milestone and it's a big step toward future milestones.

[scruffy77]

grats man, cant wait till i get to that point

[JoeUK]

Some great replies here. OP, I'm in a similar situation - it took me 8 months to get my first $100 dollars, now 4 months after that I'm almost ready to get paid again - $200 in 12 months wohoo haha! Seriously though, I'm going to use this next payment to start another site and aim to half the amount of time it takes to reach the threshold each time so within 12 months I should be reaching that threshold on a weekly basis! Congrats.

[boxoun]

My checks started coming in like clock work. If I made more in Amazon I would ask to receive payment in check. It cost $15 tho. I like to hold it in my hand to feel the sense of accomplishment.

Congrats on your success. These type of threads helped me get through too.

I also hit my record day/month yesterday albeit not anywhere as high as yours. Also a $5 click. Wow.

In theory, I've made nothing. I put 300% back in to my business.

[thehobbster]

Originally Posted by erazer

Hey congrats hobbster, that is great to hear and I like the optimism. Mind sharing how many sites helped you get there? How many pages per site etc? And when you say go for "smaller" keywords, what do you mean--volume, CPC, competition? What would you consider "small"? Sorry for the barrage of Qs!

Really, three sites contributed all of the success, and none of them hit the top 3 even yet. When they all rank top 3 it's going to be crazy. But I have about 8 total that I'm working on. I plan on fleshing all of them out totally and getting them ranking before I move on to more. I don't wanna get caught by Google with my pants down.

Pages per site... I'm around 70 on one, I wrote it all. Another has 5 and I'm aiming for 50 or so. And another one has about 18 or so, probably will end around 40. My goal is to get them up to 30+ to consider them "done." That is a reasonable number where I'd say they aren't "thin" anymore and aren't target or suspect.

By smaller keywords I mean 1900-5000 exact monthly searches. I have some upwards to 35k. When they rank, I'll bank, but it'll take time. Smaller ones keep my drive up as I can immediately see my income increase. CPC, volume, and competition are kind of bound together for the most part unless you find that special secret keyword. Less of one is less of all and is easier.

Thank you to everyone for the encouragement!