AdSense for Domains

Step 1: Add a new domain to your account

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You can add domains to your account in one of two ways: by adding them into the text box line-by-line or by uploading a CSV spreadsheet. Remember to specify the language of your domains as well, and note that you can upload a maximum of 1500 domains.

After the domains are added, they'll appear under the Pending subtab of the AdSense for domains page. All domains submitted are subject to Google's approval per our program policies.

Step 2: Modify your domain registrar settings

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In order to allow Google to display ads on your domains, you'll need to modify some settings at your domain registrar. This is necessary to ensure ads show up correctly on your domain. We've provided a step-by-step guide to assist with pointing your domain to Google's server. If you've registered your domain with a common domain registrar like GoDaddy, Enom, Moniker, or others, customized step-by-step instructions are available. We've also provided generic instructions in case your specific registrar isn't listed in our guide.

After you've modified your registrar's settings, your domains should automatically move from the Pending subtab to the Active subtab as soon as the records validate (usually 48 hours or less). If your domain remains in the Pending subtab after this time, check our validation status information page to determine why. If your domain has moved to the Disapproved subtab, learn why this may have happened.

Step 3: Customize using colors

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You can customize your domains by adding colors and keyword hints by editing your domain settings. To get to the settings page, click on the domain(s) that you'd like to edit, select the drop-down menu labeled Actions..., and click the Edit Settings option.

As you change the colors on the right-hand side, you can view how your page will look on the left-hand side of the page.

Step 4: Add keyword hints

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Also found on the the Edit Settings page is the option to add keyword hints to your selected domain(s). Keywords entered into this field assist ad targeting for potentially ambiguous domains. For more information, visit our entry on keyword hints.

Step 5: Define channels

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It's a good idea to use channels to track your domains, especially if you have a large portfolio. If you're new to using channels, you can find more information in our channels guide.

Step 6: Track your performance

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AdSense for domains stats can be found along with the rest of your AdSense reports by visiting the Reports tab, then the Advanced Reports page. You can also break down your earnings by domain or by channel by selecting the radio buttons on the right-hand side of the page. Learn more about the types of stats you'll see when viewing your AdSense for domains reports.

For more questions or concerns about using AdSense for domains, we encourage you to visit the AdSense Help Forum, where you can learn from other publishers who are participating in the program.

Earn By Shutterstock

Shutterstock is a pretty new micro stock site that started up about a year ago. As I'm revising my article now, they have a total collection of almost one million photographs and illustrations available for download! Popular Photography even ran an article about them.

Today, Shutterstock has expanded into stock footage as well and in my knowledge one of the first among the microstock sites to do so. My Shutterstock experience has been great and here where my portfolio is performing best. I highly recommend that you read on and check out Shutterstock if you are serious about microstock photography.

Shutterstock's subscription model

Designers who subscribes to ShutterStock pays a flat rate fee to be able to download 25 images a day for a number of months based on the package they choose (see diagram on the left). If you are wondering why, the 25 images per day limit was implemented to prevent leechers that used bots to download ALL the images at Shutterstock to resell them as pirated goods.

But anyways, as I was saying, effectively, it's almost unlimited downloads of images for the designers. Therefore all the submitted photographs (by us of course) have a decent chance of getting downloaded if they are good enough to catch the attention of the customers! And the default sorting of images at Shutterstock shows the newer photos and illustrations first.

In terms of numbers, let's see why a whole lot of designers are looking into microstock and perhaps Shutterstock in particular.

25 images per day in a month = 25 x 30 = 750 images for US$159. That's just 21 cents per download if they somehow manage to maximise their download limits. Even if they don't reach their limit and download only 50% of when they are allowed to. Each download only costs them 40 cents! Now tell me why designers aren't excited!

How do submitting photographers/illustrators earn then?

As I'm writing this, the payout rate for each download is 25 cents. Yes, 25 cents may be low compared to other microstock sites like Dreamstime which offers at least 50 cents payout per download. Then again, remember that the cost per download for Shutterstock customers is much lower compared to the other microstock sites as well. This don't just double but even quadruple the download rates at Shutterstock. And more downloads equals more earnings for us! You even earn an extra 5 cents if a customer backup your photo that they have already bought into a CD. This will effectively increase that particular sale to 30 cents. Talk about passive income!

In addition to the subscription based earning, your Shutterstock portfolio is also marketed through affliliates like PhotoSights where the stock photos are sold per photo basis. Here the royalties payable to you is 20% of the purchase price or licensing fee paid. But for video footages, the royalties payable to you is 30% of the purchase price paid to Shutterstock. Personally, I've not experimented on submitting stock footages yet becuase I don't own a digital camcorder myself.

Oh and just to add, Shutterstock pays you either by sending checks, PayPal or Moneybookers! Moneybookers, FYI, is great for us who live in countries where PayPal does not service.

Referral program

ShutterStock also runs a referral program to help expand their photographer base. Thus, on top of the 25 cents earning per download from your portfolio, you would also earn another 3 cents per download from you referred photographer! If you can earn some extra cash, why not? And yes, the links here will refer your registration under my account. That's all that I can ask for creating this site in the hope of sharing the goodness of the microstock industry. So why not register and find out how you can earn the same too!

Registration and submission process

To register as a new photographer, you now need to submit a batch of 10 photographs for approval. So, remember to submit only your best stock-oriented photographs. If you're not sure what I mean by stock-oriented photographs, then read this article here now! Although this process could seem annoying, it is actually a very important process to maintain the standards set by Shutterstock themselves. It may take a while before they process new applications. This is because submitting photographers are always on a higher priority queue. But do be patient, it's really worth the wait and effort. And once you're approved, then what are you waiting for anymore, upload and get your portfolio up and running!

But remember, try to refrain from uploading just about anything but only the best images and photographs that you have. And always remember: stock-oriented photos. This way, you will maximise the quality of your online portfolio and encourage more downloads. Also to note, they accept both raster (JPEGs) and vector(EPS) images. Yes. So if you're not so much into photography but a good illustrator instead, Shutterstock is still the place to be. And I must add, a good place to be too. Vector illustrations are very high in demand.

Shutterstock requires that the photos to be at 4MP. It used to be just 2.5MP when I started off. So, it looks like Shutterstock is bumping up it's standards to keep up with the industry. You can upload your JPEGs, TIFFs and EPS files either via their web interface or via FTP.

Personal Experiences

As of the writing of this article, there has been as much as 1900 downloads and with more coming! Today, I'm averaging at about 5-10 downloads per day. And seriously, this number is low. Really. The reason for this is that I've been busy with my new role at IBM and it's taking all my time off photography. Therefore, I'm sure you can do a lot better than me! I have recieved 4 payouts from them so far and they are 100% reliable as far as I'm concerned. In fact, my brother is also doing very well at ShutterStock submitting mainly vector designs. So if you aren't too good of a photographer but has wonderful skills in designing vector graphics, trust me, this is well worth your effort too.

My Verdict: Highly recommended

My latest images for sale at Shutterstock:

My most popular images for sale at Shutterstock:

Earning money from Ads With Blog.Co.in

Blog.co.in enables you to display Ads on your blog pages / posts. You get paid when visitors click on these Ads. We support multiple Ad networks to choose from, for displaying the Ads on your blog. Ads are configured to blend-in with your blog’s color theme.

Note:Inserting javascript code with-in the post / page content doesn’t work.

How does it work?

Once you have provided the publisher details, your Ads will automatically start showing up on the blog. We serve Ads in 60-40 sharing mode. Meaning, if a page is viewed 10 times, your ads would appear 6 times and our ads are served 4 times.

If you have not provided your publisher details, our ads will be displayed on your blog, for supporting the free services offered by Blog.co.in.

Blog.co.in is not affiliated with any of the Ad networks in any manner. It is your responsibility to follow the terms and conditions and to maintain your account with the Ad Networks. Your earnings are directly paid by the respective companies.

How effective is it?

Good content is the key for any blog to be successful. So, write good topics / atricles that the visitors find interesting or useful. More the visitors, more the chances of them clicking thru Ads.

We run a network of information websites that drive thousands of visitors each day. Just to give you an understanding, some of those portals generates few hundred dollars each week from about 5% of users clicking on ads.

Keep in mind that, you need to have at least 50 informative posts on your blog, before you can even think of expecting search engine traffic (visitors finding your blog using search engines). This is not a benchmark , but just what we learnt from our experience.

How to Configure?

Login to your blog’s Admin console and navigate to ‘Settings’ -> ‘Manage Ads’ page, from the top menu. List of supported Ad networks will be shown and make sure to select the Ad network you want to use, from the dropdown box.

Google AdSense [Recommended]

If you are planning to display Google AdSense Ads on your blog, you will need to provide the AdSense publisher ID in the space provided on the ‘Manage Ads’ page. After entering the details, click on ‘Save Changes’ button.

AdBrite

Once you have obtained an account with AdBrite, create 4 seperate Ad Zones in AdBrite, one for each of the following Ad dimensions. 468×60, 768×90, 300×250 & 160×600. (We won’t be able to cover ’how to create AdBrite Ad Zones’). Obtain the code for each of these Ad zones, and extract the URL from the generated script. Enter all the 4 URLs in the spaces provided, with NO QUOTES. Then click on ‘Save Changes’ button.

See the pictures below to know what URL you need to use and how it looks after configuring.

Configure Yahoo Publisher Network

If you are planning to display Yahoo Publisher Network Ads on your blog, you will need to provide the Yahoo publisher ID in the space provided on the ‘Manage Ads’ page. After entering the details, click on ‘Save Changes’ button.