gubak1: I'm in the same situation as you.. the last weeks I had some jumps in earnings ($4 to $7 days) My current goal is to get $100 a month so I'll receive a payment each month.
I regard AdSense as just one form of income I can get from a website. I use it to make some money from pages or sites that otherwise wouldn't make any money at all. But the amount of money made probably doesn't justify the time spent developing those sites in strict hourly rate terms. When I started using AdSense I was attracted by the claims of people making big money from it. But when I researched into it, it seemed that you have to develop sites specifically to target high-paying keywords. I didn't like the idea of developing sites on subjects I had no interest in, containing content that added nothing useful to what was already available, simply because it would attract high-paying ads. I guess that most of those those who are making a living from AdSense set out specifically to make a living from AdSense, or else have very high traffic sites that can make enough money from whatever ads the site attracts.
I can't really understand how people can spend all their time working on a subject they have no interest in, but the web is a big place and there's going to be niche out there that is both profitable and of interest to you.
Since the downsizing of my former employer - in which I was 'let go' - I have focused about 4-5 hours a day on improving my adsense earnings. I have three sites - two are within 3-4 months old, and one is a seasonal gardening site. I average $7.00 a day; some days are better than others. My goal is to be up to $50.00 a day by the end of the year. Not enough to live off, but it pays a few of the bills whil I'm in transition.
My only thought is that amount of work, and the extra traffic you would have to bring in to get that amount of increase, could probably make more money if you focussed on something else other than AdSense. My site www.tech-pro.net started off more as a sort of online CV showing technical articles I had written - I was a freelance writer for computer magazines. After 9/11 there was a recession in the IP business, a lot of small PC makers folded, others cut back on their advertising budgets, and with that several of the computer magazines shut down. I was left with only one regular piece of work. I tried writing shareware, but found that you spent weeks writing a program which then sold about a dozen copies a month. Then I discovered AdSense, and thought that was the way to make money from writing. And it did make some money, but again nowhere near enough to live on. Then I hit on the idea of selling other people's software as an affiliate, instead of writing my own, and that turned out to be the real money spinner for me. You still have to work to get people to visit the site, but you don't need as many visitors to make a living if you are getting an average $10 a sale rather than 10c a click.
Julian, exactly my thoughts. Take a look JohnChow for example. Affiliates in July made him it seems $4k+ and adsense only $600+. Of course there is others income streams which supplement to $12k a month But affiliates makes him most. And guys he have 7 years old blog with more than 3k daily uniques. That says it all.
I agree with you Techpro. While I spend 4-5 hours a day, it is for three sites and not all adsense related. The majority of that time is spent promoting the actual sites. Adsense generates $7.00 / day, but I have relationships with affiliates too.
Well most of my earnings come from my affiliates....and yes..its MORE than enough to make a living. But from adsense in particular i make about $600-$500.....I knw its crap..but ..its just like another free source of income....for paying my bills But my emphasize is always on "affiliate marketing"
I'm quitting my job in December to work on my sites full time with a catch - I'll be living somewhere in Asia that will be far cheaper than London. I should be able to just about support myself in a cheap country. I know that if I could dedicate myself to my sites full time I'll eventually be able to make enough to be able to live anywhere. Lots of ideas but no time to put them into action. I've spent thousands of hours on my sites as a hobby for about 4 years before I even discovered Adsense/affiliates etc. Now I spend about 20+ hours a week but that's because I'm building new sites. Once things are up and running and I just need to add content it won't be so much. It's a bit tough given I work full time and try to have a social life but the payoff is too good to ignore. I'm beginning to see as well that affiliates are key and Adsense is sort of the icing on the cake. I'm lucky because my sites are in a niche I love so the work is usually pretty enjoyable.
SO you plan to quit your job permanently? I thought of that too (once!)..but then...I realized...I think i'll be needing some sort of 'social recognition' in the society. Because earning $5000 a month isn't the only thing one look for. Ofcourse if you become a 'huge' webmaster ....and eventually open up your own company...than...thats a different case.
I should spend more time promoting; mostly I've been building content, for ten years, and yes, now I am living entirely off AdSense. Health costs are a big issue around here - $1,400 per month to think about. If I had no family, I'd seriously think about Canada. That said, before you quit your day job, line up six months' expenses. I paid down a LOT of debt before quitting, and made darn sure I didn't acquire new debt. The market's going up and down and so are the ad rates; can't depend on this any more than you can depend on a full time job at Home Depot or Chrysler.
I left my day job back in 2004. I run a web design company and of course adsense was not a factor in my decision, but the risk has definetley paid off. I am not a big earner in adsense but I do well selling ad space, cpm campaigns, etc. If I didnt take the plunge back in 04, there is no way I would be where I am today... Good luck
AdSense can be your main job if you put all of your powers on it, but the day they close your account or you lose your website or anything that could happen, will turn you into a useless geek getting used by rich jerks and they will drop you away when you get expired .