YouTube Adsense is for many content creators on YouTube, the primary way they earn their income.
Much like television ad placements, when the average person
watches a YouTube video they are show advertisements, the content creator
benefits in terms of revenue from these advertisements provided the viewer
chooses not to skip the ad or is unable to. This revenue is generated on a CPM
basis (Cost Per 1000 Views).
However, there are several things most content creators don't
understand about YouTube Adsense and how it works and how they can make the
most money from this particular revenue stream.
Most content creators believe the average YouTube CPMs are
between $0.25-$4 with a high CPM being $8-$10.
But what if I told you I tend to average $10-$30 CPM Rates
and that 1 Million Views is worth $10,000 on my channel, vs larger content
creators where 1 Million Views is worth $500?
Here are some factors that determine CPM Rates and
Monetization that most content creators don't think about or consider:
- The geographic location of the views/ ads played in that region
- Advertiser
Friendly Guidelines: these seem vague to creators though they should be
very obvious and can be found very easily with research
- Not
all views are monetized because not all views trigger an ad
- Some
viewers have ad-blockers enabled on their devices
- What
device a viewer uses matters, not all advertisers enable ads for views on
mobile devices
- Language,
some advertisers opt out of videos based on the language, not only of the
content but the default language of the viewer
- Available
advertising inventory, not every niche or genre has the same volume of
advertising, meaning not enough to go around
- "Content
Farms" could absorb the largest amount of advertising budget within a
niche or from a brand due to volume of content and views
- Quarterly
Advertising budgets; budgets are often approved each quarter and can
fluctuate, in January ad revenue is low because inventory is low due to
waiting on approvals since previous year's budgets don't tend to roll
over.
- Monetized
views that exclude profanity are more valuable and can have a CPM Rate up
to 4X Higher
- YouTube
has a thumbnail algorithm that can categorize thumbnails based on their
visuals and this can impact revenue if they are deemed not
"Advertiser Friendly" as well
- Videos
with higher average view durations tend to earn higher CPM Rates, even if
they get less overall views
- There
are opportunities to place multiple ads within a video, not just in the
form of video ads but also display advertising
- Some
Niches in YouTube such as professional services, have a higher CPM rate
and less competition for inventory, than content associated with
entertainment or lifestyle, where there is an abundance of content
So now that you are aware of all that what can you do
about it?
There are several things that content creators could do to
immediately increase their Adsense earning that require a bit of out of the box
thinking.
DRIVE TRAFFIC TO HIGH CPM VIDEOS
YouTubers worry way too much about views, because it is the
public metric which they are judged on. But the thing that is silly about this
is that views don't necessarily equal revenue.
Audit your content and look at which videos have the highest
CPM Rate, it won't always be the videos with the most views. Use your other
social media platforms and your tools within YouTube to drive more traffic to
the videos with the Highest Overall CPMs regardless of views or how much
overall money they've made.
Each 1000 views on that video is worth more... period. The
math is simple.
CLEAN UP YOUR CONTENT
Authenticity matters on YouTube, an there are content
creator for whom that creates a financial problem, because their content isn't
"Advertiser Friendly". Their audience signed on for this content.
My ruthless answer is to worry about the people who will
stick with you when you make a shift to what's in your own interest. Most of
these fans are not directly supporting you with their money or we wouldn't be
having this conversation, so unfortunately the simple answer is to be as
authentic as you can while being ad-friendly, by not using profanity.
If you are truly creative you can deliver the same value
without having to utilize profanity or shock value. The good news is that you
will earn more money as a direct result of this, even if you get less views,
and the people who stick with you after you make changes in your content are
MORE LOYAL, than the people who want you to make content at your own expense to
give them what they want FREE.
Just think about that for a moment, should they ask you to
take a financial hit, on FREE content you are producing for them, and feel
entitled to that?
REPRODUCE YOUR TOP PERFORMERS
If you find a pattern in the types of videos and topics that
earn you the most money, prioritize doing more videos like that since they are
your most valuable players.
Don't go to an extreme on this or get greedy, you can easily
burn the audience out on this type of content or run out of ideas. But if
something is working, keep doing it for as long as possible and as long as it
is in demand.
Even if it is getting less views, but making more money, you
may have to trade the psychological pain of "why are your views down"
for the public number people don't see... making a higher income.
The reason I bring this up is that YouTubers have a preoccupation
with views. Some justify it as credibility for brand deals, but negotiating
your rate on your number of views is not a good business practice to begin
with. Brands are also getting wise to this and also don't trust those numbers
at face value.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON ADSENSE
YouTube Adsense is the least reliable way to make money from
your videos because of how many variable you just don't control.
It's a relatively accessible form of Passive Income, that
doesn't necessarily require a high level of technical skill, expertise or
investment, and that makes it very attractive to people, particularly young
people.
This is not to criticize those who benefit from Adsense, I
also benefit from Adsense, but I refuse to rely on it, and as of the writing of
this article it represents 16-24% of my overall revenue on any given month
because of the lack of control.
YouTube can remove you from the Adsense program at anytime.
Advertisers could shift the goal post on what they want at any given time. You
can outgrow the majority of your audience or alienate them in some way.
Making a living on YouTube puts you at the mercy of the
Advertisers, your Audience, and the Algorithm, what I refer to is the
"Triad of Terror".
Diversify your revenue as a content creator as much as
possible.