Google AdSense is trying to help me make more money but I say no thank you

I got an email from Google Adsense rep mykle (it's always a lower case m) on the following tips to making more money on my blog.  I pasted most of it here but if you want the tl;dr version, basically to make more money I need to make it harder for my readers to read my content.  For example instead of putting all of the post in one easy to read page, Adsense suggest I only have a small excerpt of the beginning and then do a "Read More" button to redirect you to another page (which I find annoying on other people's blogs) or put an ad before and after a blog post (again, annoying).  Or unblock general categories so that you can see ads for anything and everything (no thanks, no lawyer ads for mesothelioma lawsuits on my blog please).  Sure earning more than $0.50 a day from ads on my blog would be nice but at what cost?  Or do you think I'm just over-reacting?  Would readers still enjoy the content even with these extra inconveniences?


The email from Google Adsense:


The following recommendations are AdSense optimizations and best practices to help you grow your revenue: 

Change the position of your current adsOther publishers with similar sites to yours have found success placing ads before and right after the articles, as that is the area where your users are most focused on! Additionally, since you have a good amount of mobile traffic, keep in mind that your two ads on the right panel will have very low visibility since they are forced to the bottom of the page, below your articles. 

I would recommend placing a responsive ad at the beginning of your articles, right after the title and date. I would then place another ad at the end of the articles, before the tags. Depending on how your website works, you may have to add the code manually to the beginning and end of the articles when creating a new post.

Adjust your website theme/design Your site has lots of great, well written articles. However, they are shown in their entirety on your home page and users can essentially read several articles and you'd only get 3 (2 at this time) impressions. In order to increase the number of impressions on your site, I would recommend displaying only a portion of your articles on your homepage with a photo and have a "Read more.." button/link to direct users to view the article on its own separate page. 

If you make this change to your homepage, I would recommend placing an ad at the header, just below the logo, and another ad in-between the articles or at the bottom of the page.

Keep General Categories unblockedI noticed you had 15 blocked categories. When you block categories, it reduces the amount of advertisers competing for space on your website, which means there is less competition and lower CPCs. As a best practice, we advise publishers to keep all General Categories unblocked.

As an alternative to blocking whole categories, you can block specific ads in the Ads Review Center under the Allow & Block ads tab.

Try page-level adsThese new page-level ads are specifically for mobile and do not count against your 3 ad limit. 

Once you have implemented these settings, please let me know and I will review your setup to make sure you are optimized.

Thank you to my readers who help me make some cents (and dollars) on my blog!

No reason for this picture other than it's awesome

Back when I went to Alt Summit this past June, most of the bloggers there were already monetizing their blog.  But I thought that would be a long way off for me.  But right around August, I noticed traffic to my site picking up so I decided to try out an affiliate program.  My first choice?  Amazon (because duh,  it has everything.)  The first day I sent a bunch of emails to my friends to ask for their support since I wasn't sure if I could qualify for the program with my own blog (you need to make a sale in a certain period to be fully qualified for Amazon's program).  And for a month or so I didn't really make any money from Amazon.  But as I started to write more product reviews, of products I purchased myself from Amazon, I started earning a small percentage (I'm talking about earning cents here).  But as more traffic came the overall total increased.  As of today (early November), I'm at $50 (yipeee!).  I know it's not a ton, but it feels great that my writing is earning me something!

I also added Google Adsense to my blog.  These are the ads that you see on the right, in my sidebar.  I limited it as much as I could to fashion (so you won't be seeing really annoying ads for weightloss and lawyers).  But I also earn cents every time someone scrolls past it.  If it's an ad for something you actually want to buy (like if it's a retargeted ad), and you click on it, then I earn as much as $1.  Again, not much but it's something.  Currently, since August I'm at $14.

Finally, I do a lot of Everlane reviews.  I usually add a referral link in there at the end or the beginning of the post because for every person who signs-up and then purchases something from Everlane, I get $25 in credit.  And last week I got my first $25!  Which is awesome because everyone knows how much I love Everlane!

Also last week I got my first invite into an affiliate program.  But it was for UK companies I wasn't familiar with.  After some research, I realized that these were companies I would never purchase from.  And so I said no.  It didn't feel right to promote them just for the sake of promotion.  If I promote anything on my blog, I want it to be items I have actually purchased or would have purchased myself.  Because at the end of the day I need to stay true to my readers (about 1500 of you who are repeat readers on Temporary Housewifey) and I write this blog to share my life, not to make money (that's just the frosting!).  So thank you all for your support!

What's been going on with me lately (aka why there are no new posts for over a week)!

It's been almost 1 full week since my last post,  and I feel like if I don't keep up with the posts my SEO will suffer.  In all reality though I don't think I would lose that many readers since most of my readers are first timers who stumble upon my blog while searching for reviews (thanks Google Analytics).  So, of course it would be much better for me to just chill and produce quality content instead of just fillers.  But I get anxious and feel the itch to blog.  So I guess that's what this outlet is for.  It seems like I have 7 readers somewhat consistently reading, so hello THE (as in Temporary Housewifey Extras) 7.  Hopefully you find this whole side project interesting enough to read!

So what has been going on with me?  Well my maternal grandmother is in the hospital in Tokyo, so I was away for 5 days to visit her.  It's always hard to find the appropriate response when people ask me how she is.  To be frank, she is not doing well at all.  But I always feel like I need to temper this news with a "well she's 94" as if her old age allows it to be somewhat acceptable that she's suffering in a hospital bed.  I mean at the end of life, it's not really about the quantity, its about the quality of life right?  But its hard to let go when she still seems alert and like herself (but she can't talk because she has a feeding tube, or breath without another tube).  Is this what end of life means?  Having your body function as long as possible?

Sorry to get all heavy on you there.  These are just things that have been clattering around in my head for awhile.  I still have class on Tuesday and Thursday nights, so I've been doing some work for that (P.S. If you're wondering if General Assembly is worth your money and time, I would say yes it is).  And then two days after coming back from Tokyo, I was flying out again.  This time it was to Vegas.  It's a bit of a trip going from a somber hospital bed in Tokyo one Saturday night to Omnia Nightclub in Caesar's Palace the next Saturday.  But the trip was really fun and I got to spend time with some amazing friends.  And then I had a great time with a close friend who was staying with us.  And then I had to take my dog to the vet (long story short, he's been "coned" but he's fine).

With all that going on along with jet lag and Las Vegas-not-sleeping-jet-lag, I've been out of sorts lately. And it's taking me awhile to get back to my regular routine (well as much of a routine as a temporary housewife has).  But hopefully next week I'll be back with new Everlane reviews (I'm finally going to finish the Everlane Fall 2015 Sweater Review), some other interesting posts, some new flat lays for Insta, and some exciting news on what's going on with the Temporary Housewifey next year (spoiler: We're planning to move!).

Did you get a Mansur Gavriel bag today?

I didn't.  I missed out this morning because I overslept due to a slightly injured and therefore fussy dog.  Ah well, there's always next time (and hopefully next time will mean a mini lady bag!!).  In the meantime, for those who did manage to swoop in and get one, here's my tips on how to protect and condition your bag: A guide on Mansur Gavriel leather conditioners and protectors.

Why I finally got Facebook for Temporary Housewifey

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I never wanted to get Facebook for my blog.  But never say never, right?  Well to explain why I never wanted Facebook for Temporary Housewifey in the first place: As a blogger I won't really be able to compete in the platform with your friends/family and with advertisers paying the big bucks (whether it's a sponsored post or a boosted post).  Plus I don't really believe in Facebook (it's becoming an irrelevant platform).  But in the end I changed my mind because of: 1) Well first and foremost SEO (Facebook has a high PageRank, so any links I put on here will help increase the PageRank of my own site), and 2) Facebook is now kind of like how a website was back in the day, not always useful to have but everyone had one.  Right now I'm using FB more like a curation site where I'll repost some of my favorite blog posts, and once in awhile I'll throw in a link to my own blog posts.  But in digital marketing you should choose carefully what platforms to spend your time on, and I don't think Facebook is the one for me (along with Pinterest, though I am trying to keep up with my Instagram).

Why I'm not an "Aspirational" Blogger

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But first, if you're looking for some aspirational bloggers, here's a list of my favorites:

Atlantic-Pacific
Could I have that
Damsel in Dior
eat.sleep.wear
Extra Petite
Five Five Fabulous
Lingered Upon
Sincerely Jules
Viva Luxury
WishWishWish

Most style and fashion blogs you see out there feature bloggers posing around a beautiful city in beautiful clothes.  As a style/fashion-lover, I've tried a couple times to write some posts that feature the clothes I was wearing.  However I quickly discovered 2 very important things: 1) I'm not a talented model and 2) my husband is not a talented photographer.  And so instead I've focused on flat lays (which visually appeal to me and I can execute on my own) and also on providing good guides/tips/reviews on the products that I purchase.  In this way I hope to be a resource for people who are looking to purchase but want to do their research first (I on the other hand am more of a "pull the trigger quick and return it if it doesn't work" kind of girl).  And in the end I'm happy to have gone this route because I've realized that as much as I like to look at aspirational blogs, these markets are fully saturated.  And in the end, the point of clothes is not to just look good and prance around a city for "editorial shots" but rather to feel like you look good so that you can conquer the world in whatever your ambition drives you to do.

Everlane Reviews

Everlane is consistently coming out with really interesting clothes lately.  I wonder if it's because they hired a new creative director, Rebecca Bay (formerly of GAP and COS), this past summer.  And just in time too because for awhile there was nothing I wanted to buy from Everlane.  Which was good for my wallet but not for my closet (or for my blog content that revolved around reviews).  But recently I've been purchasing something new almost every week.  I don't always keep everything, but I'm willing to give most things a try (especially since Everlane's return policy is really great).  Here are some of the reviews I've done so far: Everlane Modern Point Shoes, Modern Loafers, Street Shoes, Everlane Sweater and Silk Review (going to be doing a part 2 of this soon), Everlane Tees Review, and the Petra Tote review.

Like I said I'll be doing an update of the sweater and silk review with the addition of their sweater tees, their scuba sweatshirt (just ordered today!  I don't know but it looks pretty bulky...), and their modern point silk color shirt.  I also ordered their clean-edge tee and the Ponte short sleeve dress.  Oh and their leather street shoes in black.  So all of those are on my agenda to review.  Currently I'm finishing up a review on their modern zip backpack.  I guess it looks like I'm a bit obsessed with Everlane.  But I'll keep buying their stuff as long as they keep coming out with great items!