Last week I wrote a post about affiliate marketing and Mary from The Writer’s Block left a great comment and question. Instead of just answering her question as a comment, I though I would just do a post instead.
Her comment and question:
I have a question about Google ads. I have that on my blog. Since I blog about Christian themes, occasionally, Google ads will post “Christian-related” ads. Well, I clicked on one of these one time. I had some serious issues with the theological and doctrinal slant of this “church.”
So, I put a disclaimer on my blog, saying I do not necessarily endorse the theology represented in those ads. Is there any way to filter the Google ads? Any other ideas of a good way to handle this?
Yes you can filter ads on Google Adsense. However, it is only on a domain by domain basis. You have to actually list the domains you want to ban from being displayed on your site. This can be very time consuming as there could literally be thousands of sites you would want filtered out.
Something you might consider using instead of Google Adsense is a Christian based ad network. I have not actually used any Christian ad networks but a quick search on Google gave me a few results and places to check out. I have listed a them here:
- Christian Ad Network
- Faith Ad Net (I actually applied for this one but haven’t heard back yet.)
- Christian Web Ads
- Cross Ads (I applied for this one too)
Let me know if you apply to any of the networks listed and let us know how your experience with the company goes.
About Courtney
Thanks so much for the post on Christian Advertising sites. I am also interested in possible advertising for my Christian women’s book and have considered Google ads – however, I am going to investigate the Christian Ad networks you mentioned in your post. Please keep us updated on your progress…I appreciate your advice & feedback! God bless…
Thanks! I will try some of these. I haven’t done Google ads yet and may not ever, since I like to have full control over what is posted on my site. I’ve only been using affiliate networks where I can choose the code to add in a widget or post. I refused to post a JCP ad on my site because the woman pictured in the add wasn’t dressed modestly enough. So, yeah, I’m pretty serious about maintaining my integrity on the blog.
)
If I may do some self-advertising
… there’s a relatively new Christian ad network at ppc.intellichristian.com. Ads are matched to the site’s content and pay per-click. Ads are divided into channels by denominational groups, to accommodate sites of different Christian denominations. Now, you won’t make as much as with Google ads (although you can’t make much with Christian ads google does have either). But we had to create this service, because Google Adsense is simply a very bad idea for Christian sites. On the positive side, sites of any size are welcome, and currently publishers get to submit an ad about their own site for free when they join, as an added perk.
I’ll have to it out. Thanks for letting us know about it.
Hi Courtney,
Thanks for the tips. I fired adsense after hours of filtering cults, psychics and irrelevant ads to my Christian blog. Their lack of publisher support was appalling. I have just started up Faith Ad Network, Still waiting on Cross Ads, and I am on Beacon Ads as well but haven’t seen any results from them in filling my ad space. I am going to try IntelliChristian and see how they work.
I read your post on affiliate programs but unfortunately I am not a mom blogger although I was Mr. Mom for my teenage kids! LOL You might let your readers know that Amazon has a huge assortment of Christian products that they can promote on their websites too. The best way to use Amazon is a resource box at the end of the blog post with text links.
Blessings
Pastor Duke
Single and My kids Dad.