This is a web log of what I’m doing to go beyond making a few cents per day using nothing but AdSense from the blogs. It’s something I’ve been wanting to dive into for a very long time, and feel that I am in a position to make some moves.
Well, that is, as long as Google stops strangling the traffic to the websites. AI Overviews have eliminated about 70% of my monthly traffic across the board. That includes the writing, gaming, and health and fitness blogs.
So, at the moment, it’s a bit of an uphill battle. You need traffic to the site to make money. And if Google’s AI is just giving away answers, fewer people have reason to visit and read the content.
No visitors = no income.
Anyway, I’m going to see if I can start making a few extra bucks per month. And this will be an ongoing post as more information becomes available.
What Methods Are Viable Forms of Income?
Using Affiliate Links
Affiliate links are a coveted addition to a website for many bloggers. In fact, it’s believed that bloggers can earn anywhere between $0 and $100,000 per month, depending on experience, content, and niche.
I, myself, have made a few hundred dollars with the very few affiliate links I have on my blogs. It’s nowhere near the $100k mark, but it’s helped pay a few bills.
Because “experts” are still focusing on affiliate marketing in 2026, I’ve decided to give it a try. Well, doing more than I have in the past.
I’m not a very good capitalist. I try to give away as much as I can for free to help people, regardless of the blog. However, I have some major things going on right now, and doing the bare minimum is no longer an option. So, I’m going to go all-in with affiliate marketing and see what comes of it.
But I have to say, I’m not 100% convinced, especially with how fickle Google search has been since 2023.
Using AdSense
AdSense is perhaps one of the easiest ways to monetize a website. As long as you have a dozen or so high-quality articles, Google will authorize the site to show ads. There is one massive problem with using AdSense, though…
You need A LOT of traffic to make any meaningful amount of money.
For instance, my writing website (which focuses on blogging, freelancing, and self-publishing) would need roughly 152,905 visitors per month to make $1,000 from AdSense. That’s not even a livable wage.
The bottom line is that AdSense pays poorly, and it’s even worse now that Google is dumping so much time and energy into AI-driven answers.