Now don’t get me wrong, there are sites that can cash in using AdSense — whether it be a blog, a news site, or what have you — but for the love of your business, don’t put Google AdSense on your business site. There are probably a kazillion reasons why this is a really bad idea, but here are the biggies:

  1. Using Google AdSense sends visitors away from your site. I should repeat that or add an erie echo for dramatic effect, but I think you get the idea that this is huge. As a business owner, sending visitors away from your site should never, eeeeeeeeeeeeever be something you want to do. Yes, you will get ~$1 for the click, but is it worth it to lose a potential sale or client? And, it’s not just that one client you lose either; you’re losing much more when you factor in referral opportunities.
  2. Using AdSense on your small business website dilutes your message. It’s already hard enough to get your message across to your target market, why make it harder on yourself when you’re bombarding them with other, quite likely unrelated or competing, offerings?
  3. You’re not going to make any money. For all that you’re already losing by having Google AdSense on your website, you’re losing even more, because you’re not going to make any real income from it. Hopefully when someone comes across your site, they are seeking an answer to their problems and that answer should be your business — not an ad. Your click-through rates are not going to match those of the high traffic blogs and informational sites.
  4. Using AdSense on your site looks downright unprofessional. When I see a business owner using the service to put ads on their site, it’s a credibility crusher and a turn off.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t embed the original video I wanted to use, but here it is for your viewing pleasure: Bill Engvall’s Here’s Your Sign.