How To Make Money On YouTube (Increase Ad Income)

When you click the links and ads on this blog, it helps me to pay the bills & keep this site free for you. Thanks for supporting me! For more info, read the Disclosure page.

Want to know how to make money on YouTube?

Even if you are making money, would you like to increase your ad income?

Well, these are some topics that I will discuss here in brief.

Over the past few years, YouTube has tremendously become popular and nowadays people are more spending time on YouTube than watching TV.

With over a billion visitors each month, YouTube is a great platform to do business and to make money online.

Currently, there are over a million creators and most of them are making quite a good income. So, why should you hold back?

If you are new and don’t know how to make money on YouTube, then you must definitely read this guide till the end.

Pinterest pin for YouTube money

Steps To Make Money On YouTube

1. Choose A Niche

Picture of niches

Before you even think to start your own YouTube channel, you should know what you’re good at.

If you do a quick research on YouTube, then you can find many profitable niches you’d like to target.

Here are a few of them:

  • Gaming
  • Cooking
  • Technical related stuff
  • Product Reviews
  • Vlogs
  • Singing/Dancing
  • Teaching
  • Fashion
  • Pet videos
  • Funny videos

Videos which are funny, creative, entertaining gets a lot of views.

I mean, who doesn’t want to laugh and have a good time?

However, it doesn’t mean that you won’t get enough views if you choose some other category.

Absolutely no!

There are many people who are getting a lot of views from other niches and are quite successful.

If you have to choose a specific niche, then don’t run behind those niches that make you uncomfortable even if it is quite rewarding.

You must always concentrate on that niche you are an expert in. I mean, if you love what you do, you can keep on creating videos even if you see little progress.

Think about it, if you’re trying to create entertaining videos just because you know it will garner more views and all you see is dislikes and bad comments.

Will you still make more videos on the same category even though you’re not good at it?

I guess no.

What matters is your interest & passion. If you are someone who loves to create craft items and you’re good at it.

Then take a camera and shoot yourself making the same craft items.

I am sure there is a huge audience on YouTube who will love your stuff.

Even if you see little views initially, I am damn sure you won’t get tired in making such videos. The reason is simple “You love your niche”.

So, at last, I just want to say that choose a topic that you’re interested in and start working on it.

And don’t worry about the views because there is an audience for every niche on YouTube.

2. Create A YouTube Channel

Picture of a YouTube channel

Once you’ve chosen your niche, it’s time to create a YouTube channel. Now, creating a YouTube channel is so simple, and it barely takes 10 minutes.

3. Understand Google Ads

Picture of Google Ads

When your channel gets monetized with Google Adsense, you will see ads being played on your videos.

Basically, there are two types of ads which advertisers bid on YouTube.

  • CPC
  • CPV

A) CPC

CPC stands for Cost per click which means an advertiser pays money based on clicks.

So, if there is a CPC ad while you’re watching a video and if you click them, then there will be a certain amount of price based on the keyword that will be charged to the advertiser.

Let’s say, an advertiser is running an ad on “web hosting” which has a CPC rate of $18 and it is being displayed on your published video.

Now, if someone clicks that ad, then $18 will be charged to the advertiser and that $18 will be added to your Adsense account.

This means you just earned $18 from a web hosting ad which was displayed on your video.

Makes sense?

Now, this is just an assumption because the CPC rate will be different for different countries.

B) CPV

CPV stands for cost per view which means an advertiser will pay money based on views.

These types of ads are different from CPC and you won’t get paid if someone clicks them.

The only way to get paid from CPV ads is when someone watches it for at least 30 secs.

However, if they skip, then you won’t make any penny.

Now, based on CPC & CPV, Adsense has different ads that are displayed on YouTube such as:

  • Trueview ads: These are skippable video ads that are played before the video. These ads can be skipped after five seconds.
  • Non-skippable Ads: These video ads are also played before the video but they aren’t skippable. Usually, its length will be around 1-2 min.
  • Bumper ads: These video ads are also non-skippable and are played before the video. But they have a maximum length of only six seconds.
  • Overlay ads: It is a text or picture based ads that are displayed at the bottom of the video.
  • Display ads: These ads basically appear above the video suggestion list on the right side.

You can read this guide to know more in detail.

4. Choose High CPC Keywords And Create Videos

Picture of creating videos

This is the part where you need to apply your brain. Most of the YouTubers don’t even pay attention to this method & if they do, they can easily boost their ad income.

You see, most of them think that:

More views = More ad income

which is not true. Actually, below is the correct equation:

More clicks = More ad income.

You know, if your video gets one million views, but if nobody is viewing or clicking any ads, then you won’t make any money. This means that even after getting one million view, you’ll be making $0.

So, its really important that the ads on your video should get clicks & views as much as possible if you want to increase your income.

But what if you are getting only $0.05 or $0.10 per click or view? This means, you will need at least 20 clicks/views to make $1.

However, what if your video fails to get 20 clicks or takes a lot of time to achieve it?

This is where you need to target high CPC keywords.

Think about it, what if, for per click or per view, you can make $1-$5 or more?

This means, even if you get decent traffic or clicks, you can easily increase your ad revenue. Isn’t it?

So, thats why you should always target high CPC keywords on your video.

But wait, how do you find them?

Just go and create an Adwords account and then use the Google keyword planner. Don’t worry, its completely free.

This tool is basically for advertisers who wants to bid on different keywords. You can type in any keyword and check their CPC rate.

You can also use Tubebuddy which is a free browser extension. Using this tool, you can do a lot of things which can help you to grow your channel. You can read my Tubebuddy review here.

Anyways, lets stick with Google keyword planner. As an example, I will search two keywords on this tool.

  • Best Web Hosting
  • Swagbucks review

As you can see below, the first keyword has a CPC rate of $2.03 & the second keyword has a CPC rate of $16.87.

Screenshot of Google Keyword Planner

Suppose, if I create a video on both these keywords, then the people who will be clicking on the ads displaying on these videos will credit me up to $2.03 & $16.87 .

Right?

So, based on this scenario, let’s see, two cases.

Let me tell you, the same scenario has been wonderfully explained on Verticalsight.com. You can check that out too.

Case 1: Explanation

Suppose, if my first keyword (web hosting) is getting 1000 views out of which only 10 people clicked the ads, then the CTR (click through rate) will be 1%.

(If you don’t know, CTR % is equal to the actual clicks divided by impressions x 100)

This means, with only 10 clicks, the total ad income will be $168.7 (10 x 16.87). Out of which, Google takes 32% share, which leaves me only $114.71.

That is $1 per 8-9 views.

Case 2: Explanation

If I talk about my second keyword, consider, it is getting around 10,000 views out of which 100 people are clicking the ads, that makes the CTR 1%.

This means the total ad income will be $203 out of which, I will get $138.04 after removing the Google share.

So, if I calculate, then I am making $1 with 72 views.

So, you can see the difference that if you target high CPC keywords, you have a better chance to make more money even if you get decent views.

Here, one keyword is making $1 with 72 views and the other one is making the same with only 8-9 views. That’s a lot of difference.

In short, Adsense income depends on the keywords that you target.

If you’ve targeted high CPC keywords and getting a good CTR, then you’ll definitely make more money than normal YouTubers who gets the same views.

However, these cases are just an assumption and CPC rates also depend on the demographics.

It’s not like, you’ll get the exact CPC from every country. Some of the countries will give a good CPC rate and others will give a low CPC rate.

If you check out my Adsense CPC rates from this website, you can see that countries like Germany, USA, Canada, South Africa are giving me high CPC.

Adsense CPC rate

That is why demographics also play a huge role in your ad income. If your target audience resides in these countries, you have a better chance to make more by targeting high CPC keywords.

That’s a lot of CPC’s right? lol

5. Apply For Adsense

Now, this section only applies to those YouTubers who have:

  • More than 1000 subscribers
  • More than 4000 hours of watch time in the last 12 months

So, if you’re a new YouTuber, then you won’t be able to monetize your channel with Adsense as of now because you aren’t eligible.

I will suggest that you keep on making quality videos to increase your subscribers as well as watch time.

Once you hit the mark, then quickly apply for monetization.

However, if your channel already fulfills these criteria’s, then just go for it.

You can read this YouTube Adsense monetization guide to know more.

Other Ways To Make Money On YouTube

Well, till now, I have only talked about Adsense. But, what about other ways that will help you to make money on YouTube?

Is there any other way?

Sure, there is. Actually, that’s what I am going to discuss next.

1. Affiliate Marketing

Picture of affiliate marketing

If you like a certain product such as a camera, mobile or any product that you’ve already used, then you can simply make money by selling them through Affiliate marketing.

All you need to do is sign-up for the affiliate program for specific products and then use the affiliate link in your video description.

Make sure to tell your audience about the link that you’ve dropped in the description.

Once they click that link and buy the product, you’ll get a certain percentage of commission.

So, the more they buy, the more you’ll make.

You can read this affiliate marketing guide to know more.

2. Sponsorship Video

Picture of sponsorship

If you have a good audience and getting a lot of engagement in your videos, then you shouldn’t be surprised if any brand approaches you.

There are many YouTubers who are making quite a good income by sponsoring different brands through their videos.

You must have seen that a particular YouTuber talks about a product at the beginning or at the end of the video saying that they have left a link in the description which gives you 5% or 10% discount on purchase.

Well, that 5%-10 % is actually their commission for every sale they make. So, if you too want to have such opportunities, then concentrate on growing your channel & audience by making great videos.

3. Sell Merchandise Or Products

Picture of products & merchandise

This is another method that many established YouTubers are using to make more money.

All you need to do is open your own e-store using Shopify or any other e-commerce platform where you can sell your T-shirts or anything that you would like to sell.

Then, while making videos, always tell your audience about your products and make sure to drop your e-store link in the description.

In this way, you can drive your YouTube audience to your e-store where they’ll surely check out your products and even buy them.

4. License Your Videos

Picture of licensing your video

A viral video is every YouTubers dream because it can give you lots of views and subscribers.

But, it is a matter of luck.

Now, if there is a particular video of yours that went viral, then there is a high chance that the media or any brand is interested to feature the same video on their news channel or morning show.

If it happens, you can ask them money in exchange for the rights. Well, it isn’t a sureshot way but if you are lucky, you can cash out a lot of money.

5. Fan Funding

Picture of fan-funding

You can also set-up fan funding streams where your fans/subscribers will donate money as a gesture of love.

This is a great way to make some extra money every month. Whether you are a gamer or any other YouTuber, you can always run live streams where your audience can surely support your work by donation.

To do this, you can use YouTube’s Fan Funding feature where you can create a tipping jar for your viewers to donate.

F.A.Q

Q1. How Many Subscribers Do You Need To Make Money On Youtube?

Well, if you want to make money from Adsense, then you’ll need at least 1000 subscribers & 4000 watch hours.

Q2. How Much Money Do You Make Per View On Youtube?

First of all, views doesn’t account for YouTube’s income. Its the “clicks on the ad” which makes money for you.

If you are targeting high CPC keywords, then you’ll make more money per clicks. If you are targeting low CPC keywords, then you’ll make less. Also, your audience demographics play a huge role.

Q3. How Do Youtubers Get Paid?

YouTubers get paid through Google Adsense. Apart from this, they can make money from Affiliate Marketing, Sponsorship, selling products & fan funding.

Q4. Is It Hard To Make Money On Youtube?

Well, if you are on YouTube just for the money, then it will be hard for you because making money on YouTube need patience. However, if you are really passionate about YouTube & your niche, then it will be easy for you because you will have patience.

Did you make it till here? Congrats!

If you really loved this information, then don’t forget to share and pin this article.

Pinterest pin for YouTube money ideas

Do you have any other question on your mind, then feel free to drop the comment.

Pinterest pin for YouTube money ideas
Pinterest pin for YouTube money ideas
Spread the love

Leave a Comment

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.