How To Add Google AdSense To Tumblr

Why You Should Add Google AdSense

Considering I have five Tumblr blogs with a different number of readership for each, Google AdSense on my Tumblr is possibly the smartest idea I've ever had. It's a lot easier to get people to come to your profile on Tumblr than it is your hubs on HubPages. People are suspicious of things they don't know. So whenever I posted links on various blogs leading here, they don't always get clicked because some people misinterpret them for spam. Since Tumblr is my only blogging platform, I figured I'd give adding Google AdSense a shot and so far it's paid off.
As far as I know it's completely legal to do. There are some sites (like Xanga and invisionfree) that will tell you you're not allowed to add Google AdSense unless you upgrade your account. Since IF already deals with Google AdSense, they'd rather make a profit than allow you too, so you're not going to get any help on that forum-based site. Also, I Googled adding AdSense to Tumblr and from what I've read I'm not the only one who's doing it. So for those of you who have Tumblr or plan to get it and want to use it for more revenue, use the following steps.

Dealing With Google AdSense

Step 1: Return to old AdSense interface.

• Up in the right corner there should be a button that says "return to old AdSense interface", click it. Because I don't have much experience with the new interface I'm not sure if the steps will be the same. You can try to convert it though if you want. I just know that for me it was easier to figure out with the old interface.

Step 2: Click "AdSense Setup" on the navigation bar.

• From here you'll see six options to choose from. Click the first, also titled "AdSense For Content". It will bring up another page that asks you to choose ad type. I personally chose "Ad Unit" and made sure that the drop down menu was on the "text and image ads (default)". I haven't experimented with the others, but feel free to do so if you're daring or know more about Google AdSense than I do.

Step 3: Choosing ad format and colors.

• Now what you choose here will be based on your Tumblr page. Because my about me section is a sidebar I chose 125x125 button. It'll be under the square options in the drop down menu. You can choose whatever you want though and whatever will fit your site. There are banners, vertical ads, whatever you could possibly want. When it comes to colors you have to decide if you want to keep it regular Google style with a default palette or make it match your site. I left it alone, but if you know the hex codes for your site colors you can make one to fit in perfectly with your background.
  
• Next are fonts and corner styles. I left the fonts the way they were, but Tumblr offers a lot of different styles and so you might want to match up the best you can. Google doesn't give you much choice here though, but maybe Times will fit better than Arial, who knows. The corner style is pretty much the same. Pick which ever works best for you. I liked square corners because the ad would have looked incredibly out of place if I had chosen rounded ones. The "more options" area I didn't touch. If you know more about Google AdSense and want to work with that, go right ahead. It should all come out the same in the end anyway.

Step 4: Getting your AdSense code.

• I had no idea what ad channels were, so I skipped that. You can just click continue without adding any, that's what I did. You may feel free to add channels if you're well-versed in that area. Next you'll come to a page that asks you to name your ad. I just left it as the date and size, but if you want to differentiate, change it to "Jessica's Tumblr" or whatever you have in mind. Click "submit and get code". Now leave that window untouched and open a new one and follow the next part.

Dealing With Tumblr

Step 5: Open your Tumblr blog.

• Go to your blog and find the "customize appearance" link on the right-hand sidebar. People do different things here, but for me I used the "info" tab to insert my ad. Make sure you have a theme that the ad will work with, or else with you insert it nothing will happen. Others have used the "theme" tab, enabled custom HTML and did it that way. My blog's theme didn't have what I needed to do that and it seemed a lot more complicated anyway. However, if you know your way around HTML, give it a shot.

Step 6: Copy and paste the code.

• Copy the Google AdSense code you created and paste it in the description section of the info tab you just opened. I already had the HubPage ad in my sidebar, so I put it right below and even added a profile view shortly after so I could keep track of how many people have been to my page recently. I centered my ads because it was more organized, but you aren't required to do that. If you have a compatible theme, then when you click outside the description box and the page refreshes, you should be able to see the ad pop up. If it's not compatible, you'll have to go find one that is. Just save your work and then browse the themes, that way you don't have to go through all that trouble of inserting the code again. Then just "save and close" and voila, you have Google AdSense on your Tumblr!

Results So Far

I haven't had my Google AdSense up for that long, less than twenty four hours, in fact. But I've seen a spike in my "estimated earnings" already. I moved up three dollars while I was sleeping just from the increased views. Also, a few people must have clicked the ads because that number went up as well. Considering that I put the ad on all my blogs and the more I post content, the more traffic I get, I expect to see good things twenty four hours from now. However, my most popular blog has more than 450 followers, so it's not a perfect method for those who just began using Tumblr or have a smaller following. It doesn't hurt to add Google AdSense though. Since my blogs are viewed more than my hubs, it's a better source of revenue for me. Do what works for you though.
If you have any questions or need any further help with this, post a comment and I'll offer what little expertise I have in the area. I'll also try to report back in a couple weeks with results as to whether or not this is effecting my earnings.