It seems that when it comes to AdSense on a blog, most bloggers are either all for it, or completely against it. If you don’t necessarily want your blog to be a moneymaking machine cluttered with ads, but would like to at least cover hosting charges while staying tasteful, then here are a few simple strategies for including ads on your blog without looking too cheap.

1. Localize Your AdSense – Keep your AdSense just on your individual post pages. That is where there will be the highest concentration of information that relates to a specific topic (if you follow the rest of this post). Or, find the posts that have really hit a nerve on Google, and load some AdSense into just those few posts. Set up AdSense Channels for those posts, and experiment with different colors, if willing.
2. Use Section Targeting – “Blogging Tips.” “Start Your Own Blog.” sick of seeing ads like this on your blog? It’s probably because you have a blogroll or other blog-related things on your – blog. By inserting AdSense Section Targeting, you can target regions for AdSense to take into account, and for AdSense to ignore, when choosing what ads it serves up. You’ll start having more relevant ads on your pages.
3. Don’t Get Slashdotted (or Digged, if You Will) – It may be exhilarating to see that your latest post getting tons of traffic from a very popular site, and you may think that will bring you ad revenue, but the fact is, you’ll be paying a ton on bandwidth overage and those users aren’t going to be clicking on your ads.
4. With That in Mind, DO Get Googled – Slashdot user path: visit Slashdotted post, leave flaming comment, leave, visit next Slashdotted link. Google user path: search for something, click on your site, read useful information, see enticing ad relating to that information, click on ad.
5. Pick Your Topics Wisely – Forget about finding a niche topic for your blog. When going for AdSense revenue, user loyalty is overrated (so much for not being a sellout). You don’t want users in browse mode, you want users in search mode. Find a niche topic for this post, because that’s what is going to bring in people who are looking for something in particular, whether it’s a product that fulfills a niche need, a frightening yet poorly-documented medical affliction, or strange bugs killing their plant.
6. Write Good Posts – Before writing a post, think about what that post is about, then ask yourself what someone searching for that information might Google. Try searching for that string. If there is too much competition, you may want to target a slightly less popular keyphrase. You may even want to try the Overture Keyword Tool if you need suggestions. If there is still too much competition, reconsider your post. Do you really have anything new to say about this topic?
7. Blog Like No One is Reading – All of the above sound great in theory, but who really knows what will strike the balance between high-search rate and low competition? Blog about things in your life – things that you know – using descriptive keywords, then see what gets the Google traffic. Learn. Repeat.

I hope following these guidelines will help you collect an AdSense check while maintaining some peace of mind.