An overview of whether it's still possible to monetize a blog today, with methods and perspectives on monetization.

Is Blog Monetization Possible?

Yes, it is entirely possible to monetize a blog even today.

The reason is that new information constantly emerges, making it possible to create blog articles that can rank well on search engines by presenting the latest information in an easily readable format.

For example, the main content of my blog revolves around programming information. Programming is constantly evolving, and even with the same terminology, implementation methods change with version updates.

Because new information is always needed, responding to that demand makes it possible to generate traffic and monetize your blog, even if you’re just starting.

Most of the sites you search for and read likely contain articles written within the last few years.

Primary Methods of Generating Revenue

1. Increase page views
2. Recommend products
3. Introduce materials or services

Increasing Page Views for Revenue

This method involves increasing page views to generate revenue through ads.

For example, news sites and gaming walkthrough sites often use this revenue model.

The most famous ad service for this method is Google AdSense.

Promoting Products for Revenue

1. Introduce products you actually use
2. Compare similar products
3. Recommend products for specific use cases

This approach generates revenue by writing articles that promote products.

Even for the same product, you could create different articles such as:

• "Studying with 'Readable Code'"
• "Programming Learning Book Rankings"
• "How to Write Readable Code"

Among these approaches, product comparisons are especially effective, as they help users who are overwhelmed by many choices. An example of a media platform that does this well is MyBest.

Popular services for this method include Amazon Affiliate and Rakuten Affiliate.

Introducing Materials or Services for Revenue

This approach is highly profitable and popular among affiliate marketers, as it often involves high unit prices.

For example, this may include promoting FX accounts by emphasizing potential earnings or ranking job sites you haven't actually used, just to earn high commissions.

However, promoting products tied to your own experience can not only efficiently boost sales but also provide genuine value to readers.

Popular services for this method include:

A8.net

and

Moshimo Affiliate

Roadmap to Generate Revenue

1. Decide on your blog’s theme
2. Set up the blog
3. Add Google Analytics
4. Add Google Search Console
5. Write 10 articles
6. Apply for Google AdSense and Amazon Affiliate
7. Continue publishing articles

Decide on Your Blog’s Theme

The first step is to decide on a theme for your blog.

A general, miscellaneous blog may only succeed if you already have name recognition (such as a celebrity). By focusing on a specific niche, even a regular person can attract readers.

Furthermore, if the theme is too broad, it will be difficult to compete with larger sites.

Therefore, it’s recommended to further specialize within that theme to increase traffic.

For instance, even if you choose "travel" as a broad theme, narrowing down to topics like "Travel," "Trains," and "Kyushu Region" makes for a more focused blog theme.

Google recognizes the website’s domain as specializing in a certain area, which greatly influences search rankings. So, creating a "Travel" blog that covers "Trains" in "Kyushu" could be an effective approach. Once recognized in that niche, you could gradually expand the scope to topics like "Okinawa."

My own site started by specializing in Laravel (a programming framework), and over time, it has gained traction even in other programming languages, which I attribute to Google recognizing it as a programming-related site.

Set Up the Blog

Next, let’s set up the blog.

There are various ways to set up a blog, but if you want to monetize it, it’s crucial to rent a server and purchase a domain (such as laratech.jp for this site).

Growing a domain = Monetizing your blog—owning your domain is that essential.

It may sound daunting, but these days, renting a server and starting a WordPress blog is easy.

What Is WordPress?

WordPress is a tool for easily creating websites like blogs. It has built-in features to publish articles and reflect them immediately on the page, making it easy to focus on writing.

With WordPress, even beginners can create visually appealing sites and install monetization tools without programming knowledge.

Among beginner-friendly rental servers, I personally recommend ConoHa WING for its ease of use.

Features of ConoHa WING:

1. Easy to start a blog
2. Blog layout templates available for purchase at a low cost
3. User-friendly control panel
4. Fast loading speed

ConoHa WING also offers discounts on blog themes (templates), making it easy for beginners to install them and start writing.

For more information on setting up a blog, ConoHa’s official media offers a helpful guide: How to Start WordPress Easily for Beginners in 10 Minutes.

Start with the Lowest Plan

When renting a server, the cheapest plan will suffice.

As mentioned here, “the basic plan is sufficient initially since traffic will be low.”

Choose a Theme You Like

Choose a blog theme that you genuinely enjoy, allowing you to focus solely on writing content without worrying about design.

Popular options include JIN and SANGO.

Add Google Analytics

After setting up your blog, add Google Analytics (https://developers.google.com/analytics?hl=en), a site analysis tool provided by Google.

You can easily find installation instructions by searching “Google Analytics [Theme Name]” online.

Guide to Setting Up Google Analytics and Google Search Console

Add Google Search Console

Next, set up Google Search Console (https://search.google.com/search-console/about?hl=en), a tool to monitor your rankings and search keywords.

This tool is essential for submitting your sitemap, helping Google recognize and display your pages in search results.

You can find setup instructions by searching “Search Console [Theme Name]” online.

Create a Sitemap and Register with Search Console

A sitemap is an index of your blog’s pages.

Registering your sitemap with Google Search Console enables Google to recognize and display your pages in search results.

A recommended way to create a sitemap is using the XML Sitemap plugin.

Setting Up XML Sitemap with SANGO Using the “XML Sitemaps” Plugin

Write 10 Articles

Once these settings are complete, aim to write 10 articles.

If there’s no traffic after publishing 10 articles, the first thing to check is whether Google has indexed your pages.

Open Search Console and select “Pages” from the menu. If your new articles are listed as registered pages, you’re all set.

If a page isn’t indexed, you can submit its URL and request indexing.

Apply for Google AdSense and Amazon Affiliate

As your article count grows, consider signing up for monetization services.

Google AdSense

1. Apply for an AdSense account
2. Install the ad code on your blog
3. Generate clicks and impressions on the ads
4. Receive payments from Google based on ad performance.

※ Specific requirements for Google AdSense or other ad networks may vary, so be sure to review the terms for each before starting.

https://adsense.google.com/intl/en_us/start/

Amazon Affiliate

https://affiliate.amazon.co.jp/

With Amazon Affiliate, you can earn revenue by promoting and selling products.

The benefit here is that even if the user who clicks your affiliate link buys a different product, you still earn a commission.

If a user from your site adds a product to their shopping cart within 24 hours and purchases it within 90 days, you’ll receive a referral fee.

It’s explained here

For instance, even if a user clicks a link to a low-cost book, they may end up buying an expensive item, leading to substantial revenue.

Increase Your Number of Posts

With only 10 articles, it’s quite common not to have any traffic at all.

Therefore, it’s important to keep going.

Of course, some people may succeed with just 10 articles, but that’s usually only experienced individuals who know the ins and outs. In the beginning, it’s best to focus on writing and learning along the way.

Costs of Running a Blog

At the time of writing, the cost is about ¥24,400 for a three-year contract (or about ¥678 per month).

Compared to a smartphone bill, it seems quite affordable, and in terms of risk, it’s lower than investing in FX or other dubious informational products.

Paying the upfront cost may hit your wallet initially, but the knowledge you gain from running a blog can eventually help you land projects, making it a worthwhile investment.

Check out ConoHa WING’s recommended plans to see the differences between each

The revenue you generate from your blog can be a useful asset if you pursue digital marketing work in the future.

How I Actually Generate Revenue

I own three domains, each of which generates revenue.

Write How-To Articles and Earn with AdSense

The main revenue model for this site, which you’re reading now, is to increase page views and earn through Google AdSense.

I write articles on topics like new tool features or solutions to error messages, aiming to help people with useful information.

The key is to write about problems you’ve actually encountered and solutions you’ve implemented.

Writing about things you’ve actually experienced is important—no pretending here.

Write Articles About Products You’ve Actually Used

With so many products out there, I write articles about specific products, using their names in titles and covering the actual results of using them.

My tips are:

1. Include information you think is missing when people search for that product
2. Take photos
3. Write your own experience-based impressions

I earn revenue through Amazon Affiliate in this way.

Curate Tools Used by Professionals

I run a site that curates tools used by professionals.

With this article style, I generate revenue through Amazon Affiliate, summarizing tools favored by industry experts.

In Conclusion

These days, companies are strategically leveraging budgets to capture search engine rankings, so it’s tough for individuals to compete.

Therefore, I recommend:

1. A niche area
2. A highly specialized genre
3. A topic where you have knowledge that’s unique (or plan to acquire such knowledge)

This approach is ideal for building a strong position.

That said, even if your blog doesn’t succeed, your loss is generally limited to the rental server fees, so it might be worth starting as a hobby just to see how it goes!