Google doesn\’t just have the best search engine on the Web.
It doesn\’t just have the best contextual advertising system on the Web.
Heck, it doesn\’t just have the best advertising system of any form of media in the world.
It also has the best corporate slogan.
\”Do no evil\” is a great attitude for any business.
Now, you can certainly argue about whether Google lives up to it. (Personally, I don\’t think the company\’s perfect but I think it does a pretty good job.) But you can\’t argue with the sentiment.
In fact, I\’d go a little further and say that every online business should try to do good.
By that I mean it should do more than make money.
Yes, money is a good thing. It\’s certainly a useful thing. But if you\’re creating a site with just one goal — to make money — you\’ll find it very hard to make a dime.
To be successful a website has to bring something truly valuable to the marketplace.
That might be news about a topic you enjoy, like photography or football.
It could be tips on converting a garage into a workroom or setting up a home network.
Or it might just be side-splitting stories about you, your family and what your crazy cat got up to last week. Even that can be considered doing good, as long as it brings a smile into people\’s day.
This isn\’t just another way of saying that content is king. Content does rule but this is a whole other attitude. It\’s about understanding that you — everyone — has something valuable to contribute to other people.
The most important thing you can do when you\’re developing your site is to recognize what your readers are getting out of it — and out of you. If you can understand why they come back to read your content, you\’ll know your site\’s true value.
That\’s not a figure you\’ll find on an AdSense check. But it will certainly affect the figures you find you find on your AdSense check.