Google AdSense is a simple advertising service that integrates with your website and displays adverts related to the content of your site.
All of the adverts displayed are derived from Google Ads, a service that provides cost per click (CPC) advertising.
The AdSense service is free and the money you receive is a share of the advertiser’s fee to AdWords.
How does it work?
You can apply AdSense in many ways – to RSS feeds, mobile content, unused domains and even videos. However, the most commonly used methods are:
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AdSense For Content
This compiles a list of adverts to be shown by looking at the content of your website, picking up which words and phrases (keywords) are most popular in the page and searching the Google Ads database for compatible ads.
You can make money in two ways: a fee is paid to you for every advert that is clicked on or; you get paid when an advert reaches a set number of impressions (displays) on your website.
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AdSense For Search
This allows you to place a Google search box on your website. In this case the results are generated by searching both the internet for web pages (as in a normal Google search) and the AdWords database for ads that reflect the search terms.
Factors such as your country and location are also taken into account when the list of results is compiled.
For example, say you have a website that reviews venues in London and you are using AdSense for content on your site. AdSense will pick up on the most popular keywords in your content and display relevant adverts, a logical choice would be for local restaurants and bars.
Advantages
The great thing about this method of advertising is that the ads are targeted. The theory is the adverts are more likely to be clicked on because your visitors have already shown interest in the topic they cover by visiting your website or searching for the term.
This option also takes away the hassle of trying to find willing advertisers and negotiating fees.
Disadvantages
It would be fair to say that Google AdSense will bring in a relatively low income unless you have a high volume of traffic on your website. However, if you’re only looking for a bit of extra income then remember it’s a free service and well worth a go.
Another issue that you may come across while using AdSense is inadvertently advertising your competition. Your competitors offer the same service and/or products as you and this means they have the same keywords so it’s more than likely they’ll appear in your list of adverts. To remedy this, AdSense lets you block adverts that point to certain URLs but, unless you know of every competitor you face, you can’t block every ad that could potentially take business away from you.
How do I get Google AdSense?
As mentioned, Google AdSense is a free service.
You’ll need to take a moment to sign up for the service at www.google.com/adsense (it may take a few days for your site to be reviewed and authorised, Google have to make sure your site adheres to their guidelines).
All you pay for is the time it takes us to integrate the software with your website, we estimate this would cost you no more than £40.
Update 11/11/10
Google has just released a new interface for the AdSense system.
The new interface includes graphical reporting so you can easily see how well your ads are performing, better tools to control the ads displayed on your website and it also promises to be more efficient, allowing you to see your data and make changes to your ad strategies more quickly than ever before.
All in all, the new and improved AdSense is easier and quicker to use and boasts more powerful tools to help you make money from your website.
