The Basics of Google Adsense



To understand the basics of Google Adsense, you first have to understand Google Adwords. Adwords is a program where people can bid per click to buy space on platforms Google supports with advertisements. This includes the ads you see on the top and down the right column of results when you search on Google.

Adsense is the result of a crafty little idea wherein Google essentially wanted to maximize distribution of Adwords. With Adsense, Google took the unique approach of letting independent sites place certain types of Adwords advertisements on their pages. This type of advertising is known within the Adwords platform as contextual advertising and advertisers can opt out of it. Most do not.

The beauty of Google Adsense is it creates additional revenue sources for sites. For instance, lets assume someone bids 60 cents in Adwords for the placement of their ads. A site then shows those ads through the Adsense program. When an ad is clicked by a person on that site, Google charges the advertiser and splits the money with the site in question. The exact amount of the split is not provided by Google, but is known to reflect the quality of traffic, click through rates and other aspects.

The Google Adsense program is incredibly simple to use. You sign up through Google and, once approved, are able to select the format of ads you want to list on the pages of your site. Google then immediately generates a java script, which you copy and paste into the html of your pages. You cannot change the code, but you can select any old location on your page you want.

Once you have inserted the code and republished your site, it is time to sit back and watch. Google provides stats within your account area. You can see basic click and revenue information as well as monthly totals. Once you reach a total of $100 in revenues, Google will kick out a check to you. The check is issued more or less at the end of the month following the one in which you hit the magic $100 amount.

Obviously, there is more to Google Adsense if you want to make a full business out of it, but this provides the basics of the game. You will be tempted to click the links on your page. Don't! Google will ban you from the program.