Monday 3 September 2012

Google AdSense Basics

Google AdSense is a platform for Web publishers who want to include advertisements on their Internet properties. If you run a website or blog, perhaps for a business, you can serve Google adverts on it as a way to monetize it. If you want your adverts to be displayed through the AdSense network, you need to sign up to Google AdWords. When you use AdSense as a publisher, you have a range of options in terms of how the resulting adverts appear within your sites.

Publishers

You can use Google AdSense on any websites you have, including blogs. To become part of the program, you need to sign up for an AdSense account. Once you have signed up you will be able to access code that you can place on your sites. Wherever you place the code is where the adverts will appear. If you use the Blogger blogging platform, the process of adding adverts to your posts (and blog in general) is automated. Many sites use AdSense to monetize projects, however you do need a lot of website traffic to make significant amounts of income this way. It also helps if your website content is on topics that advertisers are looking to target.

Targeted Adverts

Advertisers use Google's platform to target potential customers. Rather than paying for adverts on any site, Google lets businesses target users who are more likely to be interested in their products and services. For example, if you run a blog about credit cards, companies advertising credit cards may like their adverts to be on your site as your readers are interested in their product area. Google AdSense adverts are therefore targeted, so the ads that appear on your site will be relevant to its content. For advertisers, this is key to the appeal of Google's model, as it means that their advertising investment is being used in a way that is more likely to have positive results. In some cases advertisers only pay Google when their adverts are actually clicked.

Revenue

Earnings from AdSense are calculated using two factors: impressions and clicks. Impressions are a measure of how many times the pages you have adverts on have been viewed. Clicks are your website users actually clicking on the adverts. The amount you earn varies depending on the price of the adverts on your pages. The advertisers do not pay set prices for every advert, as the price varies according to the targeted key words and phrases, among other factors. What you receive as a publisher is 68% of the revenue if you are on the AdSense for content program, 51% if you use AdSense for search.

Options

When you add AdSense to your sites, you can choose from a variety of advert sizes and styles. The area used for adverts is divided into units, so your site may include blocks of adverts rather than larger individual adverts occupying several units. You can set the colors within the ads to match your site design. In terms of requirements, there are a number of restrictions on your content if you want AdSense ads on your pages. Your content cannot be of an adult nature or contain copyrighted material. Your sites must also meet Google's Webmaster Quality Guidelines.

Related Links

Adsense Help: Adsense Academy
Google: Webmaster Guidelines

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