Google AdSense is a free advertising service that lets website publishers display ads on their websites. Each time a visitor to the website clicks an ad, the publisher gets a share of the revenue generated by that ad. Understanding how the program works, what the policies are, and the tools that Google provides you will help you get the most out of this popular advertising program.
Getting Started
If you have your own website or blog, you can apply for a Google AdSense account. It may take a few days for your application to be processed. Once approved, you can select content ads, which contain image or text ads, or link ads for your website. You can customize the size, shape and color schemes for your ads. Once you have configured an ad, Google will provide you with the code to copy and paste into your website. The content of the ad will change, depending on the ads Google has available. Ads are matched to each web page based on the content on the page so that ads will be as appropriate as possible for each page. At the time of publication, Google pays publishers 68 percent of what the advertiser pays for content ads.
Other Types of Ads
Besides content ads, you can also select search ads for your website. If a visitor to your website uses the the search feature in the ad on your website, and if they then click on an AdSense link, you will get 51 percent of the ad revenue generated. AdSense for mobile content allows you to place content ads on websites configured for mobile devices. AdSense for mobile applications lets you put ads on mobile apps. There are also AdSense programs for RSS feeds, video and parked domains.
Understanding Policies
Google has extensive policies for website publishers using AdSense. Violation of any part of these policies can result in a lifetime ban from the service. For example, you cannot click on the ads on your own website, or encourage visitors to click on ads. You are not permitted to use AdSense on webpages containing objectionable content, or linking to such content. This includes pornographic or violent content, content promoting illegal activities or racial intolerance, and the sales of drugs, tobacco or alcohol. AdSense also requires that your website includes a detailed privacy and disclosure policy.
Maximizing Revenue
As a Web publisher there are many things you can do to maximize your revenue from Google AdSense. Google provides you with reports, updated nearly in real-time, to show your revenue, as well as the number of page visits and clicks your ads receive. You can use different ad channels to get separate reports for different types of ads. This allows you to experiment with different ad placements, colors and formats, to see which ads do best on your website. Of course, getting more visitors to your website will increase the chances of getting clicks on your ads. Writing content that is in higher demand for the best paying ads will also increase your revenue each time an ad is clicked.
