Google AdSense

Make Money from Google Ads On Your Site


Google AdSense is a free program that empowers online publishers to earn revenue by displaying relevant ads on a wide variety of online content. In Google's own words:

"Google AdSense™ automatically delivers text and image ads that are precisely targeted to your site and your site content—ads so well-matched, in fact, that your readers will actually find them useful"

How does it work?

You create a AdSense account with Google and then insert some code on your website. Google then analyse the content on your site and starts displaying banner ads on your site that it thinks your visitors will also be interested in. When visitors to your site click on these ads Google records the click and you receive a payment based on how much advertisers are willing to spend. If your site contains highly competitive keywords (e.g. website hosting, mortgage rates, consolidate debt) then advertisers will pay a lot more to get their ads on your site, so each click is worth a lot more.

Setting it up

  • You will need to sign up to become an Adsense member. Once you've completed the signup Google will require up to a week to authorize your new account.
  • Login to your website and go to live edit - Add new component - Adsense. This page will ask you for your Google ID and will also allow you to set some of the style and dimensions.
  • Google's content matching technology will automatically place ads that match the pages content

Is Adsense right for your website?

When used right Adsense can be a great way to add another stream of revenue to your website. It is definitely not recommended for everyone though. It's up to you to decide if the Pro's outweigh the Con's.

PROs
  • Generate more revenue - visitors who don't purchase may still click on an ad
  • The ads are likely to be relevant to your visitors - if you have a site about hunting the ads will display hunting products
CONs
  • Cuts down on trust and credability - Pages that are bloated with 3rd party ads reduce the confidence of the visitors. With less t&c visitors are less likely to complete the action you desire
  • Increases friction and distracts from your site - Your content and products is now competing against 3rd parties. Some visitors will click straight away from your website and buy from one of your competitors so even though you generate some revenue for the click you lose when your conversion rate goes down