When this question: “What is AdSense?” first crossed my path, I should not have been so cavalier. I should not have brushed it off. I thought it was a passing phase; that it would not be worth the effort to set it up. A decade later, I know I was so wrong.
I was wrong about Google AdSense
Almost everyone knows what Google AdSense is or at the very least, have heard of it. Certainly, if you are trying to earn something from your online efforts, AdSense would be one of the first monetization avenues you will come across.
What is AdSense
It took me years before I joined AdSense. Early on, I did peek into it. And found it too hard to implement. But I should have made the effort – much sooner. I should not have been frightened off with all that technicality and jargon. It is my hope that through this AdSense-centric articles, I can make it easier for the next person to join, apply, and earn some dosh with Google AdSense. For that reason, I will try as much as possible, to avoid technical details.
Google Adsense was launched in March 2003 and a decade down the track, it is still one of the easiest ways of monetizing your site(s).
Well then, What is Adsense?
What is AdSense?
If you write a blog or have a site, you are a publisher.
With Google AdSense, as a publisher you can place Google Ads just about anywhere on your blog or site. When someone clicks on those ads, Google pays you some money.
Basic Information about AdSense
- Google AdSense is free to join. Sign up at Getting Started with Google AdSense
(You need to wait for your application to be approved before you can proceed.)
- You can have only one AdSense account, no matter how many sites you have
- AdSense for Content – maximum 3 per page; including only one 300×600 ad unit per page.
- Link Units – maximum 3 per page
- Search boxes – maximum 2 per page
- Please read Google’s Ad Placement Policies – which include things you are NOT supposed to do
AdSense for Dummies
I don’t mean that. No one is a dummy. But when one is starting with AdSense, one can sometimes feel like a dummy.
When first setting up your AdSense, you will find that you can end up in a loop. You can go from article to article and get paralysed with information overload. Google tries to provide you with as much information as it can to help you maximize your AdSense monetization efforts. But there is too much information for most beginners. You can find yourself either giving up or coming back later and realize you would have done things differently if you had certain information right at the beginning.
In the upcoming AdSense articles, I hope to provide an AdSense beginner with a simple road map of what to do each step of the way. It will be written mainly for a beginner. The goal is to get you started, moving, and monetizing your site as easily as possible. All the in-depth information and guides, provided by Google as well as elsewhere on the internet, will come in useful as you become more familiar with your Google AdSense settings and configurations.
NEXT >> Now that we have briefly answered “What is AdSense”, in our next article we will cover some preliminary AdSense Tips. This will help make creating your first Google AdSense unit much easier, for the short as well as long term.
Note for Google Bloggers
If you have your blog on Blogger (aka blogspot), you do not have to do any of these. You can just insert AdSense ads using Blogger admin >> Layout >> Add a Gadget >> AdSense.
Did you find setting up your first AdSense ad a piece of cake? or was it a bit confusing? Please feel free to share your tips and experience in the comments section below.
Reference for those who need more:
- google.com – Ad Placement Policies
Your Comments? Tips to share?