How Does Google Adsense Program Work For Webmasters Wanting to Earn Income?

Advertisers pay Google when someone clicks on their ads which are placed on pages that contain text.  For example, if you write content about lawn mowers, you will likely see ads from lawn mower manufacturers and/or retailers on that page.  When someone clicks on those ads, the advertiser pays Google and Google pays you.  Of course, the advertiser is hoping the person that clicked on the add will actually purchase the lawn mower or whatever they’re offering.

In fact, Google is very strict about the integrity of this process.  You are forbidden to click on your own ads.  If you do, your Adsense account will be terminated and you might never get it back.  You are also prohibited from asking others to click on “your ads”.  It makes sense.  Why would advertisers want to pay just so your friends and family could click on your ads when no one is really interested in purchasing the lawn mower or subject of the ad.

The good news is that it’s not necessary to “cheat.”  Google Adsense is so easy you’ll make more money just going by the rules.  Have or write interesting content that will turn up in search engines and you have “targeted” the right people to read those ads.  Just think, somebody in Indiana buys a lawn mower and you get a commission!

What Not to Tell Others About the Google Adsense Program – The Most Important Rule

Sympathy only goes so far.  Not only is it against the Google Adsense Program Policies but if you rely on friends and family members to click on your ads instead of diligently working the program, you’re cheating yourself – and the Google Adsense Program.

The “help me out” wail may work when your kid is selling outrageously expensive candles for the end of the year school party but it has no place in the Google Adsense Program.

Besides, if you’re asking people to click on your ads, that means you’re not optimizing your site for valid clicks as well as referrals.  Use that same energy to polish your content and your site.  When family and friends ask what you’ve been up to, you can proudly show them your hard work.  When they see how excited you are, you’ll see your referral revenue go up.

How Can I Make Sure That My Account Will Not Be Disabled?

Google Adsense Program Policies make no allowances for deceptive practices.  The most important thing a publisher can do to ensure the integrity of their site is to be aware of what is happening on your site.

Google has made it abundantly clear not to click on your own ads or ask others to do so.  But what about practices a publisher may not purposely carry out?

Make sure that ads associated with Google never appear in an unrequested pop-up.  Don’t be talked into purchasing traffic for your site that may contain adware.

Respect the Google trademarks.  Don’t use any Google trademarks or logos without their consent.

Don’t change the Adsense code.  If you’re a pro at html, don’t assume you can add your own code.  If you’re new to html, simply copy and paste the offered code. Don’t mess with it.

Provide a good environment for advertisers and a positive user experience.  Don’t try to be deceptive in any way.  Google’s rules may sound strict, but believe me, protecting the integrity of the Google Adsense Program is in your best interest as well as Google’s.  After all, a positive, honest Google Adsense program means more money for all of us.

Useful Books About the Google Adsense Program For Users of All Stages

Do you need to buy a book to use Google Adsense?  Not necessarily. Google’s support page has a wealth of information. But you might consider it if you want to read a personal account of an Adsense wizard such as Eric Giguere or say, if you want to learn more about HTML.  ‘Who Let the Blogs Out: A Hyperconnected Peek at the World of Weblogs by Biz Stone has a lot of information on blogging as well as information about Google Adsense.  The following is just a few books you can find at amazon.com  on the subject:

Make Easy Money with Google: Using the Adsense Advertising Program By Eric Giguere

The Google Adsense Handbook By Angus McLeod

Google Advertising Tools: Cashing in with Adsense, Adwords, and the Google APIs by Harold Davis

Top-Paying Google Adsense and Adwords Keywords for Pharmaceuticals (In Digital Format) [Download: Adobe Reader] By W. Frederick Zimmerman

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Growing Your Business with Google By Dave Taylor

The best thing about blogging is that there are no rules.  You can write about anything you want.  A self-publisher’s dream!   There are some things you can do though to maximize your Google Adsense profits.  Narrow your subject.  Don’t just write about shopping.  Write about shopping for antique dresser drawer pulls.  Write every day. Have a blog at more than one site. If you develop a readership, you’re more likely to increase your profits.

Write about something you know or want to know or at the very least care about. If you try to write a great blog based on a “hot keyword” yet it’s something you could care less about, you’ll likely not stay with it long. Experiment and see what works for you. You can write based on your own opinion or something factual. You can review a product or service or a movie.  Read other people’s blogs and notice how many reads they’re getting.  Above all, have fun.  After all, it’s free and if you’re persistent you’ll see your Google Adsense dollars adding up.

How to Apply to the Google Adsense Program

Applying for a Google Adsense account is quick and easy for any interested webmaster. Just point your browser to www.google.com/adsense and click on apply.  Click on the drop down arrow under account type and select whether you’re an individual or business.  If you’re not sure which one to choose, click on the question mark to the left. Next, select your country or territory.

Under website information, it asks for your primary URL.  If you have your own website, list it here.  If you are using a blogging site such as writingup.com or bloggingparty.com that URL goes here.

Select your website’s primary language. Google adsense supports Chinese (simplified), Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.

Select the product you want on your pages.  Adsense for Content means you will have advertising targeted to the content on your pages.  For instance, if you write about flooring, you might have carpet ads on your page.  Adsense for Search is for you to add a Google search box to your pages.  To maximize your Google Adsense earnings, you will want to have both.

After that, it’s just the regular contact information and you’re all set.  You should receive an email in 2 or 3 days letting you know if your application is approved.

Do I Have to Pay Taxes on My Google Adsense Earnings?

Google Adsense is required to collect tax information from those who participate in the program. If you’re a business, you’ll need to put your EIN number on your application.  If you’re an individual, all you’ll need is your social security number.  If you don’t have that information when you initially sign up, you can still apply for the Google Adsense program.  But be advised that Google Adsense will withhold payments to you until they receive your tax information.

While Google does not withhold taxes or provide any tax advice, they will send you a 1099 once your earnings reach a certain amount.  Of course, if you are a Non-US business and have no activity in the United States, you will not need to provide this information.  For more tax information regarding the Google Adsense program, visit the Google Adsense Support site.  For other tax-related questions or concerns, you can log onto www.irs.gov

How Much Money Can I Make With Google Adsense?

How much do you want to make?  How hard do you want to work?  And how much time do you want to spend working the Google Adsense program?

These are the questions you must ask yourself in order to answer that question.

Look at it this way: how many business opportunities come your way where the only requirement is hard work and the time it takes to work hard?  Not many.  Almost any business venture requires some kind of start-up money.

If  your total earnings is showing 0.00 after a week, not to worry.  Keep reading and learning and working.  If however, you’re still showing 0.00 after a month, it may be time to implement some of those optimization tips you’ll find on the Google Adsense Support Site.  Play around with the placement of the ads on your site.  Consider changing the colors.  Look again at the content. Is it interesting?

As with any other business, with the Google Adsense program, the sky is the limit. Work hard. Work smart. Have fun.  After all, you’re the boss.

What Are URL Channels and How to Organize Them in Google Adsense

URL Channels allow you to view detailed information about the performance of your  Adsense for Content pages.

Suppose you have a blog at writingup.com and you also have a blog at bloggerparty.com. It might be interesting and profitable to track which one is getting more clicks.  Log in to your Adsense account and click on Adsense for Content.  Scroll down until you see Channels and click on manage channels.  You may need to scroll up when the next page loads.  Under Manage URL Channels you would type writingup.com and click on Create New Channel.  You will immediately see writingup.com in the Active URL Channels dialogue box  Now type in bloggerparty.com in the same channel text box and again click on Create New Channel.  You now have two channels and you will be able to track your progress on each channel.  You can view channel reports from the Advanced Report page under the Reports tab.  Choose Adsense for Content, choose the date range and then select the Channels Data radio button. Choose any number of active channels by holding down the CTRL key. Next click on Display Report.  It’s as easy as that.

Is it Possible for Me to Have More Than One Site For My Google Adsense Account?

Yes.  In fact, the more sites you have displaying Google Adsense ads, the more money you will make.  You don’t even have to notify Google of the new sites.  Make sure though, that any new site you add conforms to Google Adsense Program Policies, because if your account gets terminated for any reason, you would not be able to display the Google Adsense ads on any of them.

All you have to do is copy and past the same ad layout code you previously copied and pasted to your original site.

The same rules apply when adding an Adsense for Search box to your new site.  Simply choose all the parameters from the choices displayed, copy the code to the new site or new pages within the old site.  As in the beginning, Google’s webcrawler will detect the code and you’re all set.

Will It Help Me to Buy Google Adsense “Secrets” E-books and Reports?

As with any money-making venture, there are pitfalls, pros and cons and some outright cons.  As popular as Google Adsense has become, it’s no surprise there is a wealth of information for sale.  Try it.  Google Google Adsense and you’ll see what I mean.  There are those promising they make thousands and thousands of dollars a month from Google Adsense and they are willing to share their “secrets” with you – for a price.

The fact is Google Adsense will tell you everything you need to know – for free. They have a support site that covers virtually everything you would need to know about the program and experience will teach you the rest, although I admit I have seen a couple of interesting books on amazon.com.

There are a lot of people out there in cyberspace who will gladly answer your questions for free and there are many forums where you can post questions.  You can even email the Google Adsense Support Staff if you have questions that their Support Site doesn’t answer.

Experience will probably be your best teacher anyway. And the good news is the Google Adsense program makes that experience painless in that you have nothing lose. So just take a chance on yourself for now.  Learn everything you can to maximize your earning potential.

What are Themed Ad Units.  Simple.  They are ads that have special colors and graphics to celebrate the season!  For instance, you might see your ad with orange print with a picture of a black cat for Halloween.  How about red print with a green mistletoe for Christmas?

The Themed Ad Units are specifically tailored to users in the appropriate locations as determined by their IP address.  For instance, a user in the United States might see colors and graphics appropriate to the Fourth of July while users everywhere could see colors and graphics for New Years Day.

Again, it’s your choice and your page.  You can turn Themed Ad Units on or off  by yourself.  Just log in to your account, go to the My Account tab. On the Account Settings page, scroll down to the Ad Type Preferences section and click Edit.  You can now enable or disable the Themed Ad Units.  Click save changes and Voila!  Your selection will apply to all your Google Adsense Ads.

Google Adsense is a fun and easy way to make extra money. It’s important to follow the rules though as Google is serious about the integrity of this program.  Not following the rules could result in your Google Adsense account being terminated. Here are a few Don’ts for using the program:

DON’T

Never, ever, ever click on your own ads.  Google Adsense makes it very clear this won’t be tolerated.

Don’t ask your friends and family to click on your ads.  Rather, earn money by referring them to the Google Adsense program.

Don’t participate in the Google Adsense program strictly for the money. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It will take time and hard work to make a profit.

Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything the first day.  Although the Google Adsense program is extremely user-friendly, it may take a little time to integrate all the facets of the program.  Be patient and above all, have fun!

Hopefully, these helpful tips will ease you into using the program and help you avoid mistakes that could possibly cost you a lot of time or money.

When you accumulate $50.00 in earnings, Google Adsense will send you a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to the payment address you supplied when you signed up. This is just another security precaution that Google Adsense has in place to protect their publishers but it is important.

Once you’ve been mailed a PIN number, your account payments will be on hold until the PIN is entered in your account.  You can still have access to your account and earn money; you just won’t be paid until the PIN is entered.  If it hasn’t been entered within 1 year, your account will be disabled.

To enter your PIN after you receive it in the mail, log into your Google Adsense account.  Click on the My Account tab, then click on edit.  Update the appropriate field and click submit changes.  It would also be a good time to check your contact information and make sure it is correct.  You’re now well on your way to receiving your first Google Adsense check.

Do I Need to be Computer Savvy to Use Google Adsense?

You don’t have to be a techno-geek to use Google Adsense.  In fact, you don’t need any more technical knowledge than you do to surf the web.  Google Adsense is very user-friendly with a comprehensive support site to answer any question you might have.

You are first walked through the sign-up process where you are prompted for any and all information needed.  You will then have a couple of days while you are waiting for your account to be approved.  This would be a good time to familiarize yourself with the program policies, which of course you read before you signed up.  But look again.  Make sure the site you are registering doesn’t have any of the no-nos listed.  For instance, some profanity is allowed, but nothing excessive.  What is excessive?  That could be a gray area, but if you’re in doubt, don’t register that site.  There’s plenty of sites with little or no profanity.

Look at the support site while you are waiting on Google Adsense and see what other’s are saying and doing.  Most of all, have fun.  Your Google Adsense dollars are just waiting to be counted.

Does Google Adsense Offer Direct Deposit?

Google adsense offers various payment options for publishers.

Electronic Funds Transfer (ETF) is offered in 16 countries whereby your payments are deposited directly into your bank account in your local currency.  Check Google Adsense support to see which countries participate in this option.  You will need to sign up for  this option after your application is approved by signing into your account. You then click the edit link adjacent to the payment header.  After you fill out the bank information, Google Adsense will make a small test deposit into your account.  This is for security purposes to assure the account is really your own.

Watch your account for the test deposit to post, usually within just a few days.  After you have received the deposit from Google, log back in to your account and in the Payment Details section, click Verify Account.  You then will need to enter the amount of the test deposit.  If you do not complete this step, your payments will be on hold.  Once you enter the test deposit amount correctly, your bank will be approved and selected as your form of payment.