by Steve Weber
Google Adsense is a contextual advertising program. It is an off-shoot of the Google AdWords program. Advertisers in the Google AdWords program may elect to also advertise on what is called the “content network” in addition to the “search network”. The content network is made up of private website owners who have registered with the Adsense program. The search network is the Google website. AdWords’ advertisers may also elect to have their ads show on Google’s search partners search engines.
Those AdWords ads which show up on the content network are part of the AdSense program. Website owners can register with Google’s AdSense program for free. Once registered, the website owners can generate snippets of code which can be pasted onto their individual pages. This code results in Adsense ads when the pages are viewed.
Website owners can choose between a variety of sizes and formats of Adsense units. These unites can also be individually coded with a specific “channel” name in order to better track the effectiveness of individual Adsense ad units.
The Adsense ads are targeted to the content of the specific page they are placed upon. For example, if a given page is about gardening, the Adsense ads will be those which are related to gardening. If a visitor to the page clicks one of the AdSense ads, the website owner gets paid for that “click”. The Advertiser has bid a specific amount of cost for each click. The advertiser pays Google for each click and Google in turns pays the website owner a part of this.
Google does not say, but it is thought that 40% to 60% of the advertiser’s cost goes to the website owner. For example, if the advertiser is paying Google $1.00 per click, the web site owner will receive 40 to 60 cents from the Google Adsense program.
Income from Google Adsense is very much related to how much traffic the site gets. Other factors include the topic of the content and how the ads are included on the page. Adsense ads showing on sites about insurance, automobiles, electronics, etc. will generally pay more per click than those for content about music, jokes, dating, and other low cost products and services. All things being equal, Adsense ads about items which cost more will pay higher per click than items costing less.
Since the content triggers the type of Adsense ads showing, sometimes Google can misunderstand the intent of the website publisher and show ads not related to the actual content of the page. In this case the publisher can include special code on the page to help direct Google to the desired content to target the Adsense ads with.
Those employing Adsense ads on their site should understand some basic rules Google imposes on them. First and foremost, publishers are strictly forbidden from clicking their own links or in any way asking or paying others to click those links. Anyone who violates this rule will be banned from the Adsense program.
No markings or comments on the page suggesting clicking on the Adsense ads are allowed. For example, one cannot say, “Visit our sponsors to help support the site”. Arrows or pictures near the ads are not allowed if they are deemed to in some way to be enticing visitors to click.
No hidden text or other techniques which violate Google’s general webmaster guidelines may be used to enhance the quality of the Adsense ads. Also, the snipped of code provided by Google cannot be altered in any way.
Website publishers only need one Adsense account. With that one account, the publisher can place Adsense ads on any number of domains which they may own. Google pays website publishers monthly for the clicks on their sites. AdSense checks are mailed directly to the website owner or they can be directly deposited into the publisher’s bank account.