So what is Adsense and what can it do for me?

Adsense (and other similar advertising solutions from search engines such as Yahoo and MSN) are regarded as being the new method for passive online money making. Adsense provides a way for people with websites of all types and sizes to put up and display relevant Google ads on the content pages of their sites and hence earn money.

Unlike link exchanges and rotating banners, Google Adsense ads relates to what your visitors came to your site to read abouteach advert that is displayed is specifically tailored to the keyword content of the specific page. This obviously means that you now have a way to improve your sites page content and potentially make some money.

Quite simply Google Adsense gives you the ability to earn advertising revenue from every single page on your websitewith a minimal investment of your time!

In addition to providing both text and image based adverts (known as 'Adsense for content'), Adsense has two additional features that you can integrate into your web pages to provide your site visitors with more opportunities to earn you money'Adsense for Search' and 'Referrals'.

Adsense for Content

Probably the most popular Adsense product, 'Adsense for Content' displays ads that are targeted to your sites unique content. Adverts take the form of an Ad Unit, which contains either text ads, image ads or both and Link Units where each link unit displays a list of topics that are relevant to your page.

For a full visual list of Adsense advert styles visit: https://www.google.co.uk/adsense/adformats

So what kind of adverts get displayed on your site? As mentioned before, that's what sets Adsense apart from the competitionyou don't have to decide, Google does it for you!

Adsense always delivers relevant ads that are precisely targeted to each specific page. For example if you had a site dedicated to your pet dog, Google will send you ads for that site or specific page that relate to pet food, dog collars and other dog related products and services.

Adsense for Search

Integrating a Google Search box onto your site not only allows your visitors to search your website but it also provides a quick and easy search tool for surfing the web. As with 'Adsense for Content the search results produced by your on site search box contain adverts relating to that specific search. When an advert gets click it earns you some more money. In effect and in my opinion, it's a poor mans site search tool which has the added benefit of earning you some additional revenue.

Referrals

As with many large online organisations and business, promotion is an excellent method of getting new customers and visitors. Google is no exception and through Adsense you can help promote Google whilst also earning some cash.

The referrals section of Adsense gives you the ability to actively promote (on your website or web page) the Google Adsense, Google Adwords, Firefox plus Google Toolbar, Google Pack and/or Picasa (Photo organisation software). In much the same way as Adsense Content, every time a referral link is clicked on your site it earns you some more money.

What you really need to know'

Unlike other banner and link related websites, Google has no strict criteria for acceptance into the Adsense program, and Adsense doesn't require your site to have a minimum traffic requirement. The only criteria that you must stick to is their strict standard of 'acceptable content' requirementswhich basically means read their terms and conditions before you sign up. Failure of their guidelines would simply mean you'd lose your Adsense account and any raised revenue within it.

Check out www.google.com/adsense/faq for more detailed information.

In the next article I'll be looking in more detail at 'Adsense for content', answering the questions, What can Adsense do for me? What kind of adverts will appear on my site and How do I get started?