Like anything else, Google AdSense can be either that little extra that helps pay for your website, or a goldmine that will make you start thinking about the possibility of quitting your day job.
Furthermore, AdSense is not just about advertisements. You can use your Google AdSense account to put Google search boxes on your site. An AdSense Search Box gives your users the option to search your site, or search the while web. Here are some points to consider about the search box...
- Consider why people are using the search box. Odds are, they're searching because what they're looking for isn't obvious in a link.
- If they're searching and they cannot find what they're looking for, odds are that they'll be leaving your website soon anyway. When the search results are coming from a search box on your site, any time the visitor clicks on ad in those search results, you earn money. Think of it as a possible contribution as they are on their way out the door.
- You can combine the built-in search features of your Drupal-based website with Google's search box. Your primary focus is to help people find what they're looking for on your website. So display your own search results first, but with the option to search Google at the bottom. Go ahead and check out the search feature on this site (top right corner) to see it in action.
Back to the actual advertisements...
As with all good things, there are some pitfalls to consider, some traps that may be avoided with careful consideration ahead of time.
And again, to hit the big checks with AdSense, the type that are big enough that they're hand-delivered to your door, that will take some research and work on your part. This is definitely not easy street, though many find this sort of work more rewarding than reporting to your own version of Dilbert's pointy-haired boss.
Let's get started.
If you've been following along with the rest of the lessons in this series, then you already have a website with some content on it. If not, you'll need to go back and do your homework. You cannot get approved for an AdSense account if you don't have a viable website. If you don't know what we mean by viable then again, you've got some reviewing and perhaps some homework to do. It will be very worth your while in the long term.
Is your website ready, then? Okay, let's go. Click the giant button below, sign up for an account, and then while you wait for approval, we've got some more work to do, so that when go-ahead comes from Google, you'll be like that skittish race-horse ready to burst out of the starting gate.
No, wait. Make that a rhino, ready to charge!
