How To earn Online

Friday, 17 June 2011

WHAT IS ADSENSE?

In the Getting Started series of articles (links on the right side of this page, if you missed them - shame on you), we learned a little bit about AdSense. We learned that Google AdSense could help us earn money from blogging. You probably saw the words money and blogging and feverishly read on to other articles, but hold on cowboy (or cowgirl)! This isn't a get rich quick scheme. We need to educate ourselves and today we're going to do just that

AdSense is a free Google program that allows site owners to earn money from ads. What's great about these ads is that they're targeted to your content. The AdSense actually "crawls" your text and from there determines what ads are best suited for your website. How cool is that? So if you have a blog about cars, well you're going to get ads targeting car subjects.

Well that's fine and dandy but how do we generate money off of these ads?

I'm glad you asked. The answer is both simple and complex. I'll keep this article simple and save the complex for the future. But in a nutshell - you make money from people who click on your AdSense ads. That's it! Really!

But users have to purchase something on the advertising site before we make money, right?

No! That's what makes this program wonderful. Google's business model is brilliant - they help people make money, while making more money in the process. In layman terms: the advertisers pay Google to promote; when a user from your site clicks their ad the advertiser wins (they get additional traffic, possibly more business), Google wins (they get a big piece of the advertisers money they used to promote), and we win (we get a small piece but it's a piece that will add up over time... more on that in future articles).

There's a reason why Google is the Internet giant and AdSense is a perfect example. It's a snowball effect that helps all participants involved: Google, the advertiser, and most importantly… You!

Today we learned that AdSense, makes sense.

WHAT IS RSS?

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. When you create a new post with Blogger it publishes a new RSS “feed”, which is simply a stripped down version of your website. It contains the basic text and any images you display

.

I don’t get it. What’s so good about a stripped down version of my site?

In today’s ADD, news-hungry society, RSS has exploded in popularity. People want as much information as they can get their hands on, with as little effort as possible.

With RSS comes “Feed readers” like Google Reader. These applications allow readers to “consume” or subscribe to your sites feed. When you post a new article, the user is alerted. The great thing about these feed readers or RSS readers is that they provide a quick list of your article subjects. So instead of being overwhelmed with a page load of content, they can simply scan for subjects that interest them and then drill down further if they wish.

I’m starting to get this RSS thing… but maybe you can create some analogy for me to make it clearer?

Boy you sure do ask for a lot. Ok – here goes: Let’s say you go to the store and purchase a magazine on computer software. Chances are good that you will flip open a page and have a subscription card fall on to your lap. For this example, let’s pretend it’s a subscription to the latest Microsoft news. Well, if you like Microsoft and you care about their news (I’m an Apple guy by the way) you’ll fill out their card, write a check and send it off in the mail. Now the first of every month – you’ll get a brand new magazine from Microsoft and learn about their many failed attempts to beat Apples’ iPod with their Zune (sorry, I just had to throw that in there). And of course if you get tired or the same ol’ same ol’, you can cancel at any time.

RSS is the same way (Minus the paid subscriptions, thankfully). If you run across a site that you find interesting, you can simply subscribe to that sites feed and you’ll be alerted to anything new coming from there. And of course, you can cancel the site feed at any time.

This was an introduction to RSS. In future articles I will discuss ways we can present an RSS feed for our users to consume. In the meantime, digest this information, because RSS is something you need to know about if you’re going to be a serious blogger.

GETTING STARTED WITH BLOGGING

So you’re interested in making money with AdSense? Well join the club. But before we get to the good stuff, we have to build the foundation. Chances are good that if you’re reading this you know what blogs are and how to create them. Good for you! You’re on the fast track to getting started with AdSense. But patience grasshoppa, we must help those who don’t even know what blogging is.

Here’s the definition of a blog from Wikipedia:

“A blog (a portmanteau of web log) is a website where entries are written in chronological order and commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.”

A blog is basically an online diary - A journal written by an author, about the author and/or the author’s interests. The great thing about a blog is there are no boundaries whatsoever. You can blog about your dog, cat, career, relationships, car, favorite ice cream, etc, etc. You have total control to be as creative as your heart desires!

The important thing about this journey is that you blog about something that matters to you. Different people have different interests and you’re no exception. Chances are good that others just like you are ready to delve into your material because they have similar tastes. Don’t hesitate to write about something you’re passionate about - just do it! (like Nike)

If you interested in learning more about blogs and blogging, check out the wikipedia page.

Monday, 13 June 2011

sign up for Google AdSense

It's time to get signed up with Google's Adsense andhopefully start making some money!

Like everything up to this point (minus your personal time) AdSense is 100% free. So head on over to the Google AdSense home page

Now simply fill out the fields provided and voila!

Google states that they can take anywhere from 2 days to a week for approval, but my experience was quite quick - a couple of hours.Google's AdSense Help Center does a great job of answering all frequently asked questions. Now that we have an account we'll be able to put the ads on our blog page!

Do you have an understanding of Google's Terms of Service so your account doesn't get banned?

In my last article you learned how easy it was to sign up for Google AdSense so we can try and generate some money from our blog. But before we go haphazardly placing our Google AdSense ads, it’s important that we understand their TOS.

Generally Terms and Conditions are quite boring. We often scroll down the long page and hit “Yeah I accept, sure I read your blah blah blah”. If that’s you (like most) then this post is for you – it’s important we understand the TOS so we don’t get our AdSense accounts banned.

Invalid Clicks

Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT click on your own ads. Do NOT encourage others to click on your ads. If your intentions were to setup your blog so your Aunt Peggy can sit on your site all day and click your ads – forget it! You’re going to get your account terminated.

Do NOT encourage your audience to click on your ads. Attempting to be slick with your ad links and say, “click these ads” or “support us” is a good way to get the boot.

Ad Placement

There are several types of ads that Google AdSense allows you to place on your site. We’ll learn more about these as we go but for now, remember these guidelines:

1.) Up to three ad units may be displayed on each page.
2.) A maximum of two Google AdSense for search boxes on a page.
3.) Up to three link units per page.
4.) Up to three referral units per page, in addition to the options above.

This site is dedicated to generating money from our blog legitimately. This is a great program and the fact that it’s free really presents an excellent opportunity for everyone. Let’s keep it that way.

Remember, this is an abridged version that touches on the highlights so you don’t fall asleep while drinking your coffee. But I encourage you to read the Terms and Conditons and the Program Policies in their entirety so you’re equipped with the proper knowledge. Heck, I’ll even provide the links on my sidebar in addition to this blog so we can all stay informed!

Google AdSense Program Policies
Google AdSense Online Standard Terms and Conditions

Have you successfully setup your very own blog with the Blogger service?

Estimated Time to Start Earning Money: 60 minutes

Google's AdSense sounds interesting to you. You like the idea of legitimately making money online with advertisements. You even went so far as to read my last post: Getting Started with Blogging! But you have no idea how to get setup - until now.

I do Web Consulting for a living (no, I'm not a full-time blogger… yet). I'd say on a scale of 1-10 of web knowledge I'm probably near a 9, maybe a 9.1. But guess what? You don't have to know squat about web design or web programming. Of course you'll have to learn some web terminology along the way but you can start at ground zero today. The great thing about blogging and potentially earning money with AdSense is that you don't have to be a web guru.

I repeat: you do not have to be a web guru to start a blog and use AdSense.

There is a wide range of blogging tools out there. Some free, some not. If you haven't noticed, I'm using a tool called: Blogger. Before this I had experimented with Typepad and even created my own (this was a few years ago when the term “Blog” wasn't exactly a household name).

Why Blogger? Well for a few reasons: 1.) It's Free! 2.) It's a breeze to setup and 3.) Google owns it. Yeah, the same Google that's helping us earn money through their AdSense program - A perfect marriage indeed.

Ok, so you have your blog topic (or maybe not but you will soon…right?) I'm going to get you hooked up to the service in no more than 10 minutes (times will vary for animals and small children). At the end of this you'll be ready to start writing up some content, free of charge.

1.) Go to Blogger and sign in with your Google account. If you don't use any Google services like Gmail you can create a new accounthere.

2.) Click on the “Create Your Blog Now” button arrow on the bottom right and fill in the information.

3.) Name your blog and give it an address. Make sure the name is meaningful and not too long.

4.) Choose from one of the many templates available.

5.) Your blog has been created!

Now wasn't that painless? In a matter of minutes you have reserved some real estate on the Internet.

I would suggest doing some exploring on your own at this point. Get a sense of the tools available to you and I'll go into further detail in the near future. Have fun!