Virtual tips for the savvy business owner!

We all hope to be successful on the Internet. That’s why we spend so much time perfecting our websites and learning what works online. It’s not enough, though, to create a great website. To really start making money online, you may need to use tools such as Google’s AdWords and AdSense. Here’s a quick lesson on each, so that you can decide if they’ll work for you.

•    Google AdWords: This is simply a group of advertising programs through Google that allow you to advertise your website on Google.com searches and/or their content network. Sound complicated? Let me break it down into two basic programs:
•    Pay-Per-Click Ads (PPC): Pay-Per-Click ads are placed at the top or right hand side of search results on Google. As an advertiser, you bid on specific search words or phrases. Here’s the great part—you only pay if the search engine user actually clicks through to your website. That’s called a “click.” An “impression” means they saw your ad in their search results, but didn’t click.

Google helps you set your PPC budget by estimating the search volume for those specific words or phrases. You decide how much per “click” you can afford to pay. There are numerous free tools from Google to help you select the right search keywords for your website content and track your AdWords activity.

•    Content Targeted Ads: Some advertisers want to expand beyond Google search engine results, while maintaining control of their advertising through a single site. Google allows website publishers to target specific content, geographic locations or other demographics through targeted ads on their partner sites.

If you choose this option, your ads will appear on web pages most likely to attract readers who will also like your products. For example, if you sell running shoes, you could choose to have your ad appear next to an article on how to train for a marathon. Again, you only pay if they click through from the ad to your website.

If you have more questions, here’s the link to information straight from the source: Google AdWords Details.

•    Google AdSense: AdSense puts you on the other side of the Google advertising equation by allowing you to make money by accepting other people’s ads on your blog or website.

As we discussed above under “Content Targeted Ads,” AdWords users can ask to have their ads placed on relevant websites in hopes they’ll attract customers. When they appear on your site, those contextually targeted ads can create a whole new income source for your business without any further expense.

There are several ways you can make AdSense work for you:
o    By allowing AdWords ads on your blog or website, you’re paid whenever someone clicks through on an ad (called Cost-Per-Click).
o    By adding search capability on your website. Google search results will appear as relevant, and you’re paid each time someone clicks on an ad.
o    By allowing AdWords ads on your mobile web content, RSS feeds or unused domains.

To find more information on Google AdSense, click here.

Before we finish this discussion, there is something that needs to be said about the impact of Google AdWords or AdSense on your organic search engine ranking. In a word, there is none.

Put another way, even if you’re allowing lots of content relevant AdSense ads on your blog, it doesn’t mean your blog will appear closer to the top in Google search results.

In the same way, although your Pay-Per-Click ads may appear at the top or right hand side of search results, that doesn’t mean that in the normal search results “below the line” you’ll be any closer to the top.

Here’s why: the Google AdWords algorithm is completely separate from that used for organic searches. The spiders, bots and ranking techniques used to decide which search results will appear when a phrase is entered are different than those used for AdWords PPC. So, if someone tells you they stopped using AdWords and their search engine ranking fell, they’re misinformed. The two simply aren’t related.

Use the information and links above to start your research on AdWords and AdSense. You can then make an informed decision about whether they’ll help you make more money on the Internet.

Filed under: online marketing