Knowledge Bridge

//Shubha Bala /August 28 / 2012

How to get started with Google AdSense

Ad networks can be an important element to building revenue for your site, especially for newly launched sites or newly created digital products. In many markets, Google AdSense is the dominant ad network. The service is easy to set up and also has a number of tools available to help you maximise the revenue you can earn with it.  This guide will take you through the process of creating an AdSense account and displaying ads from the service on your site. We will shortly provide a guide for setting up an account with Yandex Partners, a dominant ad network in Russia and Ukraine.

Creating your account

1. If you already have a business Google account, you can use your existing username and password to sign up for AdSense. If you don’t have a Google account, you’ll need to sign up for one first.

2. Choose the primary website for your AdSense account.  This will generate a code that you can use not only for the primary site you used for registration but your other sites as well.

At this point, you’ll also be asked the primary language for your site. AdSense has complete support for some 30, mostly European and major Asian, languages. For a handful of other languages such as Slovenian and Estonian, AdSense will serve ads in those languages but the user interface is available only in one of the main languages. Although you have to choose a primary language for your site, the service will serve ads in other languages on pages in those languages on your site.

3. You’ll next be asked to read and agree to some simplified terms and conditions to use the service. You must agree:

• Not to click on ads on your site nor encourage others to do so.
• Not to place ads on sites which include adult content.
• Not to place ads on sites that distribute content for copyright that you do not own.
• That you do not already have a Google AdSense account.

4. Enter your business details.  Note that the screenshot before is assuming personal details, so you will additionally need to enter the name and address of your business, making sure that the contact name and address are the same that you use on the bank account for your business. You will also be asked how you found out about AdSense and also if you want to receive email updates from AdSense, some of which promote new services and others that provide you with information on how to get the most out of your digital advertising.

After you click the button marked “Submit my application”, you’ll see a thank you message that also explains that you will receive an update on the status of your application in about a week. While you’re waiting for approval of your site, as Google suggests, it is useful to familiarise yourself with the service using their Newbie Central site for new users of AdSense.

5. A couple of days after you submit your application you should receive a follow-up email from Google letting you know that they have completed their partial review of your website.  In Google’s words, “after a new application is submitted, we’ll begin with preliminary checks on the site and the applicant’s submitted details”.

Adding AdSense to your website

Once you pass the partial review, you will need to set up your ad account and put an “ad unit” on your website for Google to complete the full approval process. An ad unit is an ad of a specific size, design and ad type. The e-mail you received about your successful partial review will contain instructions to log on to your AdSense Interface and get started.

1. Terms and Conditions. After you log in the first time, you’ll need to read and agree to the full terms and conditions for the service.

2. After agreeing to the terms and conditions, you’ll be taken to the AdSense interface, which at the moment is blank because you have not added any ads.  Click on Ad Units and the button “+New Ad unit”

3.  Now you will create the first ad unit for your website.  Each ad unit will have its own tracking code.  You can use this code on multiple places on your website to show multiple ads of the same format, but keep in mind that for reporting purposes they will all be grouped together making reporting much more difficult.

Type a name for this ad unit.  Under Ad size you will see a long list of options, starting with the sizes that Google determined to be optimal for click-throughs. Ad type has several options  – Text & image/rich media ads, Text ads only, Image/rich media ads only. For ad type, it is best that you select the option “text & image/rich media ads”, if possible.  This will allow the most ads to bid for your space, thus optimizing your revenue.  For now, you can ignore the option to create Custom channels as that is for advanced users.  For AdStyle, it will be important to pick Custom, which will allow you to choose colours that are appropriate for your site.

4. Once you’ve created your ad unit, click the button to get the ad code.  A window will pop up with code for you to copy into your website.

5. Now you need to put the ad unit code on your website so that Google can complete the approval process.  Here is an example of how it could be very simply added to the sidebar of a WordPress website. Many content-management systems, including WordPress, have plug-ins that allow you to easily incorporate AdSense ads or other ad networks into your site. Whether your CMS supports such plug-ins or not, it is important to consider the type of ads and ad units you will use when designing your site.

For the time being, your website will have a blank AdSense unit that blends in seamlessly with your site.  Within about 4 days after you add the ad unit, Google should finalise approval for your site – and the blank units will begin to display ads.  In the meantime, there will be dead space on your site but it should match in color and style to your website so there will be minimal disruption.

If you find an issue with adding the code, check Google’s a guide to troubleshooting common AdSense problems.

Setting up payment and finances

You won’t be able to set up payment options until after your AdSense account has been given final approval. Once that happens, you can add or edit your payment contact information by selecting Account settings under the Home tab on the AdSense management site. Here, you can also enter appropriate tax information, if required.  Usually tax information fields will not be available until you’ve met a minimum threshold of payments.

After you reach the equivalent of US$10 in ad sales, you can choose how you want to be paid.  After you make that selection, you will be mailed through the post a PIN which you will use to verify your physical address.

Lastly, once you reach US$100 in ad sales, and each time you reach US$100 thereafter, your payments will be processed.  Note that receiving your payments could take up to 1-2 months.

Article by Shubha Bala