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If you are interested in earning income from your website, should you consider using the Google AdSense program to place targeted ads on your web pages? When I first considered this idea, I wasn't sure if it was right for me. You see, I have a number of websites that promote affiliate links to products and services in my market. I felt that if I put Google ads on my pages they would compete with my affiliate sales. Sure, I knew you got paid when visitors clicked on these ads, but could it be a significant amount? Eventually, I saw that many other top marketers were using these ads on their pages. So I decided to dive in and give it a try, and after a year of using these ads here is what I can tell you.

The first thing I noticed was the ease of use in using Google AdSense. Once you have joined the program for free, you can start creating your ad codes. And the neat thing is, you can customize the ads to your web pages. You can choose the color of the ads so that they match the color theme of your pages. You can choose from many different size ad blocks. For example, they have 468x60 regular banner size and 120x600 towers. This way, you can choose the size that is right for your page. Once you have made your selection, you simply cut and paste the html and place it where you want on your page, and your part is done!

You can track your ads with 'channels'. Let's say your website has 10 pages. You can give each page it's own channel so that when you log in to check your ad stats, you will see how many ad views and clicks you are getting on each page. This is helpful because it shows you where your ad revenue is coming from.

I haven't really noticed any competition with my other affiliate programs! I've realized that Google ads don't compete with my website, they are an additional income stream. My sales and sign-ups didn't plummet once I started using the ads. What I believe now is that a certain percentage of visitors aren't going to convert into customers, so the ads are simply another way to generate revenue from visitors who weren't going to be customers anyway. As long as your own offers are well laid out on your site, if a visitor is interested in what you have they will still become a customer.

A good thing about Google ads is that they are 'targeted'. This means that the ad content normally matches the content of your site. For example, if your site is about Boston terrier dogs, you will mostly get ads about Boston terrier dogs, or at least dogs. I can't explain how they do it, but the ad html you post on your site picks up the keywords on your pages, and ads are generated that match the site keywords. This is good because the ads will match the target market for your website. And since the ads rotate on their own, it gives you 'fresh' content.

Another bonus is that you are associating with a trusted source in Google. They are presently the number one search engine, which means that people know them and trust them. Having their presence on your website will therefore not lose you credibility.

Yes, but how much can I make, you ask! That depends on how much traffic your website gets, and the subject matter of your website. Generally, the more visitors your website gets, the more clicks you will receive on the ads. Since you get paid per click, your earnings go up with more clicks. Secondly, the subject matter of your site plays a large part. Advertisers have to bid on the keywords for their ads, and the bids generally go higher if there are more advertisers bidding on the same keywords. Likewise, subjects that deal with highly profitable industries, like loans, mortgages, and home business, tend to get higher bids. The higher the bids, the more you get paid for click. To sum up, if your website deals with popular subject matter in a profitable field, and you get steady traffic, you should do well.

In closing, if you decide to join the Google AdSense program, make sure you read their terms of service so that you follow all the rules. They have recently added some extra features to allow members to earn more, such as paying for referrals and toolbar downloads. The growth in online advertising keeps getting bigger and bigger with no signs of stopping. The AdSense program is an excellent way for you to benefit from this and earn an extra revenue stream from your website. I highly recommend it!