What is Google AdSense and how does it work?

If you trace the internet back a few years, you will realise that advertising was done in a way that was very similar to other media such as television or even more so to what you see in a newspaper.

You go to a website and see a banner somewhere (usually quite numerous and quite large) displaying an advert for the company that has paid for the advertising space on the website.

However, this type of marketing had a disadvantage. The fact that the adverts were not placed in a newspaper but on the Internet could not be exploited.

You have probably noticed many things like this when browsing websites. You're looking for a watch in an online shop, but instead you see an advert for a car.

Maybe you want to buy a car at some point in the future, but right now you're looking for a watch, and it would have been nice if the banner had advertised a watch, because then you would have clicked on it.

This is exactly what the Googlers thought and came up with an ingenious concept. It's called Google AdSense and is a kind of targeted advertising campaign.

Rather than struggling to put a banner on your website that your visitors aren't interested in, you (as the web designer/website owner) can simply reserve some space on the screen.

You then register with Google AdSense, upload a small snippet of code to your website and Google will ensure that a banner appears in the area you specify with adverts that match the content of your website.

Since Google is a search engine company, this is relatively easy for Google to do. It looks for keywords on your page, then searches a database of websites for those that are relevant to the content of your page, and voila: a targeted advert.

Every time a visitor clicks on an AdSense banner on your website, you (the webmaster) get paid. People are genuinely interested in what's in that banner (why else would they be on your site?). This will inevitably be the case more often than with a normal banner.

However, this is also an advantage for those who want to advertise. And for the same reason. The best thing about Google AdSense is that the content of each banner is relevant.

This relevance is crucial both for the success of the programme and for the satisfaction of all parties involved. The advertiser has a well-placed advert, the publisher earns from its content and Google receives a share.

Of course, Google has set high standards for its AdSense programme in terms of appearance and functionality, as it always does. You can only include two of these banners on your website, and Google only uses text in the banners.

An added bonus is that AdSense advertising is much less intrusive than traditional advertising. However, this means that you should position the banner better, as it is possible for visitors to overlook it completely.

Ultimately, Google AdSense is a unique advertising system, as the adverts are linked to the content of the website. If you want to place adverts, you have to pay Google for them. Anyone who wants to place adverts on their website can do so via AdSense, and Google pays them for it.

All transactions are handled by Google, and advertisers and publishers have access to analytics that allow them to analyse and manage the effectiveness of their campaigns.

From website visitors to advertisers, the whole process is elegant, straightforward and successful, and this is one of the reasons why Google is known for its innovation and innovative thinking.