There are many ways to monetize your website, but the most common and easiest to do is through ad placement. The best ad syndication is Google AdSense. While there are many companies where you can get ads, Google is the easiest one to set up with very few requirements.
But how do you install it on your website or blog?
The steps are:
- Sign up for a Google AdSense account
- Connect your site to AdSense
- Enter your payment details
Before we get started, you should know the Google has strict qualification rules before you can apply.
Google AdSense Requirements
Let us take a look at what Google requires. After this section, you should make adjustments to your site so you get approved once you apply.
- Site Navigation – your website must be easy to navigate. It must have menus or a sidebar, as these areas of the website provide a great user experience. The website must also be aligned and easy to the eye, plus your text must be easy to read.
This means that you cannot use fancy texts; Google will not approve your application if your fonts are too difficult to read. Also, your website must be functional. If you have dropdowns and links, they must work.
- Content – your content must be unique. This may seem like a tall order because after all, is there really such a thing as unique content? What Google means by this is that your website must not be a hodgepodge of shared content from other media.
Your content must be original, which means it was you who made it, and that it was not copied from somewhere else.
If you violate this policy, later on, Google will eventually close your adsense account. Just ensure that you are not plagiarizing someone else’s work.
Now, let us move on to the steps for monetizing your website with Google AdSense.
Sign up for a Google AdSense account
To get started, go to https://www.google.com/adsense/start.
Once there, click on the button that says “sign-up now”.
Fill out the application form, and do not forget to enter the URL of your website. This is the website where you will be placing Google ads.
Google has some partners like Blogger and youtube. If you are hosting your content in those channels, you have to complete the same steps but in the end, you have to click on “Continue in…” This step should be taken only after you have entered your website’s URL.
After that, you have to choose whether or not you like Google to send you some customized help. The better option is to get that help, as it gives you more control over the ads.
Next, add your contact details. Click on the button that says “Save and continue”. After this, you need to sign in to your Google account, and then choose your country. You also have to accept the terms and conditions, then finally click on “Create Account”.
After that, you are now in your AdSense Account dashboard. After this, you have to activate your account. The activation requires several steps shown in the next sections.
Connect Your Site to AdSense
To connect your website to Adsense, you need to copy the code that Google would give you. You can get this by signing into your AdSense account and looking for that code.
This is an HTML code which you need to place on your website. It has to be between the <head> and <head/> tags.
This can be a little tricky, especially if you do not know how to code. Thankfully, web builders do not require coding anymore; all you have to do is to paste this code in the space provided for you in your web builder dashboard.
If you are using wordpress, follow the steps below:
- Install the SiteKit by Google plug-in on your WordPress dashboard
- Once installed, click on “Activate”
- Now, look for the area that says AdSense. In that area, you will see instructions from the plug-in. it is best to allow the plug-in to automatically place the code on your wordpress website.
Another method you can use if you do not want to install SiteKit is to apply the code directly to our WordPress sidebar.
Follow these steps to get this done:
- In your WordPress back office, go to Appearance > Widgets
- Find the Text widget
- Drag the Text widget to the sidebar area or the footer area
- Next, paste the code as HTML in this text box
- Click on the “save” button
Once this is done, Google ads should start showing on your website.
If it does not work, then it means that Google cannot connect with your website.
The most common issues happen because of the following:
- The code you pasted is incomplete
- The code you pasted is not in HTML format
- The code you pasted is not between the <head> and </head> tags
- The code you used is not the one google gave you
- The URL you used when applying for an AdSense account is not the URL of your website
It is also that your website is protected, so you have to consult with your website builder customer support to help you fix this problem.
Enter Your Payment Details
The next step in activating your account is to enter your payment details. This is how Google is going to pay you after you have earned enough money.
Part of the verification is that you must enter your phone number. You also need to provide your real address. You must enter these details so you get paid.
To do this, just sign in to your AdSense account, and then look for the field called “payment address details”.
Complete the information required, and then choose if you are an individual or a business account. It does not matter what you choose as the payment schemes are the same. But it is always better to supply the truth.
If you choose an individual, you will be paid under your name. If you are a business, you will be paid under your business name. If you are going to use an individual account, the name you put in Google must be the exact same name as your bank account.
Also, Google will send you a letter that has a PIN. This letter is a physical letter that would be sent to your address, so you must provide a real address.
Once you have this PIN, you need to use that PIN and enter it in the space Google provides in the verification process.
Summary
Making money through Google AdSense is one that is truly passive. For as long as you are driving traffic to your blog, you will be able to sustain a monthly income with Google Ads.
The trick here is to carefully choose where you place your ads, and also ensure that the ads you place are controlled.
Do not fill up your blog pages with ads or your site visitor is going to bounce. If you have a high bounce rate, then your traffic and ranking are both going to suffer.
One or two ads on each page should be enough, and it is best to put them on the sidebar or once in the middle of the blog post.
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