Applying For Your Adsense Account

Applying For Your Adsense Account

Once you are prepared to apply for a Google Adsense account, it’s as simple as filling out a form. But there are some aspects of that form that can be a bit confusing.

In this section, I’ll go over filling out the form, so that Google will approve you without any problems. You can find the form to apply for an Adsense account at: http://www.google.com/adsense/g-app-single-1.

The first thing that the form asks for is the URL of your website. Note that even if you have multiple sites, Google only wants to see one. So, list the URL of the site that you have set up for the purpose of being approved for Google Adsense, and enter the URL like this: www.yourdomain.com.

You do not have to include the http:// part of the URL, and don’t include any subpages of the URL, such as www.mydomain.com/mypage.html. Google wants to see the main page of the site, at the top level domain.

Next, Google wants to know what language your site is published in. If your site supports multiple languages, this is fine, but this isn’t what Google wants to know. They want to know the primary language of the site – this would be the language that you used to write the pages, such as English.

The next question on the form throws a lot of people into a tail spin. It asks if you are setting up an individual or business account.

Here is a way to simplify this question: If you do not have an office or business that currently has 20 or more employees, you are an individual. It doesn’t matter what your future plans are. Next, select the country that you live in.

The following part of the form asks for your information: name, street address, city, and state. It is important to note that when Google pays you, the check will be made out to the name that you put here, and sent to the address that you put here. So, use the information that you need to use here in order to receive the check, and to cash or deposit the check.

After your name and address, Google wants your telephone number. They probably won’t call you, but sometimes they will, if there is a problem or a question. Give a good phone number where you can be reached. You do not have to provide a fax number.

Here, you can also choose to receive Google’s newsletter – or not. Choosing not to receive the newsletter will not have any affect on whether or not you are

approved.

 

Following this, there are a number of check boxes, all of which must be checked, before you can submit the application.

By checking these boxes, you are saying that you will not click on the ads on your pages, that you will not encourage visitors to click on your ads (incentives), that you are able to receive checks that are made out to you, that you will not place ads on pornographic sites, and that you have read the Adsense program policies.

Finally, you submit the form, and prepare to wait. Your site will be checked by a live human being. Approval is manual, not automated, and it can take up to three business days (72 hours) before you hear from a Google representative. That contact usually comes via email.

- Wait, what is this “Product selection”?

This appears on some application forms and seems confusing to many -- choose both: Adsense for Content and Adsense for Search. This means that you can run both, but don’t have to run both.

You can have Google ads appear on your pages (Adsense for Content) and you can also include a Google search box on your pages (Adsense for Search), and when people use those search boxes, and click on sponsored ads in the results, you get paid for those clicks as well.

Topic Selection?

Topic Selection?

Next you need to learn how the experts select topics for their Google Adsense sites. Choosing the right topics (keywords) is the difference between success and failure!

Let’s take a look at the various tools that you will use, and how you will use them. First, you need keyword research tools. You can find out what the top keywords that are being searched for are with a web based tools such as Word Tracker, at http://www.wordtracker.com. There is a fee for using this tool, but you can sign up for a free trial.

But finding the most frequently searched for keywords isn’t enough. Once you have a good list of what people are searching for the most, the next step is to find out how profitable those keywords are.

Not all frequently searched for keywords are profitable, and if you hope to make a full time living with Google Adsense, you need high paying keywords.

Now, before you rush out in search of a list of high paying keywords, note that even if there was such a list, it would constantly be changing, just as the list of frequently searched for keywords changes.

Furthermore, you don’t seriously believe that other Adsense publishers are going to share such a list, if one even existed, do you? They wouldn’t. You have to find this information yourself.

Here is where having a Google Adwords account will come in handy. You can see what the advertisers are paying to get in the top position of the search results for their keywords. Simply log in to your free Google Adwords account, and click on

‘tools.’ Next, click on Keyword Tool.

...or in case you don’t have an Adwords account, just go to:

https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

Enter your keywords, and then in the drop down box below that, select ‘Cost and Ad Position Estimates.’ (it’s only available if you are logged in to your Adwords account) .

Type 5.00 in the last box, and hit ‘calculate.’ Now, Google will display possible keywords, based on the main keyword that you entered. Next to each keyword, you will see the estimated average CPC (cost per click) and the estimated position.

 

You want to view the CPC for the keywords that will fall into the top five on position, stated as 1 – 3 or 1 – 5. As of this writing, using the keyword phrase

‘weight loss’ you would see that the estimated CPC for ‘weight loss operations’ is

$5.95. Now, as an advertiser, that is what you would pay per click for an ad that is being run on position 1 – 3 when that keyword phrase is searched for.

As a publisher, however, you would not make $5.95 per click. Google wants their share as well. Google doesn’t state what percentage is earned by the publisher, however. It varies, and how that percentage is figured is Google’s secret, and they are not sharing that information!

You basically have to pull a percentage out of the air to work with. Try using 30%

as a guide.

Once you start getting clicks, you can then look to see what the estimated CPC is in Adwords, and then see how much you were paid for that click in Adsense to find out how much Google is paying you per click for that keyword. Again, this varies from one keyword to the next, so there are no set guidelines here.

Keep in mind that it’s maximum bid that’s displayed, meaning that’s what the advertiser would have to pay per click on an ad being shown on positions 1 to 3 in the sponsored search results.

Now imagine if you have lots of ad blocks on your page -- that will enable the cheaper ads to be displayed as well. You will discover that most of the time you’ll end up getting clicks on those, thereby making only a few cents...

“My suggestion: Less Ad Blocks!

- This Will Get You More Revenue Per Click!”