Displaying adverts on your website can be a great way to earn some extra cash.
One of the most popular and trusted options when it comes to advertisement programs is Google AdSense.
All you have to do is set up an account, create an advert and pop it on your website. Google AdSense works on a per-click (or sometimes per-impression) basis meaning that when someone clicks on one of the adverts on your website, you will make a small amount of money.
The amount of money you make from Google Adsense will vary and will often be dependent on traffic. The more people who visit your website, the more chances someone will click on your adverts. And you have to earn a minimum of £60 before you can withdraw your money. So if you are just starting out then it might take a while before you see any money rolling in, but it’s one way of monetising your website from the get-go.
In this post, I’ll show you how to set up a Google AdSense account, create adverts and add them to your website.
*Note: If you have problems viewing the images in this post, please turn off your ad blocker!*
1 | Sign up for a Google AdSense account
First things first, you need to sign up for a Google AdSense account. Head over to the Google AdSense website then click Sign Up Now.
This will take you to the signup page that looks like this:
Enter the URL of the website that you want to display adverts on and then your email address. If you have a Google Account then enter the email address associated with your Google Account. Then when you click Save & Continue you will be prompted to log in to your Google Account.
If you enter an email address that is not associated with a Google Account then you will be required to set one up. Don’t worry; it’s completely free! For more information about Google Accounts check out this blog post.
After you have logged in or created a Google Account, you will then need to select your country, agree to the terms and conditions, then click Create Account.
2 | Enter your payment address details
The next step is to enter those all-important payment address details so you can get your hard earned money! So enter your address and your phone number then click Submit.
It’s important to enter a valid phone number because on the next page you will be asked to verify your account. You can choose to receive a call or a text with your verification code. Once you received it, enter it into the box provided.
3 | Connect your website to AdSense
On the next page, you will see a code. You will need to copy and paste this code in between the <head> </head> tags of your website.
This code will activate your account and connect your AdSense account to your website.
If you are using WordPress…
If you are a WordPress user, you can usually find the <head> </head> tags in the header.php file. To access this, go to Appearance then Editor and then look for Theme Header (header.php) on the right-hand side. Click on this to view the header.php code, and then look for the closing </head> tag. Paste your code right before this.
Alternatively, if you don’t feel comfortable messing around with code, you can use a plugin to help you to add the code to your website.
I recommend a plugin called “Head, Footer and Post Injections” which currently has over 100,000 active installations. To install this plugin, login into your WordPress admin area and go to Plugins then Add New. Then search for Head, Footer and Post Injections and you should see a plugin that looks like this:
Click Install and then Activate.
Then, once this plugin is ready, go to Settings then Header and Footer. You should see a page that looks like this:
All you need to do here is paste your code from Google AdSense into the first box on the page like so:
Then click Save at the bottom of the page.
4 | Wait for an approval email
Now you must wait for an email to say that your application has been approved. This could take quite a few hours (up to 24) so be patient!
If there are any problems then Google will let you know. It’s not uncommon for Google to disapprove your account for no reasons (it’s happened to me before). If you think you have been disapproved my mistake, head back into your AdSense account and resubmit your application. You might get approved second time around!
Anyway, when you receive a confirmation email, it should look something like this:
Click on Go to My Ads to get started with creating your first advert.
5 | Create an advert
To make an advert, click on the menu icon in the top left-hand corner of AdSense then go to My ads then Content then Ad units.
On this page click New ad unit.
Next, choose the type of advert you would like to create. As you can see there are three different types of adverts:
For the purpose of this tutorial, I’m going to choose the Text & display ads option, so I’m going to go ahead and click Select on this option.
On the next page, you can begin customising the advert. Start by giving it a name. This can be anything. I’m going to call mine sidebar as it’s going to sit in the sidebar of my website.
Then, choose the size of your advert. Of if you want it to be responsive, choose the responsive option. At the end of this post, you can see what a responsive advert looks like on a website.
Then choose the type of advert you want to display. You have three options here:
- Display ads only (uses images and videos)
- Text ads only
- Text & display ads
Google recommends you choose the “Text & display ads” option, but it’s entirely up to you. Some display adverts can be quite intrusive, so you might want to opt for a more subtle option.
If you do choose to use text adverts, you will have the option to change the colours and styles of the advert:
Don’t worry if you don’t like the appearance or size of your advert when you actually see it on your website; you can always come back and edit it or set up a new one.
When you have finished, click Save and get code, and then you will see a pop up containing the code for your advert.
6 | Add the advert code to your website
The next step is to add your advert code to your website in the HTML files. You can place your code where ever you want it to appear on your website.
If you are using WordPress…
If your website or blog runs on WordPress, and you don’t feel confident with messing around with code, you can add ads to widgetised areas of your website like the sidebar.
To do this, log in to your WordPress admin area and go to Appearance then Widgets. Then find the Custom HTML widget and drag it and drop into the widgetised area.
Finally, paste your advert code into the content area like so and click Save:
7 | Check out your advert!
It may take a little for your advert to show up on your website. And don’t forget to turn off your ad blocker extensions if you use them or else you won’t be able to see your adverts!
This is what a Google AdSense advert looks like on a website:
Do you use Google AdSense on your account? Do you use a different advert provider? Let me know in the comments!
*Note: If you have problems viewing the images in this post, please turn off your ad blocker!*
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