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It’s 2018 and making money online has become an easy task. With so many money-minting tools out there on the Internet and with the rightful application of them, people are able to kick in an extra few hundred dollars.

Be it click-and-earn schemes, blog monetization, sponsored/paid reviews, bulk postings, social media re-share schemes, Internet has become a money-making machine for the smart millennials. However, some of these sources might not provide a genuine income or might be completely vague. Resorting to these tools is at the person’s discretion.

Google AdSense, however, is a highly genuine and popular program run by Google that lets website and blog owners earn money by running Ads.

Understanding Google AdSense

Google AdSense is a highly preferred text, image, video, interactive advertising-based revenue model used by website owners and bloggers. It lets bloggers/website owners earn money by running targeted Ads which are based on the kind of content put up on the site and the target audience.

If you have just started blogging and are interested in knowing more about how AdSense works, you can check out the figure below that has officially been furnished by Google AdSense help page.

If you have a WordPress site and would like to get started with Google AdSense for your own website, keep reading through this blog post.

Requirements for running Google AdSense with WordPress

1. A WordPress website
2. A Google account
3. An approved AdSense account
4. AdSense approved/verified website
5. Integration of the site with AdSense services

Setting it up:

1. Sign Up for a Google AdSense account using a Gmail account.

When you sign up for a Google AdSense account, you will be presented with the following fields.

Once you have taken the necessary actions, your application will be submitted to the AdSense moderators for review.

The review and the approval of your website for getting an AdSense account might depend on the kind of content and user-experience provided by it. So, it is always better if you ensure that your website is putting out great content which is original and high on value. For ensuring optimal User-experience, your website should be speedy. Hence, always go through trusted reviews of web hosting before you pay for one.

The waiting time for the review approval is usually less than a day. If your account is approved, you will be able to get your Ad code by logging into your AdSense account.

2. Configuring the settings

Once your account is activated, you will be able to see the following areas activated in your AdSense Dashboard that will let you create Ads and choose the display design for your Ads.

When you create a New Ad with your AdSense dashboard, it is important to select the apt design that suits the appearance of your website. You will be prompted to choose the following:

• Ad Size (Recommended: Responsive, 336×280, and 300×250)
• Ad Type (Recommended: Text and Display Ads)
• Text and Style (Recommended: Sync it with your web site's appearance and color scheme)
• Custom Channels (For tracking Ad performance)

• Backup Ads (When Google fails to find any suitable Ads for display, you can either choose to collapse the Ad space or put up your chosen Ad)

Once you have made your choices for Ad specifications, simply click on ‘Save and get code’. Copy this code and make a note of it as you would be required to use this code* in the next step.

3. Integrating WordPress with Google Adsense

Once your work is done on the AdSense dashboard, the next step would be about connecting your WordPress site with the Google Adsense settings so that Ads start showing up on your website in the chosen space.

• Login to your WordPress site’s Dashboard.
• Navigate to Appearance > Widgets
• You will be required to locate the ‘Custom HTML’ Widget and click on it. Next up, paste the code (from the previous step) by right-clicking.
• Click on ‘Save’ and ‘Done’

Note: The interface will take some time to start displaying the Ads once you are done with the setup. So, be patient.

Plugins for Google AdSense

Here are a few plugins that can help you better integrate and manage your site with Google Adsense.

• AdSense Plugin WP QUADS: This free Google AdSense insertion plugin offers AMP support(requires an AMP plugin) with its Pro version. You can even use the plugin to define AdSense sizes for different devices and enable Dynamic AdSense positioning. If you wish to run other Ads apart from the Google AdSense ones, the plugin can help you out. With this plugin, bloggers and site owners can display up to a maximum of 10 Ads on a page.

• Google AdSense plugin: This plugin simply places ads on your WordPress website pages, posts, custom posts, search results, categories, tags, and widgets. It even supports Video Intelligence Integration and can let you display idle Ads.

• Quick AdSense: With over 1,00,000+ active installs, the Quick AdSense plugin is a simple solution that lets you insert Adsense or any Ads code into your site’s blog posts. Its other features include Default Ads positioning and Flexible Ads placement among others.

Dos’ and Don'ts’ for AdSense

• The revenue platform lets you chose the space for displaying Ads. So, make it a point to not clutter your website with too many Ads everywhere. It will minimize your site’s User-experience and might slow down the speed and traffic onto your website.
• To ensure that you don't have to face any unfortunate issues with your Google AdSense account, abide by the AdSense program policies. For people new to the revenue platform, they can check out the link.
• Never value Ads over the content that you publish on your blog/website. This is so because if your audience is no longer provided with quality content, they would choose to abandon the website.
• If you are running a WooCommerce site and are looking to earn extra revenue by targeting seller Ads on your site, you will be in for a treat. Just be reminded to use WooCommerce Help & Resources for adopting the best website practices.
• Stay away from indulging in fraudulent practices to get more Ad clicks.

Conclusion:

There is no denying the fact that Google AdSense is a wonderful platform that lets bloggers and website owners earn extra revenue while they focus on growing their blog or site and provide relevant content to their audience. However, a lot of users tend to misuse the platform and that can have grave consequences for them. Only by aligning with the right program policies and going by the rules, the AdSense program can turn out to be a long-term relationship for bloggers and the platform itself.

We hope that the above guide will be useful in guiding aspiring bloggers and website owners to move ahead with their Google AdSense pursuit and follow the best practices as mentioned above.

Kiera Hayes is a passionate Blogger and Web Developer. She enjoys reading and writing articles whenever she gets time from her work.

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