Generating Ad Code for beginners

Last month we showed you how to make a bit of on the side dosh out of blog or website by using Google Adsense. Google have also put together a very useful video which gives you a 60 second run through of how to get your ad code.



It is also possible to add the code - and therefore the adverts - straight through blogger, by going to the Settings page, selecting "add widgets" and then scrolling down to the "Adsense" tab, denoted by a dollar sign. As long as you have an adsense account already (see last month`s entry) you can quickly set up your adds in less than five minutes.

Unfortunately, those of you using Word Press (mentioned in our recent blogging post) wont be able to access the riches of adsense, as this popular blogging system doesn't allow Google Adsense or indeed other obvious mechnisims for advertising. We are examining how Word Press works as part of our possible switch and will let you know whether any financial avenues open up on this front ...

Google adsense for beginners

Regular readers of skinflakes, may have noticed the appearance of adverts on our site. To some people this is a crime against blogging. But writing a blog takes time and is free for people to consume, so we have no problem putting relevant adverts up on the site that aren’t too annoying. Skinflakes is still in its infancy and and our current aim is to increase our traffic. At this point I will suggest that you forward the contents of this blog to someone you think might find it interesting. But back to the the subject of today’s blog. Google Adsense - a service that allows you to create tailor made averts for your website which are relevant to your content.

Why do I want adverts on my website? Well you may not but Google Adsense provides you with an easy way to generate money from your website.

If you look at the adverts carried on the skinflakes site they are for goods and services related to social media - things that are likely to be of interest to people reading our blog. No dating agencies adverts, pornography, or phishing scams just links to other relevant websites.

When people click on the adverts it generates a tiny bit of cash for us. Which whilst we are not ready to give up our day jobs just yet some bloggers report that they make a healthy living from the advertising revenue generated from their blogs. Steve Pavlina a high profile blogger.

For example, claims to earn $1000 a day. So how do you go about setting Google Adsense up?

Register with google for an adsense account, if you already have a gmail, blogger or igoogle login you can use this:

1. Click on the sign up button in the top right hand corner of the page
2. Enter your contact details including the the address of your blog or website
3. On the Adsense set up menu click on the type of ad you want to create - probably best to start with Adsense for content. Alternatively Adsense for search can be used to create a search box on your sites that will generate relevant adverts along with the results of a search.
4. Select on the ad unit button. Personally I like to limit the advert to text only but select the option that suits your site.
5. Select the size and colour of your advert. When you are happy click “continue”
6. Adsense will give you a box of code that has all the information needed to put the advert on your website. Copy this code by highlighting the contents of the box and pressing “ctrl c”
7. To paste the code into a blog on blogger – sign into your blog and go to the dashboard
   
8. Select the layout tab and click on the add gadget box. Scroll down until you reach a an option add html code click on this past in the code “ctrl v” and save.
9. You can reposition your adverts by moving the boxes around now that you are back in the layout page.

Another way of making money from your blog is to join the the Amazon’s Associate program. This gives you the opportunity to select products you think are relevant to your site. If people click through and buy the product - you get a 5% cut of the sale. For those serious about making money from advertising Skinflakes recommends that you check out Steve Pavlina’s epic “how to make money from your blog” article and subscribe to the Problogger RSS feed for more information.