Chapter Two

Understanding AdSense

> Eric: Tonight I'm going to explain Google's AdSense program
to you.


> Anita: Ads annoy me, actually. They're always showing up where
I don't want to see them.


> Eric: You're referring to 'pop-up' ads. They are obnoxious.
But there are ways to disable them.


> Claude: I see text-only ads all over the place now. Sometimes
I even click on them. They're pretty unobtrusive.
Google shows them on their search pages, but they
don't bother me there.


> Eric: In fact, Google is one of the major players in online
advertising. They really pioneered the use of text-only
ads. One of the things that makes AdSense so great is
that the ads are context-based. They're targeted specifically
to the content of the Web page on which they
appear. That makes them more appealing to the people
visiting the page.

The next week I found myself at Claude's house, sitting at the dining room table with him and his grown-up daughters. Claude's wife wasn't interested in our discussion, but she definitely encouraged him to pay close attentionno doubt she was glad that I was keeping him out of her hair.

It was time to get started. "Tonight," I said, "I'm going to explain Google's AdSense program to you. I assume you're all familiar with Web-based advertising?"

"Ads annoy me, actually," said Anita. "They're always showing up where I don't want to see them."

"You're referring to 'pop-up' ads," I said. "They are obnoxious. But there are ways to disable them, you know. If you're using Microsoft's Internet Explorer, install the free Google Toolbar and take advantage of its built-in pop-up blocker. Other browsers also have pop-up blockers available."

Stef chimed in. "At my college, they don't even let us run Internet Explorer anymore, because it caused too many problems. Now we all use the free Firefox browser. I haven't seen a pop-up for a while now."

"What about other ads?" I asked. "Do you still see them?"

Claude jumped into the conversation at this point. "Oh sure," he said, "I see them all over the place now, probably more than before. A lot of them are text-only ads, which I don't actually mind so much. Sometimes I even click on them. They're pretty unobtrusive. Google shows them on their search pages, but they don't bother me thereI still get the information I need."

"In fact," I responded, "Google is one of the major players in online advertising. They really pioneered the use of text-only ads. That's why the AdSense program is so appealing. It gives ordinary people like us access to the same pool of ads that Google shows on its own pages. Claude, have you noticed anything special about those ads?"

"You mean the fact that they're related to what I'm searching for?" he asked.

I pointed my index finger right at Claude. "Bingo," I said. "That's what makes AdSense so great. AdSense ads are context-based ads. They're targeted specifically to the content of the Web page on which they appear. That makes them more appealing to the people visiting the page. Those visitors are more likely to click the ads, and those who do are likelier to buy something from the advertisers placing the ads. It's a winning scenario for you and your Web pages. More important, it's a winning scenario for advertisers."

"Why does that matter?" Anita asked me.

"Simple," I answered, "advertisers directly or indirectly pay for much of the Web."