AdSense, etc

I've decided to sign up for Google's AdSense despite some misgivings on how it sometimes uglies up a site. I'm going to try it out on the blog here to see how it works then decide if I want it on the actual site.

Signing up is pretty painless and really just requires a valid website and an address. It takes a couple days for them to approve/disapprove your account, then you're ready to go once you fill out some easy tax info and verify your bank account (unless you want your money sent in check form, in which case this isn't required).

There are a few options once you sign up:

• AdSense for Content, which allows you to put text ads on your site with a few different options, including lists of ads or boxes of them


• AdSense for Search, which places a Google search dialog box on your site. You get paid when people search and go to particular sites.


• Referrals, which work in pretty much the same way as an affiliate program

I don't really know how much sites make for AdSense, since their payout schedule is double top secret, and their terms of service don't let me disclose any of that once/if I make any money.

According to one resource I read about this, Google has a "heat map" of where readers' eyes go, which is therefore the best place to put up ads. Makes sense if you think about "above the fold, on the left" theories of newspapers, movie posters, etc.

So feel free to poke around the blog here and leave feedback on how you think things look with the ads. If I determine the cost (site uglitude)/benefit (cold hard cash) ratio is sufficient, I'll use them on the Referral Union site. Otherwise, I'll canx them.

For more info from someone who actually knows what he's doing, click here, here, or here.