AdSense is a Google trademarked name for a program that allows you to place other people's ads on your website or blog. Each time the ad is clicked, you make a small amount of money. Exactly how much depends on how much in demand the keyword phrase is that resulted in the ad displaying on your page. You have no control over the ads, except that you can specifically exclude specific ads from appearing on your site by listing the URL to which the linked ad text points.
AdSense does NOT allow you to place ads on sites over which you have no control. You must have access to the page in order to place your code on it. That's why the Google work from home scams (that are not associated with Google itself in any way) are so ridiculous: Most of them strongly imply that you'll be posting ads on Google itself. It just doesn't work that way because you have no access to Google's site in order to place the necessary code in order for the ad to display. Depending on the country in which you live, Google only issues payments through this program once you reach $100 in earnings. After that, Google won't issue another payment for at least a month or when you've reached the next $100 if it takes longer than a month to accumulate your next $100. Anyone who implies otherwise is scamming you.
Finally, many of the work from home scams imply that Google is actually hiring you to do this. Think about it - why would Google hire people to post AdSense ads? The work from home jobs that Google offers directly are usually related to quality control. They may involve home workers who visit sites from search results to see if that listing is actually relevant to Google's results, for example. Or they may be involved in testing a new Google web application from home. When you read the fine print on the scammers' sites - yes, you'll probably have to search high and low for access to the tiny link that contains this information - you'll find out that the scammers admit they are NOT in way associated with Google.
Ads displayed on your site when you become part of the AdSense program are put there by others who are paying to advertise through Google's AdWords program (and any other ad programs Google controls that may be part of the AdSense network). AdWords is another Google trademarked name for its online advertising program. When someone who is signed up in the AdWords program places ads, Google gives them the choice to display those ads either within Google's search results (and the search results of Google partners, such as AOL search), on someone else's website/blog through what Google calls its "content" network (AdSense publishers) or both.
So, getting back to the Google work from home scams, the only way you could "post links on Google" would be to enroll in the AdWords program and then you'd have to pay each time someone clicked your ad (pay-per-click) or you'd pay so much per impression - whether the ad was clicked or not (CPM). Google does not pay you to place ads through its AdWords program - you pay Google.
Google Provides it for Free
AdSense doesn't cost you anything. You sign up for free, decide how you want the ads to appear on your website or blog, generate some code that Google creates for you and paste that code on your site or blog page. Google provides plenty of free training, and there are plenty of sites and blogs out there on maximizing your AdSense income that are free as well. You might decide to buy a book on the topic, or sign up for a newsletter, but there is absolutely no reason to pay large sums of money every month to scammers for "access to their site". The ads that actually display through AdSense are meant to only display for keywords that are relevant to that specific page. So if you had a page on your site about barbecue, you would not expect to see ads for a moving company, for example.
AdWords doesn't cost anything either, except your pay-per-click or pay-per-thousand-impressions cost for the specific keywords you select. That cost is determined by the number of bidders advertising for the same keyword phrase and what they are willing to pay. Again, Google offers loads of free training for AdWords, and you can even train to be a Google AdWords professional through Google at virtually no cost (there is a $50 exam fee). Again, you might decide to buy a book on the topic, or sign up for one or more newsletters for tips, but you don't need to pay for training.
Related topics
AdSense - Further Defined
AdWords - Further Defined
Making Money with AdSense
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Using AdWords
Becoming an AdWords Professional
I think adsense really can make big money if your website have high traffic
Well I know first hand about google work from home scams. What I learned is there is no short cut to making money with adsense and adwords. You need to put in the time and effort to learn how to use them. Can you make a good income from adsense and adwords absolutely, but not over night. Thanks for the eye opening post.
larryj
Thanks for this terrific post. I am just getting started with Adsense. Google offers a great deal of resources and eases the way to using this potential income resource.
thanks
Ron D
Yes, high volumes of traffic can translate into big dollars.
Randy D.
Larry J:
That’s what I’ve been trying to get across along – there are no shortcuts. Making money requires hard work and not buying into someone else’s “system” that only makes THEM rich.
Randy D.
Ron:
You’re very welcome. Good luck with everything and remember to be patient. Success isn’t typically born overnight, but with persistance, perserverance and education, the brass ring is definitely out there for your to grab.
Randy D.