New to AdSense - Where to Begin?

What looks good to you...

[NoalZ]

hi, i'm new to the forum (and the business of adsense). i've been scanning through the forums for a while, and realize there is so so much i need to learn. i don't have a website yet, but am looking to start one.

Problem is i need some perspective. Is it against regulations for me to ask for an example of a good adsense website? These sites containing 150 pages (or much more, thousands?) of content i hear about...
I also can't imagine running as many websites as people have been claiming, 100+ (more than 10 sounds ridiculous to me, with the amount of content on each required)
I think i just need some perspective, thanks for the help
NoalZ

[koan]

You're doing the first part right, reading this forum (and others) on the subject. The fact that you're confused just means you're starting to learn but you have limited knowledge. Read some more, and again some more until your eyes hurt, take notes of all your ideas, start something slow about a topic you like (don't mind marketing research or what not at this stage, you're just learning as you go for now) and one day, when you understand what people are talking about, apply that knowledge on your site and your new ones.

When you learn on your own, it's going to stick with you a lot longer than if anyone spoonfeeds you a plan to creating a super duper web site that will make you rich in 10 easy steps GUA-RAN-TEE OR YOUR MONEY BACK (fat chance).

[farmboy]

I think i just need some perspective, thanks for the help
NoalZ

Noalz,

What's your goal?

Do you have a topic or topics that interest you - or do you already have extensive knowledge of a topic - and want to build a site around that topic that is useful to people who visit your site...and also earn money from that site?

Or have you heard that people are making money with AdSense and you want to build sites on whatever topic and whatever size sites are necessary so you can earn money from AdSense?

FarmBoy

[martinibuster]

We can't post example URLs here, however you are welcome to visit the AdSense list of website case studies [google.com] if you feel the need to look at specific sites. As helpful as those case studies may be, the members here will give you good advice from their personal experience stripped of any marketing goals, with more details about things that can go wrong.

Take some time to read our Library of past posts [webmasterworld.com], as well as browse through the list of recent threads.

The following forums will be of use to you:
[webmasterworld.com...]

[webmasterworld.com...]

[webmasterworld.com...]

Cheers and good luck.
;)

[NoalZ]

thanks for the help.
Yeah, i do have a niche in mind, so i have some, if limited, direction. I knew this would take work, no doubt, but i also underestimated the amount of time i would have to put into understanding the basics. I guess if this wasn't true, everybody would have a google or yahoo by now.

[europeforvisitors]

The basics are quite simple: Place AdSense code on your pages and let Google do the work of selling and serving ads.

Beyond that, I'd suggest focusing on content and your audience. Strive for quality and quantity of traffic, and over time, you'll build a site that doesn't need to rely on a single source of advertising revenue.

[Atomic]

I also can't imagine running as many websites as people have been claiming, 100+ (more than 10 sounds ridiculous to me, with the amount of content on each required)

Have you ever heard of what's sometimes referred to as a serial entrepreneur? Just because you build a website or business doesn't mean you have to micromanage it. I've had great success recruiting staff that volunteer to write quality articles for free. Then there's the whole web 2.0 thing. I can think of a lot of ways someone can come up with a tremendous amount of unique, quality content for nothing.

[LostOne]

"to visit the AdSense list of website case studies"

Funny thing about a few of those sites listed. Two have adsense ads that open a new window on click and the one actually says these ads open a new window. Being very new to adsense I thought this was against their TOS? Special considerations to prized publishers?

[ken_b]

TOS? Special considerations to prized publishers?

I didn't look at the sites in question, so I won't speak about them specifically.

But "Premium" publishers get to do things regular publishers can't.

Beyond that, suffice it to say, not everyone has the same rules, because there are always exceptions to the rules, and then there are the endless tests, betas, etc.

[LostOne]

I kind of figured that after reading a few other threads. What constitutes premium? Or is another grey area?

[AdSenseAdvisor]

Hi NoalZ,

Welcome to AdSense! In addition to the great advice everyone here can offer you, I'd recommend checking out Newbie Central, a new resource announced on the AdSense blog [adsense.blogspot.com] this afternoon:

We're excited to introduce you to Newbie Central, our complete resource for new publishers, now live in our Help Center.

We know there's a lot to learn when you're just starting out with AdSense, so we boiled the program down to the basics for our beginners. In Newbie Central, you'll find a walk-through of the initial steps getting started [...]

Hope that helps,
-ASA