Google provide a service called Adsense. This service allows you to place context sensitive advertisements on your pages that when clicked, generate revenue. There are two problems I have found with this particular setup.
# Google works out what it thinks is the most appropriate advertisement for your page and gives you no control. This means if you think you know your readers better than Google, you can't optimise the ads displayed.
# The biggest problem I have found with Google Adsense is that there is little control over the amount you earn per click through. This is related to the previous point in that you don't have the choice to display high paying ads over low paying ads. On top of this, there is little transparency over the amount they will pay you per click through. This has been frustrating me lately as a week ago, I was earning almost $1.00 per click through, where as now I am only achieving $0.03 in some cases. I have even found some click through aren't even paying?! What gives...
"Here's what Google have to say for themselves":https://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/answer.py?answer=9902&topic=134
_"You'll receive a portion of the amount paid for clicks on Google ads on your website. Although we don't disclose the exact revenue share, our goal is to enable publishers to make as much or more than they could with other advertising networks."_
In other words, *trust us, we're Google, we know what's good for you*.
Check out a screen shot from the Adsense control panel.
2 click throughs and no payment for "funkygorillas":http://funkygorillas.com .. huh?! and at a fantastic 3.2% click through rate.. No wonder Google's shares are going through the roof. That's a fantastic business model, why didn't I think of that! Maybe they've just started rounding to the nearest *billion*?
Don't worry, there are other services out there competing with Google's Adsense. Each have their own character. I haven't looked in to too many other services yet as Google have only just started to bug me, but here's a couple I have heard work well and have found to work well _in theory_. I'm signed up with both, and yes, my referral ID is attached to both the links below so maybe I will eat this week if someone follows through and signs up.
* "Chitika":https://chitika.com/mm_overview.php?refid=alexp - Unlike Google, these guys allow you to define what you want displayed in your advertisement. They also have a contextually sensitive feature just like Adsense if you have the need.
* "Adbrite":http://www.adbrite.com/mb/?spid=6436 - I've watched these guys grow for a while now. I first noticed them advertising on Amazon's "Alexa":http://alexa.com service. They have a very similar service to Google's Adsense except that *you* can set a price for ads displayed on your site, as well as accept ads at magically calculated prices similar to Adsense. You have greater control through Adbrite's service but you also potentially take on more risk.
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