Setting Up for AdSense

One misconception that I had when I wanted to start using AdSense was that
it would be difficult and time-consuming to set up. Boy, was I wrong! Setting
up the account doesn’t require your first born child or your signature in
blood. Setting up the account takes only a few minutes and a minimum of
information. But how you set up the account is determined by whether you
already have a Google account.
Having a Google account isn’t a requirement, but it can be useful. If you don’t
have a Google account, you’re missing out on other Google applications, like
Gmail (Google’s Web mail program), possibly AdWords (the other side of
AdSense; it’s a pay-per-click advertising program in which you only pay for
ads that users click), and Google Analytics (a Web site traffic measurement
program that tells you all kinds of cool information about who visits your site
and what they do while they’re there). A Google account makes connecting
all these applications considerably easier, too.
If you’re going to use AdSense, you most definitely want to have some kind of
Web site analytics program. A Web site analytics program tracks the number
of visitors to your site and some of their behaviors while they’re on your site.
You can use a program like AWStats or ClickTracks, but those programs are
nowhere near as easy to use as Google Analytics.
Google Analytics is free, and it integrates with AdWords and AdSense, so it
makes it easy to track your efforts in those programs. You may also want a
program that’s easy to understand and use. Google Analytics fits that bill,
too. And did I mention the program is free?
But I digress.
One reason that many people choose not to have a Google account is
because they don’t like the way that Google collects personal information.
People fear that because Google’s claim to fame is its ability to analyze the
heck out of online information, it’ll use its expertise to dredge up all the personal
information that it can about them. To some people it just feels far too
much like Big Brother is watching.