When a new business comes online and begins to look for ways to monetize its website, one of the most common questions they ask is, "What is AdSense?" or, "How do I get a Google AdSense Account? AdSense is the simplest form of paid advertising available to a website owner. While AdSense is a viable monetization strategy, it is not appropriate for every website. Small business websites typically have thirty or less pages. The site is more like an online brochure. Unless the website gets a lot of traffic, AdSense will only produce a few pennies per day. Other forms of advertising may provide better monetization for sites that are small or that are not yet getting enough traffic.

Informational sites, such as those provided by nonprofit organizations, would benefit more from AdSense. Even if the information they provide is not massive, their sites typically draw enough traffic to make AdSense profitable. The income, even if small, would be one way to pay for the cost of sustaining the site. I have also noticed some government sites using AdSense, as well as sites that promote or provide information about a particular City or locality.

Mega sites, on the other hand, are perfect for AdSense. It can be the main sources of income for sites such as article directories, share cooking recipes sharing sites, and any type of site that has a large database of information.

Obtaining a Google AdSense account requires that you already have a website and that you already have enough content in the site for Google to judge its quality and appropriateness for their advertising clients. I recommend that you don't request a Google account until you have at least twenty pages on your site.

Once your Google AdSense account is approved -- a process that takes a couple of days -- you can begin inserting the code in your pages. This is where the art begins. Placing ads on a page without having them screaming that they are advertisement is an art in itself. Many books have been written about the subject, but the best training there is available on the subject is a series of videos produced by Michael Cheney, who spent a whole year researching and testing AdSense on his websites. His obsession resulted in the most lively and profitable training available on the subject.

Are you looking for ways to increase traffic, increase your Google

PageRank and decrease your Alexa Ranking? Listed

below are 23 steps that will help you achieve this goal.

1. Content - It is all about the 3 C's - Consistent, Current, Content. Post at least 5 entries a week, if you consistently post information it also attracts new visitors and subscribers.

2. Press Releases - Send out a press release announcing the launch of your site. Any newsworthy item should also be considered for a press release. We recommend a site like PRLog.org, a free press release website. Occasionally, Google News will pick up a press release off this site if it is gaining interest after posting.

3. Facebook - Are you on Facebook? If so, you can set up an account for your site or create a fan page. Then invite your friends to join. You can tie in your RSS feed (new entries) so anyone visiting will see current information. When someone becomes a fan or friend you will reach their friends and gain more followers.

4. Twitter - We have seen lots of success with people that have used Twitter to network their site. Once you learn how Twitter works and the etiquette of networking you should find some success. The "tweets" you come across can inspire articles and form relationships. These relationships you build can result in posts to your site and a "guest" appearance. Your guest can provide information from an expert in the field and be a benefit to your readers.

5. Blog Catalogs - Sign up for Blog Catalogues, it just so happens that a popular one is actually called BlogCatalog.com. This can get your name out there and introduce you to other sites that you will find helpful.

6. Article Marketing - Many of your entries will make good topics for an article. You can edit your post to appeal to a larger audience and post it on that site. If you post good content it will result in views to your article and then clicks to your site.

7. Subscriptions - Provide your readers with an email subscription service for those that don't want to miss the most recent articles. You can sign up with a service, such as Feedburner, and have it set up to automatically check once a day for new content and send it out.

8. Email blast - Email all of your contacts to introduce them to your site. Let them know what beneficial information you provide. Ask them to visit your site and subscribe to your email updates and register. Ask for feedback, do they like the layout, the look and ask them to critique to help you improve your site. Then ask them to help you pass the word and email their contacts.

9. Social Bookmarks - Tag your best posts at sites like Digg, StumbleUpon and Technorati. Every time you have a tag out there, it is one more inbound link. Links to your site will improve your rating.

10. Trading links - Network with others that provide similar information and add a link to their site and ask them to link to you. You can also introduce them to your readers as someone you follow.

11. Alexa Widget - Add an Alexa widget to your site that shows your ranking. When you have this widget on your site it also improves your own Alexa ranking.

12. Default Home Page - Ask friends and family if they will add your site as their default home page on their computer. Every time they open their browser, it is one more hit on your site.

13. Forums - Find a few forums related to your site and post questions and answers. Add value to that community. Set up a signature page that you can use to sign out that includes your website.

14. Interlinking - As you add content to your site, link to other articles that you have already written that are similar. This allows people to find more articles on that subject that are on your site. Sometimes a visitor to your site may not find what they are looking for in the article they are reading, but the information may be in a related article and this leads them there. The longer a visitor stays on your site the better chance you have for them to subscribe or return to your site.

15. Site Map - Put together a site map and submitted it to Google, Yahoo and MSN. This site map includes all the blog entries as a separate page. The more pages you have on your site the more content you are providing which increases your standings.

16. Google Analytics - Use Google Analytics to track the page hits and number of visitors. Google Analytics provides reports that inform you of the most active pages, where your links come from and what keys words are being used in the search engines to find your site.

17. Keywords / Metatags - Each page on your site has a unique page description and a unique set of key words. While many pages use the same key word, no two pages have the same set. The key word list contains a long list of words related to information provided on your site. Make it a point to use those key words in your posts. This increases your keyword's density. According to Google, the greater your keyword density, the more relevant you are.

18. Guest Blog - Highlight other websites, articles, products and people on your site. This provides more content and links. This is a great way to provide your readers with access to experts in the field or wonderful products.

19. Contests - Provide giveaways and contests for your readers. This can attract many to your site. These giveaways and contests provide another opportunity for a press release and links to our site.

20. Logo / Branding - Have a logo that is memorable and eyecatching. One that distinguishes who you are.

21. Easy Links - Provide information on how others can link to your site and make it easy.

22. Kirtsy.com - This is a great site to find popular and relevant articles. Once you join kirtsy you can share articles that you find interesting and add them to their site. You can also add your best articles from your website. When you go to their home page you will see articles posted and in the green box, it shows you how many votes an article receives. The more votes an article gets the more popular it becomes and the more exposure it receives. This site can also be an indicator as to what is a popular topic.

23. ProBlogger - I found this site through networking on Twitter. He consistently provides great information to help you succeed in making the most of your site. Recently, he provided a 31 day challenge - 31 days to build a better blog. You can find this information at problogger.net.

A successful website or blog takes daily attention to finding what works and providing good content. It also succeeds when you build relationships with your readers and network with others. Try these 23 steps and see if you notice an increase in traffic and an improvement on your ranking.