AdWords vs AdSense

AdWords vs AdSense

AdSense and AdWords are two of Google offerings that is most popular and relevant for business sites and people who would like either to advertise their products and services or to earn some money from their site(s). The difference between AdWords and AdSense is often confusing to newbies. They are two separate but related programs and are often confusing to newbies. So what is the difference?

AdWords

AdWords are for advertisers - i.e. people who want to advertise their products and/or services. They want to create ads that can be seen by possible consumers. The AdWords program allows people to create advertisements like the following sample (non-clickable) which will then appear in relevant Google search result pages and/or on sites that are in the AdSense programs:

AdSense

AdSense is for owners and publishers of sites who would like to earn some money from their sites (i.e. monetize their sites). These owners/publishers can then allocate a space (or ad "shell" as I will call it) on their pages for relevant (AdWords) advertisements to appear. And each time Google ads on their pages are clicked, Google pays the owner/publishers some money which goes into their Google AdSense accounts.

If you are a content publisher/site owner and you would like to earn some revenue by setting up spaces for Google AdSense ads, then go to Adsense section for more tutorial steps and information.