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Is This the Book for You?

If you're reading this book because you've read one of my previous works, be aware that this book is something of a departure for me. My previous books have all been programming books. This book is different, because it's written for the average computer user , not the average computer programmer people like my wife or my father, not my co-workers . If you're looking for a technically oriented book, you're reading the wrong bookyou can safely put the book back on the shelf and keep browsing.

The rest of you are about to begin an interesting journey, because Make Easy Money with Google is as much about understanding the Web as it is about making money on the Web. The Web may seem mysterious to you now, but it's built on simple (yet powerful) foundations. It's a tool for finding and sharing information, and that's exactly how you'll make your money.

The book is written as a narrative, which is not the typical format for a "computer" or "digital lifestyle" book. Though the stories are fictional, the characters you'll encounter are composites of people I've interacted with before. They all have nontechnical backgrounds, and you should relate to them quite easily. The light, conversational style will, I hope, make the book a pleasure to read.

Please note that I didn't title this book Make Oodles and Oodles of Money with Google . I'm sure there are people who make lots of money using the techniques I describe, but I'd be lying to you if I said this book is going to make you rich. I'm not rich. But I have made money with Google, and so can you. And you can have fun doing it!

How to Use This Book

Before we get started with our adventure, here's some important information about using this bookthe resources you'll need to gather, descriptions of each chapter, and information about the companion Web sites.

Resources You'll Need

As I've already said, this is a book for nontechnical people. If you can surf the Web, you can understand this book. The only resources you'll need are these:

A computer . Regular access to a computer is essential. Not only do you need a place where you can sit and create your Web pages, you'll want to have a copy of the pages stored locally for safekeeping and for testing. The operating system doesn't matter, though the examples and software discussed in this book are for Windows XP or Macintosh OS X only.
A high-speed Internet connection . This should be a given, but it's worth mentioning. You can still build and maintain your Web site using a slow-speed dial-up connection, but a faster connection is so much more pleasurable.
A credit card . You'll need a way to pay for some expenses. There aren't many, and they're not large expenses, but a credit card is the easiest way to pay for them.

What you don't need to do is buy high-priced software to help you build Web pages. There's enough free software available on the Internet to make those kinds of purchases unnecessary. We'll be looking at some of this free software later in the book.

Chapter Descriptions

As a narrative, this book is meant to be read sequentially, so please follow the chapters in the order in which they're presented:

Making Money with Google . Introduces the four-step process for making money with Google and reviews important concepts like Web sites, Web servers, and blogs .
Understanding AdSense . Describes Google's AdSense program: what it is, how it works, and how to join the program. Also discusses why advertising is so important to the Web.
Finding Something to Say . Lists techniques for choosing page topics and building content that attracts visitors .
Getting Ready to Say It . Explains how to register a good name for your site and find a hosting service.
Designing Your Site . Discusses how to design your site: choosing a look and feel, handling site navigation issues, and making the site attractive to humans and Google.
Building Your Site . Shows how to build Web pages from scratch using HTML and CSSdon't worry, it's not programmingand how to ensure that viewers see the site you want them to see.
Becoming an AdSense Publisher . Describes how to become an AdSense publisher, how to manage your AdSense account, and how and when you can expect to be paid.
Publishing Ads on Your Site . Discusses the different ad formats and how to track page performance. Also lists tips and tricks for making effective use of AdSense.
Making Money from Your Site . Explains how to drive traffic to your site and how to optimize your pages to get better clickthrough rates and better-paying ads.
Expanding Your Horizons . Wraps things up with a brief discussion of affiliate and referral programs.

As you can see, there's a deliberate progression that takes you from learning the basic concepts to building your site to making money with the site.

Companion Web Sites

Not only have you purchased a great book, you also get access to four great Web sites, including www,MakeEasyMoneyWithGoogle.com, the official companion site for this book. On the companion site you'll find additional information that updates or enriches the material you're reading. The other sites are example sites built to complement the narrative. You can register yourself with the main site to download your own copies of the other sites for use as additional study material.

The companion site can also be accessed using the short form www.memwg.com, an unremarkable name derived from the initial letters of each word in the book's title. Within the book, links to the companion site always use this shorter form to save you finger strain and to avoid difficulties in typesetting the text.

And as a bonus, registered readers who build Web pages using this book can also apply for a link from the companion site back to their pages, with no strings attached. This is an easy way to get some extra traffic to those pages. (See www.memwg.com/free-listing for the full details, but please note that I reserve the right not to link to inappropriate or otherwise unsuitable pages.)