AdSense Vs. Google Ads
The key difference between Google Ads and AdSense is their purpose: Google Ads helps businesses advertise on Google’s search results and partner sites, while AdSense allows website owners to earn money by displaying those ads on their websites.
Both platforms are part of Google’s advertising ecosystem but serve opposite roles. Google Ads (formerly AdWords) is for advertisers who want to promote their products and services, while AdSense is for publishers who want to monetize their websites by displaying ads.
If you run a website, understanding the difference is crucial. You may use both Google Ads and AdSense on the same website—but only in specific ways. Let’s break it down further.
What Is Google Adwords (Google Ads)?
Adwords is the platform you can use as an advertiser to show your ads on the Google Search Results Pages, partner websites, or the Google Display network (websites that show Google Ads).
One of Google Ads' main characteristics is that you only pay when someone clicks on your ad (Pay-per-Click).
When you create an account with Adwords, you can create your advertising campaigns, choose your ads and budget, and decide where you want the ads to appear. Google will only charge you when someone clicks on the ads.
Google Ads has become very successful not only because it generates a big part of Google’s income but also because PPC offers many benefits to businesses too.
In general, Google Ads is not difficult to use, but if you don’t know how to use it correctly, you may lose a lot of money.
When you register with Google Ads, you can create several campaigns and ads (grouped into ad groups) and each ad group can be targeted to a specific group of people.
The system allows you to select which keywords you want your ads to appear for and also for which locations, times, days, etc.
It is a very flexible platform with several options for creating campaigns that align with your overall digital marketing strategy and business objectives.
The best way to learn how to use Adwords is to enroll in a Google Ads course, but some things to have in mind are:
If I use Adwords, will my ad appear in the first position in Google Search results?
No. This is the biggest misconception many people have about Google Ads. There is no guarantee that your ads will appear on the top positions of a page for a given query.
Paid ads, in general, appear above the organic search.
Where exactly your ads will appear depends on many factors (competition, quality score of your ads, quality of landing page, bid amount, and many more), but you can control and tweak this through the Google Ads dashboard.
An experienced Google Ads Specialist can help you optimize your campaigns and run profitable PPC campaigns.
Do I pay a fee when my ads are shown?
No. Adwords is a Pay-per-Click (PPC) system, which means that you only pay for clicks on your ads, not views.
Can I use text, responsive ads, and rich media ads (video and images) in my campaigns?
Yes, you can use rich media ads, but these will be shown in the Google Display Network (sites that participate as publishers in Adwords, i.e., Adsense websites) and not in the Google SERPS.
Only TEXT ads (with an image) are shown in Google search results.
Can I use Google Ads for Local marketing?
Yes, you can use Google Ads for local marketing. You can create campaigns to target users physically located in a particular area.
For example if you have a barber shop in Boston, you can use Google Ads to show your ads to people looking for a barber shop and are located within a radius of 30 miles from your business.
What Is Google Adsense?
Google AdSense is an advertising platform that helps website owners earn money from their online content.
When someone clicks on an ad shown on your website, you will be paid a portion of what the advertiser pays.
For example:
Let’s assume that a skateboard manufacturer uses Google Ads to promote its products and pays $2 to Google every time someone clicks on its ads.
Let’s also assume that you have a website offering skateboarding tips and participate in the Adsense program, i.e., that you allow Google ads to be displayed on your website.
When someone clicks on an ad from your website, you will be paid $1,36 (68%), and Google will keep the $0.64.
The calculations above are only an example. Many factors decide how much each click is worth, but one thing is certain: You (as a publisher) will get 68% and Google 32% for a click.
I have explained in more detail how Adsense works and how much you can make from Adsense, but what is good to understand if you are a beginner is that:
Google Ads is for advertisers who want to promote their products on the Internet, and Adsense is for website owners who wish to profit from their content.
Can I Use Google Adsense And Google Ads Together?
NO. This used to be the case in the past but not anymore.
Some marketers used to run Google Ads to drive traffic to a website and then aggressively place AdSense ads on the page to increase clicks and profit from the difference between what they paid for the ads and what they received from AdSense.
This no longer works and should be avoided because:
Google Ads has now stricter policies on what you can advertise on their platform. The system is mainly for businesses selling real products and services online and not for affiliate or MFA (Made For Adsense) websites.
Google Ads does not allow the landing page to have AdSense. This means that while it’s okay to run Google AdSense on your website and also use Ads, the landing page (the first page visitors will see when they click an ad and enter your website) should not have AdSense.
This is a very important rule that should not be violated in any way because you risk losing both your AdWords and AdSense accounts.
AdSense ad placement policies do not allow aggressive placement of ads. It is recommended not to show more than 1 ad above the fold (that’s my recommendation, not the official AdSense rules. You can read them here), and this will reduce the number of clicks your ads may receive, thus reducing your earnings.
Do I have to use the same account for Adwords and Adsense?
That’s another difference between the two. Although your Google Ads and AdSense accounts may use the same Google login, they are different and independent.
For example, you may lose your AdWords account, but still have access to AdSense, and the opposite.
Conclusion
AdSense and Google Ads are great tools for making money and promoting your products and services online.
Adsense is the best option for monetising your content-rich website, and Google Ads is one of the most efficient ways to advertise your business to a well-defined targeted audience.
