If you're looking for a way to make a little extra income then Google Adsense may be what you're looking for. There are a lot of sites devoted to earning money online, how to make Adsense income or how to increase your Adsense revenue but the information overload can sometimes become overwhelming, especially if you're just starting out on your online money making venture.

I have heard questions raised such as "Is making money online a myth?"  We've all heard of the people who have made thousands of dollars online by plugging Adsense onto their blogs or by affiliate marketing.  Every time you go online you see ads from one internet guru or another.  What is the truth of it all? 

Yes, people are making thousands of dollars a month purely by targeting specific Google Ads and having them display on their website or blog.  There are a lot more people making a few hundred dollars a month using these methods, and then there are the millions who slap Google Adsense on their site and don't make a cent.  What makes the difference?  Training and study.

You can't pick up a guitar, never having learned it before, and start playing classical music.  Nor could someone who had never driven before jump into a car, drive off and safely navigate their way through city traffic.  If you want to learn a skill you study and practice.  Learning how to make money from Google Adsense is exactly the same.

Good question.  Just go to Google or Yahoo and type in "Learn about Adsense".  On my current Google search page I turned up 5,450,000 pages. You could start at the top and read through as many sites as you can. Unfortunately, though, that's where the 'information overload' creeps in.

There are also literally thousands of gurus offering to teach you how you can make passive income or make thousands without doing anything but signing up for their 'course'. Some promise they will hold your hand and walk you through the 'plan' step-by-step till you too are smiling and holding up your Google Adsense income check in front of you.

I'm not going to say they're all worthless nor that everyone offering to teach you how to make money online is a scam artist who makes their money preying on newcomers to the MMO (make money online) crowd.  I am going to say that you do have to be careful though, as chances that you'll make as much as they claim you will, in as little time as they say, are very slim.

Another point that is often overlooked, or unsaid, is that it is going to take a lot of work and investment of some kind on your part to actually start making money.  Blogs and websites don't just appear by themselves, they must be made.  Content doesn't write itself either, it has to be written.  And that's just the beginning.  You also need to hustle up some links for your sites so that Google will think its an important site and promote it to page one on their search engine. All of that takes either time, or if you want to pay someone to do it for you, money.

Do you have an abundance of time or money? Either one will do, thank you.

If you have time, you can study, make blogs, design websites, write compelling content and send emails asking for links. If you have money you can outsource those tasks, though you'll still need to do the studying so you know what it is you're supposed to be asking others to do for you.

Chances are, if you're looking into turning up additional income sources and making serious Adsense income that you are a little short of cash. If that's the case then the investment you'll need to make is an investment of time. You could take two weeks off work and spend all your days learning, building websites and writing content. Alternatively you could spend a few hours each day doing these things.

Investments bring returns, right? The more you invest, the greater the return. The same holds true with time investments. The more time you allow to build up your Adsense revenue, the faster and better the results will be providing you do it properly. That leaves the choice of how much time to invest right there with you. You will have to make that decision, no one else can make it for you. But, whatever you decide, stick to it! Don't be persuaded on the 'bad' days, to just let it slip. If you agree that you will devote a minimum of two hours a day to earning money online, then do it every day whether you feel like it or not.

There's no hard and fast guide as to how soon you'll be making money with Google Adsense, but it would be fairly safe to say that it will take an initial investment of time without seeing any real returns initially before you begin earning money online.

My Case History

In my case I started dabbling in making money online about six months ago. I set up about three different blogs and dumped Adsense on them. In three months, I made about $0.20c During those three months I was all over the place. I signed up for about three different affiliate marketing deals, none of which made me any money, and I read and learned all I could about SEO (search engine optimization.) Then, after about three months of feeling like I was banging my head against the wall I signed up at the Keyword Academy. The first month cost me $1.00 with no commitment on my part to continue on into the second month (at a cost of $33.00).

Two months later I'm still there. Why? Because I invested time in learning how to do things the KWA (Keyword Academy) way and slowly started earning money. There was a method to follow, tons of excellent support and a fantastic forum section where just about any question you ask can be answered. Not only that, but there are other excellent training opportunities, webinars and tools to help you with your SEO and your link-building.

I stuck Adsense on three blogs in February but didn't make a cent. During March, 2009 I earned $0.29c, in April I earned $69.79, in May $21.00 and in June $135. Those earnings are from one main blog for the most part. I am starting to earn a little from sharing Adsense earnings with Hubpages now too.

It's not terribly impressive and it won't buy me a new car--yet. One site pulled in $113.00 during June. It was my oldest site, one that I've had up and running before I joined up with the Keyword Academy. The other sites that I've started since joining the KWA are just beginning to get search engine traffic.

If I had ten sites that were each earning a modest $113 a month, by the end of a month I would be earning $1,130. Again we're looking at money earned online in direct proportion to the investment made. The more I do, the more blogs I put up, the more hubpages I write, the more money I bring in. The ball is in my court. You can do the same.

I'm not going to lie and say it's easy. I am going to be honest and say it takes hard work, determination and you have to stick through some rough weeks or months when it doesn't seem like much is happening. I'll also state, for the record, that the method outlined by the Keyword Academy works without a doubt. If you do what you are supposed to, follow the outline and the plan, you will succeed. It really couldn't be any easier than that.