Is it safe to be giving my information to google adsense? I just want to be sure. I'm not sure if I feel comfortable...
67As with all matters concerning the sharing of personal information, it may not be possible for any of us to have any guarantee that our information is safe.
I had my reservations when I was signing up for a Google account (just as I had when I signed up for a PayPal account); but I reasoned that most times when we arrange to earn money directly from a company, that company generally asks for much the same information that Google does. Separate from earning money, even when we don't arrange to use online banking with our personal bank accounts, our banks store our information electronically.
So, having resigned myself to the idea that our personal information is generally "out there" these days, I did sign up with Google.
After signing up, I was pleased to discover that Google sends a pin number through U.S. mail, as a security step. That pin is not required to view Google activity, so as it happens I haven't yet had to use it.
Google gives users the choice between receiving payments through U.S. mail or direct deposit. This, of course, eliminates the matter of sharing bank account numbers with Google if one doesn't feel comfortable with that.
Since I have more than one bank account, I have designated one for transactions resulting from my online writing. Doing that can keep one's "main living" bank account information private. Banks today offer lots of free checking account options, which means there is little reason not to set up a separate checking account for online payments if that makes someone feel more secure.
My experience with my Google account as so far (knock on wood) been absolutely excellent. Google has an excellent system of offering earnings reports and payment history.
Having selected the direct deposit option, I am very pleased to say that each month my Google earnings have been uneventfully and successfully deposited into the designated checking account.
What Google does with any of my information behind the scenes is something I have no idea about; but having said that, my experience with my account has thus far been a very positive one. (I've been using Google for about one year and a half.)
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It makes good sense to have a separate a/c for your google a/c. I am not paid for anything I write, but I like to read what may affect me if I am in the same situation. Thanks for the tips.
They sent a pin number that (if I recall correctly) may have been associated with my signing up for direct deposit. I do remember that when it came in the mail I had to sign in to my account, and "establish" that I had received the pin number. I've just looked at it, and it says, "To enable payment for your account we kindly ask that you follow these 4 simple steps." Those steps including logging into the account, going to Payment History, and entering the pin number I got that one time. In answer to "what earnings": If people have Google ads on their sites (HubPages, blogs, other sites, etc.) they can earn from those. When someone's account reaches $100 in Google earnings Google automatically pays the person who has the account. You can choose to either have direct deposit or else have a check mailed through U.S. mail. You can also choose to leave any earnings there, and take them at some future time. If you've earned less than the minimum of $100 your earnings stay in your account until they've accumulated to the $100 (at which time, unless you put a hold on it, Google pays you).
Just in case anyone doesn't realize this, you have to sign up for a Google Ad Sense account in order to have earnings tracked to your site. You fill out the application and wait for a couple of days for it to be approved. On a site like HubPages there's little reason to think it won't be approved. They do want to know that any site that has their ads meets certain criteria.
I did all that, got approved and so on, but I was never sent a PIN. I can't imagine I will ever make $100 with Google AdSense, because I write very few HUBS about Hot Indian Chicks.
suzanne, I clicked on your profile and saw that you've only been writing on here for 3 months. I had read that it can take about nine months for your site to get "known" by the Google "bots". That seems about right to me. (I don't write about hot chicks either - that's for sure.)
I don't know about the PIN number thing. I think there's a chance they only send that if you sign up for direct deposit, but I'm not sure. Mine came ages ago.
Oh - I just checked Ad Sense Help:
https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.
Apparently, if you should have received one and didn't; you can request a new one. There's a chance they sent one that got lost in the mail. If you go to the link above you'll see where you can click to find about requesting a new one, if that's your situation.
OK! Thaks! I'll look into it! :D
When you hit $10 or so, they ask you to chose a paymen method. As part of security (for you and |Google) they will send you a postcard letter with a PIN inside, you enter that to prove you live where you say you do.
I should clarify the comment I made above (about having read that it can take about nine months for a site to "get known" by the "bots"): That doesn't mean a site won't earn before that. It just means that it can take a while before earnings really pick up speed.
justmesuzanne says:
10 months ago
They do? I never got a pin number! What earnings?