The Difference Between Google AdSense and PayPal

Google AdSense and PayPal are two completely different things, just the way, say, apples and oranges are.

GOOGLE

Google is, of course, the behemoth search engine of the Internet world. Users go use Google to search for whatever it is online they're looking for. Because so many people use Google, they sell ad space to companies wanting to attract customers. The aim, in general, is to have ads on Internet pages where people have already indicated the likelihood of having interest. (The person who does a Google search for "blue shoes" and finds a site with articles on blue shoes, is likely to click on ads selling blue shoes or some product associated with them.)

Every site on the Internet offers the potential of having viewers see (and maybe click on) ads; and provided the site meets Google's basic standards, any site offers Google and the people who pay Google to advertise their products/services yet more Internet pages that may attract yet more people to see the ads.

As incentive for having Google's ads placed on anyone's pages/site, Google pays people who sign up to have ads on their site, based on how many people see and click on any ad, but also on how much they can sell the space for.

When you have a Google AdSense account it means that you have signed up with Google, had your site approved, and have agreed to have ads on your site. With a Google AdSense account, you have some control over the size, color, and placement of ads; and Google's technology "figures out" what any page has on it in order to determine what ads may do well there.

With a Google Ad Sense account, you can arrange to have ads placed on more than one site that is yours. Each of your sites (each different URL) is "seen" by Google as a separate one. You can have y our own website(s), blog(s), or individual pages on a site like HubPages. People who posts videos or otherwise attract anyone to view any page can generally have Google ads.

With a Google AdSense account, although you are not an employee of Google, you do give Google your tax information, mailing address, and, if you want, a bank account number so they can deposit earnings automatically (once your account has the minimum payout amount of $100). Google does report your earnings for tax purposes, however, which is why you are required to offer your identifying taxpayer information. Signing up to be paid for having ads on your site is similar to signing up to do temporary contract work (without the option of signing up for any health insurance). You are essentially a manager of all ads on your site and the degree to which you keep track of your URL's (channels, in Google terms), although you don't have the choice about which products/services are offered in Google's ads. Google offers you the ways to see how much you have earned on which site, how much each site earns you on any given day, and "all things Google" in terms of ways to increase your chances of earning.

In order to set up your AdSense account so that you will receive automatic transfers into your bank account, Google does use the standard procedure for "establishing" that the bank account is yours. After giving your bank information you are told that in the next few days there will be tiny deposits (change) made to your account by Google. In order to verify that the account is yours, Google asks you to do that by filling in the date and amounts of the deposits when you see them in your bank account.

They may also send you a pin number through the U.S. mail as part of the verfication process. It's a simple card and pin number, and you are instructed to sign into your account and verify that you have received it.

You can always change the bank information you have on file with Google, but verification that any account is yours is always required.

PAYPAL

PayPal isn't about your earning money through them. It's about offering an online payment system that allows anyone who wants to send you money online to do so, without your having to give them bank account information. It also allows you to send someone else money online without giving your bank account information. (That could include shopping online at a site that accepts PayPal or sending $50 to your college-student son, who also has a PayPal account.) You can even arrange to have PayPal over your mobile phone, so you can simply call them and say, "Send 'whoever' $50", which will result in their taking money out of your account and putting it in another user's.

When you do online work or otherwise earn money on the Internet, some companies will pay you using PayPal. Some do not. (Google does not use PayPal to pay you, so with them you must choose between receiving a paper check or having an automatic deposit. ) Sites, like writing sites, that have people coming and going, and perhaps earning only a few dollars for a few things; tend to use PayPal. Your e.mail address is always on file with them, and there's no need to be collecting tax information from transient or low-earning members. Of course, sites using PayPal to pay for work/services are not necessarily confined to low earners.

PayPal is a "middle man" between you and your bank account. A PayPal account works very much like any bank account works, however, offering you the option to receive payments, make payments, and transfer your own money back and forth between your bank account and your PayPal account.

PayPal offers different types of accounts, ranging from a basic account to a "premier" account (for individuals) to a business account. Opening a PayPal account is free, and there are no service charges for having the account. They make their money by charging a small percentage for some transactions, depending on the type of account you have.

Like most bank accounts, PayPal's premier account offers you a Mastercard debit card that can be used the way you'd use any debit card. There are no transaction fees for shopping with your PayPal debit card, and it comes in handy when an online merchant does not accept conventional PayPal payments.

Like most bank accounts, PayPal also offers a PayPal credit card to those who apply and qualify. More information about that can be found on their site (http://www.paypal.com).

A security precaution they offer is a key that you can buy for about $5.00. The key has an electronic code that changes every few seconds. You can enable the security key feature on your account, so that you (and nobody else) can sign in without entering the code appearing on the key. You can disable or enable the key at any time.

In order to make PayPal your "middle man" between your bank account and any transactions, you do need to give PayPal a bank account and have it verified (the same way Google verifies it). For the person concerned with giving bank account information to a third party, it's always an option to open a free checking account specifically for use with PayPal (thereby leaving your "main" money in a separate account).

Once you have set up and verified your PayPal account, all you need to pay anyone (who accepts PayPal payments) or receive payments (from someone who pays using PayPal) is the e.mail address. There is no sending of debit/credit numbers over the Internet with your CVN code, expiration date, and other identifying information.

Some PayPal transfers can take a couple of business days, so it's worth noting that transfers are not always "in real time". One reason having their debit card is handy is that transferring money to your checking account can take a couple of days, while you have immediate access to your PayPal deposits if you use their debit card to shop (and perhaps get extra cash from the cashier). If you go to an ATM and withdraw PayPal money you can have the money, but you will be charged any fees associated with using that "non-PayPal" ATM.

PayPal is available to people in a large number of countries, although not every country. There are other similar Internet payment "middle men", although PayPal is certainly among the most recognized and trusted.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH BOTH GOOGLE AND PAYPAL

In a nutshell, I'm impressed and very satisfied with both.

I've had my Google account for a couple of years now and have had absolutely no problems whatsoever with it. Google offers AdSense users every kind of information they could possibly need, including a variety of ways to manage ads, as well as excellent information on earnings and the data on which earnings for any URL (or combinated URL's) have occurred.

Since I selected the automatic payments option, I have found absolutely no problems or mistakes occurring in the process of receiving those payments. I did choose to have a separate free checking account linked to my Google account (for my own added sense of security, because when I first signed up I was a little uncomfortable about giving such a "big, online, entity" my bank account information).

People familiar with Google probably don't need me to say that is a company that knows what's it's doing, and that conducts business with users in a professional way. (In other words, it is clear by the way they handle their dealings with AdSense accounts/users that they are not "half-baked" or careless.) Can I guarantee that they will never make a mistake in money transfers? Of course not. I can tell you, however, that in two years of dealing with them they have not made any mistakes in my account (which is far more than I can say for Bank of America, where I have one of my personal checking accounts).

I have similar respect for PayPal. I've had my PayPal account for years - again, without any errors or mix-ups. PayPal offers ways to keep track of transactions and activity that are every bit as comparable to any offered by a bank. With all kinds of activity coming and going through my PayPal account, there have been no mistakes or errors (again, I can't say the same thing for Bank of America; and neither can a whole lot of other people).

PayPal's site is easy and efficient to use. As with Google, you can change the bank account you register with them at any time. As with Google, verification is required and will take a day or two.

I did have someone with whom I have an account that requires periodic payments send an early transaction through my PayPal account; and the PayPal customer service people were more than helpful in helping me iron out the mix-up. (Just as with automatic payments made from a bank account, there are times when someone may send a an early or unauthorized transaction; and the bank or PayPal is not responsible for what comes in. The question, however, is how and whether your bank or PayPal assists with straightening out any mix-ups. PayPal, for me, got an "A-Plus".)