Open a Web browser with a connection to the Internet, and enter the address www.google.com. On the main Google page, click the Advertising Programs link.

The Advertising Programs page is split in two sections: On the left side is information about buying ads, and on the right is information about how publishers can make money by placing ads on a site (publishers, in this sense, are site owners who place ads on a site). In this task, I focus on the publisher side of the business, so click the Sign Up Now button, on the right side.

Fill in the registration form with your Web site address, your name, and other details. Note: Be careful to fill out this form accurately because the address you enter is the one Google sends checks to if your ads are successful.

Pay special attention to the Google Policy section, at the bottom of the registration form. You must select all these check boxes to indicate that you agree with the policies and will follow the rules. Google has had problems with site hosts clicking the ads on their own sites in an effort to generate income, a practice Google now works hard to prevent because it devalues the advertising. When you're ready, click the Submit Information button.

On the verification page that's displayed, read the form carefully to ensure that your information is entered correctly. If you already have an account with Google (for Gmail or any other Google service), you can either use that account with AdSense or create a new login. Either way, complete the form and click the Continue button.

If you filled out the form correctly, Google displays a confirmation page, even though you can't get started right away. Google reserves the right to accept or reject anyone who applies for the AdSense program and, as the confirmation page warns, it can take a day or two for Google to review your site and notify you of your acceptance. In the meantime, you can find lots of helpful tips and tutorials for finding out more about how to make the most of Google AdSense.

After you receive e-mail confirmation from Google, you have everything you need to log in and create the code for advertising on your site. Follow the link in the e-mail message or enter www.google.com/adsense to go directly to the login page.

Click the AdSense Setup tab at the top of the page and then select the type of ad you want to create. If you want to place advertisements on your Web site, the AdSense for Content section is the best place to start. Simply click the AdSense for Content link to continue.

Choose the kinds of ads to display on your pages. For example, select Ad Unit and then choose from the options: text ads, image ads, or a combination of the two, which results in the largest number of advertising options for your site. Alternatively, you can select a link unit, which displays links to more general topics (matched to the keywords on your site) and displays for visitors a page of ads related to that topic. After you make your selection, click the Continue button at the bottom of the screen.

Choose the size and colors of the ads to display on your pages. Using the Format drop-down list, choose a size and shape that works best with the design of your Web pages. Note: You can repeat this process again to create ads of different sizes for different pages in your site. For now, choose the one you want to start with, such as the vertical 120 × 600 skyscraper that I selected in this example.

Choose a color scheme from the drop-down list next to the palettes, or create your own color scheme by selecting the color check boxes next to each of the ad elements, such as Border, Title, and Background. You can also specify the style — rounded or square — of the corners of your ads. Finally, choose the content you want to display if no Google ads match the content of your Web page. For example, you can choose to display public service ads for free if no paying advertisers are available or simply fill the space with a solid color. Click the Continue button when you're done.

On this screen, you have the option to create channels, which can help you track the effectiveness of advertising on different parts of your site or across different Web sites, if you manage more than one site. You can create a channel for a specific domain name or create a custom channel to track the effectiveness of an ad size or style that you use across your sites. Channels are a unique concept at Google, but they essentially serve as categories for certain kinds of advertising you want to track.

Finally, you see the Get Ad Code page, where Google has generated a snippet of code based on your selections on the previous screens. If you change your mind, you can always go back and make adjustments by clicking the Back button at the bottom of the page. If you're ready, simply click and drag to select all code in the AdSense code window, and then choose Edit

Open a Web browser with a connection to the Internet, and enter the address www.CommissionJunction.com. Click the Publishers link to read more about the program, and then follow the links to the publisher's registration page.

Select the language you prefer and your country and currency, and then click Next. (As of this writing, Commission Junction invites participants for most countries in the world but supports currency only in U.S. dollars, EU euros, British pounds, Swedish krona, and Canadian dollars. Check the Web site for specific instructions for currency exchange based on your country, as well as updates and additional currency that the company plans to support in the future.)

Review the service agreement. You must scroll to the bottom of the agreement and click the Accept button in order to accept it. Fill in all required fields, indicated with an asterisk (*). Commission Junction asks for a great deal of information on this page, including your Social Security number or corporate EIN, and you must answer all required questions if you want to sign up for this affiliate program. Remember to click the Accept Terms button at the bottom of the page when you're done.

When you click the Submit Information button, Commission Junction displays a confirmation page and automatically sends you an e-mail with instructions for com-pleting the registration process, filling out a W-9 tax-information form, and logging in to the site with your new username and password. Enter www.cj.com into your Web browser, and use the login and password information from the e-mail to sign in to the site.

The CJ Account Manager features a series of tabs across the top of the page, where you can make changes to your account information, run reports to track the success of ad campaigns, and use the Commission Junction integrated e-mail system. Click the Get Links tab to start creating the code to add to your Web pages.

On the Get Links page, you find a seemingly overwhelming number of options, but your first step is essentially to choose the advertisers you want to work with. A good way to start is to browse the categories of advertisers to get a sense of the available options. Look for advertisers that sell products or services that are most likely to appeal to the people who visit your Web site.

To narrow the list of advertisers, you can search for company names, products, or other keywords. Click the Additional Search Options link (shown in the figure for the preceding step) at the top of the Get Links page to reveal more search criteria. You can then search by language, product, and other criteria. Limiting the list to just the advertisers in your primary language and in the geographic area you serve is a good start. In this example, I selected companies in the Domain Registrations category.

As you drill down through the list of potential advertisers and start to make your selections, consider the commissions they offer and their overall performance in the network, all of which are listed for each advertiser.

Click the name of any advertiser to display a Details page with a description of the company, program highlights, and links to advertising options. Click any of the options in the Get Links box, in the upper-right corner, to generate the code you need in order to add the advertiser to your Web site. In this example, I chose the Banner ad option for 1and1.com.

Most advertisers offer a collection of ad sizes and designs, and you can choose which ones you want to place on your pages. When you find one you like, simply click it to continue.

If you've never worked with the advertiser, you need to join its program before you can add its ads to your site. Some advertisers require a manual approval process that can take a few days; others accept you into the program right away.

After you're accepted into the program, the bottom of the Details page changes to offer options about how you can obtain the code you need to add to your own site. Choose HTML if you want to add the advertiser by simply copying and pasting HTML code into your Web page.

When you're ready, simply click the Highlight Code button to select all code in the code window and then choose Edit

Open a Web browser with a connection to the Internet, and enter the address www.PayPal.com. Click the Products & Services tab at the top of the window to see a detailed explanation of the many kinds of payment services offered by PayPal.

On the Products & Services page, you find links to the many kinds of payment services offered by PayPal. Click the link for any of the services to sign up, watch a demo, and find out pricing information, including fees and commissions. Click Website Payments Standard if you want the simplest options for using single Buy Now buttons or PayPal's simple cart to sell multiple products, services, tickets, and so on.

The Website Payments Standard page provides an overview of the options, a demo video, and other information about how you can use PayPal to sell one or more items. Click the Sign Up Now link to continue.

If you already have a PayPal account (even if you used it only to purchase items in the past), you can log in with your existing account information and continue with the setup process to upgrade PayPal so that you can use its sales services. If you're new to PayPal, click the Sign Up button to continue.

You can read about your options and the steps involved on the Getting Started page, but all you need to do is click the Go button in the Sign Up Now area to continue.

Fill in the forms carefully and completely. PayPal uses this information to process payments and to verify your identity when you use its service. When you finish with the online registration process and enter all your bank information, the Get Started page is displayed, where you can verify your information.

To confirm your e-mail address, click the Go button. PayPal sends an e-mail message to the address you entered when you completed the registration form. Open the link in that message in a Web browser and enter your password when prompted to complete the e-mail verification process.

When you complete the registration process, and whenever you log in to PayPal, you should see the My Account Overview page, where you find links to the many features offered by PayPal. Next, you should complete the bank verification process, which you can do by scrolling down the page and clicking the Go button, next to Confirm Your Bank Instantly.

To ensure that you're who you say you are and that you have access to the bank account you entered when you registered, PayPal makes two small deposits into your account — maybe as little as a few cents. The goal isn't for you to make a lot of money but to ensure that you can prove that the account is yours by entering the exact amount of the deposits into the bank confirmation form on PayPal. Your bank will likely take a few days to record the deposits, so you'll have to wait to find out the amounts and confirm your account. In the meantime, you can continue to set up your account and even begin using the PayPal services, but PayPal won't deposit any money you've earned from sales until you confirm your account by telling PayPal the exact amount that was deposited.

Click the Merchant Services tab at the top of the screen whenever you're logged in to your account, to set up or edit any of your payment systems for your Web sites. The simplest payment system uses the Buy Now button. To create one for your site, click the Buy Now Button link near the upper-left corner of the page.

Fill in the Create Buy Now Button form with information about the product or service you want to sell and the amount you want to sell it for. Then select the size and style of button you want. (This is how the button will appear on your Web page.) Then choose your shipping and sales tax options. You also have Button encryption options: Select the Yes radio button to enable encryption if you want to create a button that's more secure. (Note: It cannot be edited again after you create it. Of course, you can always go back and create a new button if you want to make changes.) Select the No radio button if you want to be able to modify the code after it's added to your page. (Note: Choose this advanced option only if you know how to edit the code yourself.)

Click the Create Button Now button at the bottom of the form. Then click the Select All button at the bottom of the page to select the code that PayPal generated and choose Edit