I recently came across a post on the 2+2 Money Making & Business forum whereby one member explains his daily AdSense routine. After reading this along with various other AdSense-based posts on this and other forums, I decided to try to get my own informational sites up prior to completing my dating website. This will allow me to have something up sooner, plus it will provide me the opportunity to learn more about AdSense and how best to utilize it prior to implementing it into the dating site.

In achieving this goal, I have also recently become aware of a wider range of free and open source products (as well as a few products and services that require money) that I should be utilizing in many of my projects. Below is a quick list of notable sites and resources that I intend to use and would suggest to others when completing their own projects. Pick and choose which you would consider to be useful for your own projects.

• Elance - A place to post requests for articles to be written for your site. Articles can be written for as little as $10-15 (maybe less), but remember that you get what you pay for.
• ScriptLance - Another site like the one mentioned above.
• Guru - One more site similar to the two mentioned above.
• Copyscape - Verify that your writing (or re-writing) doesn’t reflect that of other sites such that it’s considered plagiarism.
• Open Source Web Design - This site offers a collection of free web design templates. I just came across this, and I am going to be finding this particularly useful for my plan. I am a developer, not a designer by any means. (My non-tech friends don’t understand the difference, even if I try to explain it.)
• Got Logos - Inexpensive logo design, as low as $25 each.
• GoDaddy - Cheap, effective, and reliable web hosting.
• Host Gator - Cheap web hosting that allows for an unlimited number of domains to be set up within a single web hosting account.
• Keyword Selector Tool - A simple tool provided by Overture for determining search keyword popularity. This can be used for determining what keywords to include in your pages such that your site will be returned within the results of many different search queries.
• Keyword Bids Tool - Another simple tool provided by Overture for determining the max bids and listings for a search term.
• Open Directory Project - A highly-ranked directory for submitting your site’s URL to be indexed. Numerous search engine use this for collecting new links, descriptions, and keywords.
• Directory List - A single page offering links to numerous more directories such as the one mentioned above.
• Backlink Builder - A simple tool that allows you to find sites that offer quality backlinks. This is useful for SEO in order to be placed higher in search engine results.

In order to get my feet wet, I’m going to start with two basic websites, both based on topics with which I am familiar. The site itself will be a collection of articles and links to other useful resources and tools, all with Google AdSense interspersed throughout. The two topics for the sites I intend to complete are the following:

1. Poker - this site will offer an intro to poker, the most popular types of games that are played today, and general strategy. AdSense links will be used, and perhaps affiliate links to poker rooms and key resources/tools.
2. Coffee - this site will provide information about types of coffee, popular brands, and information related to purchasing/selection. (There may be more topics included, but I haven’t done any research on this yet.) AdSense links will be included, and perhaps affiliate links for coffee related purchases (e.g.: coffee of the month; coffee grinders; coffee brewers; etc.).