I have a great idea for a website that I want to launch with google ads, but I don't know the first thing about how this whole process works.

Do I buy the domain name online? How do I host a web page?

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Wheelhouse

The domain name can be bought from any number of places. (They're called registrars.) Site hosting is a separate item, but sold by tons of companies.

The simplest way is to find a company that will register your domain and host your site. Godaddy is who I use. They're not always the greatest for reasons that I won't bore you with, but they're pretty reliable, and usually pretty cheap.

Once you have your site up, there are two components to Google's ads.

1. Adsense. You place code for Adsense on your site. When it's displayed, Google shows ads in these areas, context appropriate to the page in most cases. This can make you money; Google pays you for the number of times the ad is displayed, and the number of times people click on an ad.

2. Adwords. You submit advertising to Google to promote your site. Google shows your ad in relevant areas on their advertising network,and on some search results, and you pay Google based on how many times your ad is shown, and how many times it's clicked on.

It's good to know the difference. A lot of hosting providers (GoDaddy included) will include some Adwords credits on hosting plans, but exceeding those credits starts costing you money if you don't pay attention.