We're excited to introduce ourselves at the Google AdSense Australia team, which joined our growing Sydney office last September.

As you may know, AdSense connects Australian and New Zealand web publishers with Google's local and international advertiser base, delivering text, image, and even video ads. Google returns only the most targeted ads to a web page, allowing publishers to display ads that their user community will find relevant and interesting, as well as providing them with a steady stream of revenue.

We'd be delighted to hear from you to discuss what AdSense can do for your website. Since September, our team has expanded to offer localised service and support, and has driven some exciting initiatives in the Australian and NZ online advertising sector. We've toured Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Auckland with the AdSense Roadshow, and gathered plenty of local interest along the way.

Thousands of Australian and New Zealand publishers have joined the AdSense content network to make use of the many customised advertising options available. We're excited to partner with a wide range of publishers - from those who cater to a wide Australian audience, such as Fairfax Digital, to popular community sites like eatability.com.au. AdSense also benefits niche sites, such as ozoutback.com.au and vorb.org.nz, by connecting them with advertisers that offer content relevant to their readers' interests.

We'll be posting up regular hints and tips for optimising your AdSense performance, as well as notifying our publishers of new product developments. You might see us at the next trade show or industry meeting. In the meantime if you have any questions, drop us a line.

What sort of advancement opportunities exist within your area? How easy it is to progress and what sort of career path exists?

On one hand I'd say that it can be hard to stand out at Google because we hire such talented engineers. On the other, Google is growing fast so there's a huge number of opportunities for motivated individuals.

MSc, PhD, Bachelors? What's the difference when it comes to recruiting people into your field?

At Google, we take candidates equally from Bachelors, Masters and Ph.Ds. I think individual differences dominate here - a bright candidate will stand out regardless. Having said that, I'd expect a PhD graduate to have a stronger understanding of CS theory whereas someone with industry experience will have stronger coding skills. A research MSc often suggests a motivated candidate who wanted to get a taste of research before moving to industry.

Academia or Industry -- Which is best if you want to do research?

In my experience, academia is the more flexible research environment, whereas industry research is generally better funded. Also, industry research has immediate application whereas academic research tries to look further ahead. Google provides a great combination of the two: you can build products quickly that are used by millions, underpinned by pioneering research and resources few others have access to. To get a feel for the sort of research we do, take a look at some of our recent publications at: http://labs.google.com/papers.html

Apart from completing their degree, what are the most important things a student should do to prepare for life after graduating?

Take courses that interest you and learn as much as you can, because you'll use everything. Try participating in competitions like the ACM and TopCoder; you'll get to meet other bright people and really stretch yourself.