Recently, as a user of AdSense, I have recieved a free AdWords $100 "trial" (gift card) just to try it out...
In my opinion, it is very useful, and a great idea coming from Google.
Why It Is Good For You
It is great for you because Google is giving you $100 worth of adds to get more traffic to your website that go around the globe. Google is giving you a free opportunity to build your website and make even more visitors arrive.
Why Google is Getting More out Of It
Google is getting the "profit" here for many reasons. First of all, Google is not spending anything on giving you the trial. Therefore, they are doing everything but losing users. Google AdWords has gotten some of my sites a whole load of visitors that it is hard to end the trial. Google gained my interest and now, they have gotten me to be an official user and payer to use AdWords.
So, Google is basically mailing out more views to your website. They are giving away free trials. The question is, will a majority stop at just a trial?
-Andrew