
Google Adsense has been around for a very long time and is arguably one of the most popular ways to monetize a website.
This having been said, while every blog owner wants a piece of this digital cake, Google continually changes the rules of the platform, and this can make actually getting approved a difficult process.
Many think that monetizing a website is as simple as creating an account on Adsense, however, there are far more things involved in this process. The most important part is basically the company’s analysis of your website and content. If they like what they see and you don’t have any content that breaks their rules, then your application will be approved. If not, then you will have to look around in order to find the problem, before being able to apply again.
Below you will find extremely valuable tips that will help you get approved on your first application. These have been tested and used by website owners worldwide and will work for almost anyone, regardless of region or niche.
Now, why is Google Adsense so popular?
The best answer is also the simplest: Adsense is the most reliable contextual marketing program around and has both the most advertisers, as well as the highest payouts of all its competitors.
The high number of advertisers also means that the platform has some extremely strict rules when it comes to choosing which websites to work with. While these rules aren’t particularly difficult to follow, there are some who aren’t aware of them, or who simply try to bypass them and end up being rejected from the program.
So, let’s take a look at what steps you should follow in order to have your application approved and start making money with Google Adsense.
5 Steps to getting approved for Adsense
These five steps have been tested many times and will work great for all sorts of niche websites, regardless of language or country.
- You must create a great looking website that delivers value to your audience
In order to get approved for Adsense, you will have to show the company that you actually have something of value, something that they can use in order to make a profit.
To do this, you will have to create an intuitive website that is easy to navigate and then to share a lot of original, useful content that your audience can actually use. Looking at the bigger picture, this should be a rule of thumb for each and every website that you create, regardless of how you monetize it.
Applying with a website that your visitors actually consider to be a great place to get information will increase your chances of getting approved.
This means that you cannot steal articles from other online or offline sources and that you cannot write articles just for the sake of publishing something. Every article must be well written, with perfect or near-perfect grammar, and valuable information.
While there is no limit to how much or how little content you should have when applying, it is usually better to have at least 10 articles that are at least 500 words apiece. Other than this, it is also imperative that you have the standard pages that every website should have: “About Page”, the “Contact” page, and the “Privacy Policy” page. These will not only help with your Adsense approval but will also be useful when looking at other forms of monetization.
You may have recognized the first two pages, but not the last one. The “Privacy Policy” page is required in order to include the information presented here:
https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/1348695?hl=en
This information is tied to the Adsense program and is required to be included on every website that applies for monetization.
Another thing that will increase your chances to get approved is to choose a great looking theme for your website. If you’ve built your site using WordPress, then you should use a premium theme. These are professionally designed for use in these kinds of situations, and will be highly appreciated by both your audience and Google.
However, if you do not have the money needed for a premium theme, then you can also use a free one, as long as it looks high quality. Look around at the various online repositories and choose the one that feels right for your niche, and is also easy to use and understand.
Additionally, you should also have someone design a logo for your website. If you have a good idea regarding what kind of logo you want and know your way around design software, you can do it yourself. If not, you can always get a freelancer to do it on a platform like Upwork, or Fiverr.
Overall, you can spend about $5 for a great looking theme, and then a few more in order to have your logo designed. Also, keep in mind that your website should already be fully developed before submitting it to Google Adsense for verification. If you simply create the website and then apply to Adsense, without having added any content, you will get a negative response.
As a word of warning: You cannot apply using a website that has been used with Adsense in the past.
- Applying to Google Adsense
Once you start the application process, you will be required to fill out a form with some basic data, such as:
- The URL of your website;
- Your individual name, or business name
- The contact name (there is nothing stopping you from applying for someone else);
- Your email address;
- A phone number;
- A mailing address;
You will not be required to give any kind of financial information at this stage.
Double check and triple-check to ensure that the phone number and physical address are both written correctly, these are extremely important. First of all, they will require you to verify your phone number, after which the company will also mail you a PIN to the address that you have supplied. While this does take place, later on, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
- Getting temporary approval
After you’ve filled out the application form, it will take somewhere between 24-48 hours in order to get approval. However, this status is not permanent.
Once you get approval, Google will send you an email in which the overall process will be explained. Your website will have temporary approval, enabling you to start integration of ads, while you take care of the remaining verification steps.
In other words, you will be able to start placing ads on your website and look at how many people are clicking on them. Now, Google will be continuously monitoring these ads in order to ensure that you are not clicking on them, or are using any kind of hack in order to cheat the system. Place the ads on your website, and leave them alone. If you want, you can experiment with various locations where you can display them, but other than this, avoid doing anything that Google may consider to be suspicious.
Keep in mind: You won’t be required to apply to Google Adsense for each of your websites. Once you get approval, it will be enough to add the Adsense code to your other sites. In essence, it’s not the actual website that gets approved, but your account.
- Handling the verification process: The pin, bank account and tax information, and phone number
Now that you’ve started integrating the service into your website, you will have to go through a few more verification procedures before actually being able to make any money.
The first thing that you will have to do is to wait for a PIN from Google to arrive in the mail. This usually takes somewhere around 10 days.
Meanwhile, you will also have to take care of the verification of your bank and tax information. At this point, ensure that the bank account is in the same name that you have applied with. This means that if the bank and tax information was from a business, then the Adsense account should be under the same name.
In order to get paid by ACH, you will have to supply both a bank account number, as well as a routing number. Once you send this information to Google, the company will send you a few cents to your bank account, and you will have to confirm this amount. Once you’ve verified your bank account, you will be ready to start receiving money.
As part of the tax information verification, you will also have to provide Google with your TIN number, and also complete a few forms (these will take only a few minutes to get through).
Lastly, verify your phone number. In order to do this, you will receive an automated call from Google, containing a code. Input this code in the proper form, and you’re done.
- Pay attention to how you use the ads
Again, this whole application process isn’t for a particular website, but for an Adsense account. Once you get permanent approval, you will be able to place ads that are tied to your account on any website you own. This having been said, you must be careful to place these ads only on websites that follow the platform’s guidelines. If you misuse them, there is a big chance that you will be penalized, or even have your Adsense account banned.
Also, do not click on your own ads under any circumstances, and also refrain from asking members of your audience to do so. This kind of behavior will lead to your account being closed.
If you follow Google’s rules and keep the value of your content up, then you won’t have any problems with your Adsense account.
If you don’t know where to place your ads, then you will be able to use an ad tester, such as Ezoic. This tool will test different placements and help you determine which layout is the most efficient.
The Conclusion
If you follow the tips in this guide you will easily get approved by Google Adsense, and you will be one step closer to making money from your website.
While things do seem simple you would be surprised to see exactly how many people never get approved. Most of the time, those who apply don’t know what they should add to their websites, or end up directly asking their audience to support them by clicking on the ads, even before they get to the permanent approval stage.
Make a checklist containing the steps presented in this guide, and use it when applying for a Google Adsense account. Make sure that you don’t miss anything, and you should be ok. Good luck!
This is a helpful article for those who wish to utilize Google Adsense for their online businesses and help them grow. I hope you continue to provide these types of helpful guides.