by Table of Contents
Let’s be real.
Applying for a Google Adsense account can be one of the most unnerving experience in your blogging journey.
Because imagine this scenario:
You’ve spent almost $100 buying a hosting for your website, spent countless of hours customising your blog, then came the drudgery of writing content, and promoted them on social media; heck, you even paid another $100 for Facebook and Instagram Ads for visitors.
There’s no easy way around. And yes, you’d have to do all those things first before you can apply to Google Adsense. It makes sense though; because you’d need actual content and a fully functioning blog before you can monetise your website.
But here’s the thing… what if despite all the hard work you found yourself being rejected when you applied for Google Adsense?
Yikes.
It happens quite often. And contrary to how most gurus would gloat about how easy the application process is, applying to Google Adsense is definitely tricky especially for beginners. I personally have encountered some problems before I got approved by Google Adsense. It took me 2 months to get my application approved.
So in this post, we’ll talk about ways on how to properly set-up your Google Adsense account, and I will also share some tips so you can be approved FAST, and the RIGHT WAY.
1. You must be 18 years old
It’s highly important for you to read Google Adsense’ Terms and Conditions before you jump in and submit your application.
In their eligibility requirements, it is stated there that all applicants must be 18 years old and above.
I know you’ve seen kid youtubers with tens of millions of followers like Ryan’s World and Vlad and Nikita, but we can be sure that they had their parents or guardians sign up for their Adsense accounts.
Applicants who are below 18 can have a parent or a guardian sign-up for an Adsense. All payments will go to the parent or guardian’s account.
2. You can only have 1 Adsense Account per payee name
One of the problems that I encountered was that Google couldn’t process my Adsense application because they found a duplicate account.
In my case, way back in 2011, I made a blogspot website that I wanted to monetise. I used an old gmail account and signed up for Adsense and had my payments set-up under my name. To make the story short, that blogspot website didn’t get approved because it was lacking content so I deleted that blog.
9 years later, I decided to make another new blog but I still used that old gmail account. When I applied for Adsense this time for that new blog, I couldn’t because Adsense wanted me to fix issues with my old blogspot website that no longer exists. I was stuck because there wasn’t an option to change the domain.
Keep in mind: you can’t change the url or the domain for your FIRST Adsense application.
So what I did was that I made a new gmail account and applied for a new Adsense for my new blog. Under payments, I put my name and address (which was similar with the information in my old gmail account).
After a couple of days, Adsense notified me that there was a duplicate account.
Apparently, the issue was that under my old gmail, the payee information such as name and address is similar with the information in my new gmail account.
The solution: I deleted my old Adsense payment account. After a couple of days, Adsense then approved my new application.
So if you’re starting out, my advice is to review your old gmail accounts and check for duplicate payee information. As per their rule:
3. Create high-quality content
High-quality content is king.
Gone were the days where you could just scrape content from other authority sites and get away with it. Some bloggers actually copy other websites and automate it. Do not do THAT! Google can definitely check if your content is only a regurgitated version of other websites. Don’t risk being penalized. The risk isn’t worth it.
Your content must be unique, well-written and interesting that people will want to read it. Your blog or website must be something that provides substantial value.
Your goal should be to increase user engagement, lower down bounce rate (or the rate in which your visitor comes and leaves your site without engaging further with your site’s other pages), increase customer retention rate (users who come back) and increase social media shares. And you can only achieve this goal by creating high-quality content.
4. Do not use copyrighted images
In order to be approved, make sure that the images that you are using in your blog aren’t copyrighted.
It’s totally NOT okay to just get images from google search and use them for your website, especially without the owner’s permission.
And even if you see some sites getting away with copyrighted images, it doesn’t mean that they won’t be penalised for it sooner or later.
If someone files a copyright claim on the pictures on your website, there’s a huge risk that Adsense will automatically disable or terminate your account. And worse, you might face legal repercussions for it.
Here’s a list of 10 Best Sites for Royalty Free, No Attribution Stock Pictures and Videos.
5. Publish at least 15-20 high-quality posts
While Google didn’t really specify the number of posts before you can qualify for an Adsense, it is expected that your website already looks furnished. I’ve seen sites with 15 posts that got approved, others at even as low as 7 posts, mine got approved when I had 20.
The numbers differ, but it’s safe to say that what Google Adsense looks for is some “juice” or high-quality content that they can monetise. With 15-20 posts, you’ll have proven that you are consistent with your goal of growing your website. Having this much posts means that you’ll have sufficient posts in every page in your blog.
Because keep in mind: Never leave a page blank!
6. Include About Us, Contact Us and Privacy Policy Pages
Adding About Us, Contact Us and Privacy Policy Pages will help Google Adsense check the legitimacy of your website. Google wants to know that it is run by an actual person, and not by an automated bot. It wants to know your website’s rules and if it adheres to their Terms and Conditions.
Under the About Us Page, you can include more information about the company, or the author (in this case YOU). You can also write about the reason why you started your blog and your motivations. I recommend posting at least 500 words under this page.
Under the Contact Us Page, you can put a form where your visitors or readers can reach out to you.
For the Privacy Policy Page, WordPress and Shopify have Privacy Policy generator tools that lists down all things that should be included in a Privacy Policy statement. There are also plugins that can help you create it in no time.
The Privacy Policy Page is highly important because it ensures that you comply with international privacy laws like CCPA, GPDR, etc.
7. Make sure that your site is fast, responsive and easy to navigate
Check your website’s loading time at Google PageInsights.
It is crucial for your site to be highly responsive and fast whether it be for desktop or a mobile devices or tablets because it can affect your SEO or Search Engine Optimization. Check for broken links and empty pages.
To increase site speed, see: 5 Easy Ways on How to Fix Slow WordPress Website Speed.
Your site’s theme can also affect your site’s responsiveness. Always choose a theme that is simple, fast and light-weight so that navigating your site will be a smooth experience.
Make sure that your texts are easily readable; avoid eye-sores and never format your content that misleads your visitors into clicking on ads.
8. Use a root domain when applying
It’s best to use your site’s root domain when applying for an adsense account.
A root domain looks like this:
yoursitename.com
Root domains get more priority than subdomains.
Subdomains look like this:
blog.yoursitename.com
One of the reasons why root domains get more priority over subdomains is that the latter are hosted in other CMS (Content Management Systems) and they aren’t really SEO friendly.
