Google Adsense if the first step for monetization for many bloggers. However, it’s requirements for approval can be rather confusing and frustrating. Here is a list of things to review in order to get approved for Google Adsense, fast!
So you just started your first blog. Congratulations! You have your posts set up, your website just the way you were expecting it to look. It’s time to monetize! The biggest monetization giant, Adsense, is pretty easy to join, and an excellent entry into the monetization world for beginners. While it’s the easiest company to be accepted into, there are still some guidelines they will expect you to meet. Google actually takes a careful look at each of the websites that apply for their program. Fun fact: the first time I applied for Adsense, I was actually rejected. So that’s why I’m here to provide you with a checklist of must-haves, and to show you exactly what you need to get approved by Google Adsense, fast.
Be of Legal Age
Sorry youngins, but you need to be at least 18 years old before opening an account. If you are under 18, your parents can sign up for Adsense on your behalf, however they will be responsible for the legal aspect of Adsense as well, such as paying taxes on any income. This is all pretty important once you start making money, so make sure you sit down with them and go over all these details should they agree to sign up for you.
Own your Website
This is the biggest reasons blogs are turned down. Unless you own your domain, or are in a participating host site like Blogger, your application will be rejected. It is frustrating, but the way I look at it is like real estate: if you don’t own the plot of land you can’t put the house on it.
I don’t have my own website…now what?
Don’t worry, it’s easy to start your own site. I, like many other bloggers, use BlueHost for my website. I love their low prices, simple sign up process, and bundled deals. There are usually several components to owning your own website, like buying your domain name, hosting, etc, but BlueHost is the one-stop-shop you can get everything from. It takes a lot of stress out of the website-making process, trust me.
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Have an inviting Site
Once you have your website ready, make sure it looks like a blog. Pick a theme and optimize it so that it looks functional and readable. Then make sure you fill in things like categories, descriptions, and all that good stuff to help your site come together.
You don’t want to apply while your website is in its bare bones/contruction phase. That’s what got my first application rejected! Instead, wait until website it totally complete. Once you have something that looks like a serious website your application will have better chances of being approved.
Publish Quality Posts
Make sure you have a minimum of five posts on your website before you apply. Again, this will help extablish your blog as a place worthy of placing ads on. Your posts should be well written and informative. In the begining I shot for like 700 words, now I exceed 1000 words on just about every post. You might have a hard time making longer posts in the beginning but as you pick up more experience it will get easier.
Have an About Me page
An ‘About Me’ page isn’t the end all be all to getting approved, but it will add some much needed validity to your new site. Remember, you want to let Google (and any other advertisement agency) that your site is run by an actual person and not a bot. You don’t have to write a 10 page essay, trust me when I say I know how hard it is to write about yourself! But at least a small descripion of who you are, and what you are brigning to your blog will do the trick.
Have a Policies page
This is probably THE most crucial step in getting approved for Adsense. If you don’t have a policy and/or privacy page, your application will NOT be approved. In this page, you tell your readers what happens with any information that they provide you with. I decided to have my privacy and disclosure policies together on one page to make it more accessible and visible. Putting these two pages together seems to be okay with Google as far as getting approved for Adsense goes.
If you would like more information on this policy aspect of everything, this blog post from Oh, She Blogs! has tons of good info.
And those are all of my tips! Don’t forget to leave a comment if you have any comments of suggestions!
