How to Get Google AdSense Approval for Your Blog In 2023

The best way to get Google Adsense approval for your blog as a beginner.

Getting approval from Google AdSense can be quite challenging and frustrating.

It often feels like your blog is constantly under construction, and no matter how much effort you put in, there’s always something they find lacking – not enough content, missing fixes, and the list goes on.

But don’t give up just yet.

We’re here to help you navigate the hurdles and share the essential steps to get your blog approved by Google AdSense without any challenges.

Before submitting your blog to Adsense for approval, you have to follow this process.

1. Create and publish quality content on your blog.

2. Create these pages (about, contact and privacy policy).

3. Focus on growing your blog.

You see, you don’t necessarily need massive traffic or a vast number of articles to get Google AdSense approval. It’s all about having the right elements in place and following a simple effective process.

Setting Up AdSense Account

So, let’s dive right in and start creating your Google AdSense account from scratch.

To begin, visit this link.

If it’s your first time creating an AdSense account, click on “Get Started”.

Make sure to log in with the Google account you want to use for AdSense.

Remember, you can only have one Google AdSense account, but you can get multiple websites approved under the same account.

Once you’re logged in, enter your website URL. If your site isn’t ready for AdSense review yet, you can check the box to add the site later.

You can also choose whether AdSense should provide you with tips and suggestions or not.

Next, select your payment country or territory carefully. This decision is crucial, as you won’t be able to change it later. 

Make sure to pick the country where your bank account is located, be it in NG, USD, INR, or any other currency. 

For instance, I live in Nigeria and have a Nigeria bank account, so I would select Nigeria.

If you’ve recently moved to a different country or territory, you’ll need to cancel your existing AdSense account and create a new one. 

So, take your time to decide on the right payment country.

After selecting your payment country, country-specific terms and conditions will appear. Read and accept them before your account can be set up.

Once that’s done, you’re all set to use AdSense.

Give it a moment, and you’ll be directed to the AdSense Dashboard, which means your account has been created.

However, before you start earning, there are three steps to follow:

• Provide your payment information (a required step).
• Place ads on your site (optional and can be done later once your site is approved).

• Connect your site with AdSense for approval.

Let’s begin with the payment step.

Click on “Enter Information”.

You have two options here: Individual account type or Business account type. You can choose only once, and it can’t be changed later.

For instance, if you plan to receive payments to a business bank account but haven’t set up your LLC or Private Limited Company yet, delay setting up your AdSense account. First, get your business account ready before providing your payment information.

On the other hand, if you intend to receive payments to your personal bank account, simply choose “Individual”.

Now, provide your full name exactly as it appears on your identity card and bank accounts.

Enter your residential or business address. For business accounts, use the address associated with your bank for verification purposes.

Add your phone number and hit submit. Google needs to verify that you’re a real person and not a bot, so the phone verification is essential.

Congratulations, You’ve successfully created your AdSense account.

Why Adsense might not approve your blog

Before we submit your site for approval, let me share some pointers that might cause your site to be disapproved, especially for new sites.

1. Bad Navigation Menu

Some website owners might overlook the importance of well-structured menus, often sticking to basic items like “Home”, “About Us”, “Contact Us”, and the “Privacy Policy” – the standard menu items. 

However, Google may perceive this as poor navigation because it raises questions about how visitors will access other essential parts of the website.

To address this issue, let me share what I did for my blog to get approved:

In the header menu, we have “Home” and “Blog”.

The “Blog” section serves as the blogroll, connecting visitors to all the other articles on the site. 

Additionally, we’ve included an HTML sitemap that links site visitors to all other pages. It’s simple to enable this HTML sitemap option in the Sitemap settings and then either add the shortcode to a page or select a page to serve as the HTML sitemap.

We’ve added “Buying Guides” as a separate menu item, which has its own category and currently consists of six articles.

Now, what about other important pages like the Cookie Policy, Privacy Policy, and About Us? You may have noticed these links in the Footer menu.

Despite being a relatively new site with only ten published articles, we’ve designed it to appear established. Site visitors can effortlessly navigate to every page of the website, thanks to the well-organized menus and footer.

Ensure that every page of your site has a well-structured menu and footer, allowing your visitors to explore all aspects of your website with ease.

By implementing these navigation improvements, you’ll enhance the user experience and increase the chance of your site getting approved by Google AdSense.

2. Site Behavior

If your site has been affected by the site behavior navigation issue, it’s crucial to take appropriate action. 

Additionally, ensure you adhere to all these pointers to maintain a positive user experience and avoid potential problems:

• Avoid False Claims: Never use deceptive tactics to elicit clicks. For instance, don’t mislead visitors with a download button that actually leads to a payment form.

• Link to Existing Content: Ensure that all the links on your site lead to actual content. Don’t link to pages that don’t exist yet or are still unpublished.

• Provide Relevant Links: Make sure your links lead to relevant and accurate information. Avoid redirecting users to irrelevant or misleading pages, which could confuse and frustrate them.

For example, if you claim to have a review on a particular barbecue grill, the link should indeed lead to that review and not direct users to an unrelated page.

3. Missing Important Pages

Understanding the importance of certain pages on your website is crucial, especially from Google’s perspective. 

While pages like Privacy Policy, Disclaimers, About Us, Contact Us, and Terms of Service may not seem significant to you or your site visitors – as they might not receive many direct visits – they hold considerable importance in the eyes of Google.

Google places great emphasis on the Privacy Policy and disclaimers, considering them essential components of a trustworthy website. 

If you’re unsure about what content to include in these pages, you can find numerous free important page generators on the Internet. 

One option is to consult with a lawyer to ensure that your Privacy Policy and disclaimers are legally sound and compliant with relevant regulations.

Another approach is to visit your competitors’ websites and draw inspiration from their pages.

Additionally, WordPress offers a default privacy policy generator. To access it, go to “Settings” and then “Privacy.” Here, you can choose to use the default privacy policy provided by WordPress.

If you go for this, a draft will be created automatically, and you can find it under “Pages.” If the draft isn’t visible, you can create a new page by clicking on “Create.” The generated page can then be published to make it live on your site.

While the default privacy policy page is available, I prefer using a custom one that fits my specific needs. Whatever privacy policy page you decide to use, it’s essential to declare it in the privacy settings of your website.

4. Thin Category Pages

Having empty or thin category pages in your menu can create the impression that your site is still under construction, which might lead Google to disapprove your site for AdSense. 

While it’s understandable that visitors coming from Google searches may not explore the homepage or other pages extensively, Google will thoroughly review your entire site during the approval process.

To ensure your site meets Google’s criteria and to avoid issues with thin content, it’s advisable to follow a few guidelines:

• Populate Categories: For each category you want to include in your menu, make sure it contains at least three to four substantial articles before putting it on display. This ensures that each category appears well-developed and adds value to your site.

• Build Topical Relevance: As you build out your site, focus on one category at a time and work on creating topical relevance within that category.  Aim for seven to ten articles in each category before moving on to the next. This strategy helps demonstrate to Google that your site is well-rounded and informative.

By taking this approach, you can avoid running into issues with thin content and enhance your chances of getting your site approved by Google AdSense.

5. Thin Content

While word count alone should not be the sole determining factor for content quality, certain topics, such as “Best Gas Grills”, may require substantial word counts to provide valuable information. 

In cases where images alone do not suffice, it becomes almost impossible to deliver meaningful content in less than a few thousand words.

For instance, the article I wrote on the same topic necessitated around two and a half thousand words to thoroughly cover the subject. 

It allowed us to discuss essential aspects of a good gas grill and provide detailed reasons for recommending specific products.

When creating content, avoid being too restrictive with word count, but also avoid unnecessary fluff. Every word should contribute value to your readers.

6. Duplicate Content

Duplicate content is something Google strongly dislikes, and it goes beyond copying content from other websites; it includes duplicate content within your own site. 

There are two main types of duplicate content to be aware of.

1. Content level duplicate

If you copy a significant portion of one article and use it in another, it’s considered duplicate content. 

For example, if you have an article about the top five charcoal grills and another article discussing gas grills versus charcoal grills, it might make sense to include some of the top charcoal grills in the second article. 

However, directly copying a large chunk of content from the first article to the second would be flagged as duplicate content.

Similarly, for affiliate disclaimers that need to be present on multiple pages, it’s best to include a line like “As an Amazon associate, your site earns from qualifying purchases, see our affiliate disclaimer” and link to the disclaimer page. This avoids having excessive duplicate content on each page.

2. Category level duplicate

Avoid assigning multiple categories to the same article, especially when your site is new. Each article should have a primary category, and you should refrain from selecting additional categories, particularly if those categories don’t contain substantial content.

For example, if you assign an article to a category with no other content, and the same article also appears in another category that contains four articles, Google may perceive this as a duplication issue.

It will calculate that a quarter (25%) of one page is duplicated content and a percentage of the category page is duplicated as well. This could lead to Google disapproving your site for having duplicate content.

7. Not Enough Content

While AdSense doesn’t explicitly state that having insufficient content is a problem, personal experience has shown that sites with low-value content can be flagged and might struggle to get approved.

To navigate these potential challenges successfully, my recommendation is to aim for a minimum of ten articles, evenly spread out across two to three categories. 

Each article should be comprehensive, containing at least words or more. However, don’t focus solely on word count as a guide. 

Instead, concentrate on providing in-depth answers to every aspect of a given topic, drawing from your knowledge, expertise, and thorough research.

Take inspiration from the top-ranking articles on similar topics, but aim to offer even more value than they do. 

By providing valuable, well-researched, and informative content, you increase the likelihood of your articles ranking higher than the competition, and this, in turn, boosts your chances of getting approved by Google AdSense.

8. Bad Site Structure

To ensure Google understands the content and theme of your site, it’s crucial to have a well-defined site structure. 

Let’s take our BBQ site as an example. We’ve organized it into three main types of BBQ Grills and two distinct categories: BBQ Buying Guides and BBQ Grill Maintenance.

By making every article on the site revolve around the topic of BBQ, Google will easily understand that your site is dedicated to BBQ-related content, even if the domain name doesn’t explicitly state so.

Planning your site’s structure before you start writing blog post is essential. It provides a roadmap for creating cohesive, relevant, and focused content that aligns with the site’s theme. 

This approach ensures that your site’s purpose is crystal clear to both users and search engines.

9. Quality Content

Let’s walk through the process of writing high-quality content, ensuring that it is unique, informative, and valuable to your readers.

To begin, quality content stems from sharing personal knowledge and insights. If you’re a beginner or lack extensive knowledge in your niche or industry, it can be challenging to produce excellent content. 

Assuming you have the necessary knowledge and experience, here’s the process I recommend:

Let’s take the topic “What happens if you don’t clean your grill?” as an example.

• List your knowledge: Before conducting any research, make a comprehensive list of everything you can think of based on your knowledge and experience.  This allows you to provide unique insights that differentiate your content.

• Expand your headings: While Content AI suggests three H heading tags, consider including more if you have multiple reasons or aspects to cover. Each key point can be its own heading, providing a clearer structure and improved user experience.

• Include external links: Linking to credible sources that support your content helps establish authority and is a good SEO practice.

• Research without copying: Conduct a Google search on the key phrase and go through articles to gather additional information. Jot down these points while ensuring that you write them based on your knowledge and experience, avoiding directly referencing other people’s content.

10. Is Your Domain Blacklisted?

Checking the history of your domain for any past spamming or misuse is a crucial step before applying for Google AdSense approval. 

Here’s how you can do it:

• Use web.archive.org: This tool allows you to view archived versions of websites from the past. Enter your domain name into the search bar, and it will show you how your site looked in the past. Look for any signs of misuse, spammy content, or suspicious activity during previous years.

• Google’s Transparency Report: Google offers a Transparency Report that provides information about a domain’s security status. Visit transparencyreport.google.com and enter your domain name to check if there are any penalties or issues associated with your domain.

By performing these checks, you can ensure that your domain has a clean history and doesn’t have any past penalties or issues that might hinder your Google AdSense approval process.

With all the steps we’ve discussed, you’re now well-prepared to optimize your site, to increase your chances of getting approved by Google AdSense. 

Submit Blog to Google Adsense for Approval

If you believe your site is ready for review, let’s proceed with connecting it to Google AdSense and requesting a review. 

Follow these steps:

Go to the Google AdSense website and click on “site” by the left-sidebar.

Then click on “New site” and Enter your blog URL and click “Save.”

Then system will provide you with a unique AdSense code that needs to be added to your blog header.

There are various ways to add the AdSense code to your blog. One simple method is by using a plugin. 

Go to your WordPress dashboard, hover over “Plugins,” and click on “Add New”. Search for the plugin called “Insert Headers and Footers” by Wpcode. Install and activate the plugin.

Once activated, you’ll find a new menu item called “Code Snippets.” Select “Header and Footer”.

Go back to the AdSense page, copy the AdSense code, return to your blog code snippet section, and paste it there. 

Click “Save Changes”.

By following these steps, you have successfully connected your site to Google AdSense by adding the AdSense code to your blog header. Now, your site is ready for the review process. 

Remember to adhere to Google’s policies and guidelines to increase your chances of approval.

Google AdSense Approval Waiting Time

Now, all that’s left is for Google AdSense to make a decision on your application. The review process typically takes a few days to up to two weeks. 

During this time, the AdSense team will carefully assess your website, content, and adherence to their policies.

They will inform you whether your site has been approved for their advertising program or if there are any issues that need to be addressed before approval.

If your site gets approved, congratulations. You can now start displaying Google AdSense ads and monetizing your content.

On the other hand, if your application is not approved, don’t be disheartened. Carefully review the feedback provided by AdSense and take the necessary steps to rectify any issues or policy violations. 

Once you have made the necessary improvements, you can reapply for Google AdSense again.

What You Need to Do If Your Site is Not Approved

I can understand how you might feel disappointed about the outcome, but don’t be too hard on yourself. 

Sometimes, the approval process can be unpredictable, and even with successful experiences on other sites, different factors can come into play.

The good news is that you’ve already put in the effort to improve your site with valuable content. Your dedication and hard work will not go to waste. 

If you continue to create high-quality content and follow Google’s guidelines, there is a strong chance your site will eventually be approved.

Success with Google AdSense often comes with persistence and continuous improvement. If ten articles are not enough, keep writing and submitting more content for approval. 

As your site’s content grows and demonstrates value to the community, the chances of approval will increase significantly.

Many successful blog owners faced challenges during their journey, and the key is to learn from each experience and make consistent progress.

Google AdSense Verification

Once your site gets approved by Google AdSense, you can start displaying ads on your website. As your visitors engage with the ads, you’ll begin to earn revenue from clicks and impressions.

When your earnings reach the payment threshold (which is typically $100), Google will mail you a unique PIN to the address you provided during the account setup. 

This PIN is an essential step in verifying your account’s legitimacy and ensuring that you receive your earnings.

Upon receiving the PIN, log into your AdSense account and follow the verification process by entering the provided code. 

This will confirm your identity and account details, allowing you to access your earnings.

Once your account balance surpasses the payment threshold, usually $100, Google will initiate the payment process. 

Payments are typically issued on a monthly basis, and you can choose various payment methods, such as direct deposit or check, depending on your location and preferences.

As your website continues to attract traffic and generate ad revenue, you can accumulate earnings over time. 

When your account balance reaches the payment threshold in each payment period, you’ll receive regular payouts for the revenue earned through the Google AdSense program.

It’s important to stay active and engaged with your AdSense account, track your earnings, and explore strategies to optimize ad performance and increase your revenue potential. 

By consistently providing valuable content and maintaining compliance with AdSense policies, you can create a sustainable income stream through the program.

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