9 Important Things to Remember when Starting with Google AdSense
If you ever want to become a publisher for Google AdSense ad network, there is a long list of requirements you have to fulfill. In our most recent post, a guide to Google AdSense, we talk in detail about creating an account, activating it, the process of admission up till the first paycheck.
This article I wanted to briefly focus on 9 things I find the most important when it comes to starting the partnership with Google AdSense. If your interested in this topic in more detail, be sure to check out Beginner’s Guide to Google AdSense at Shorte.st blog.
1. Make sure your content is suitable
One of the most common reason for which website owners are rejected by Google AdSense is the lack of sufficient content or having content that does not line up with Google’s policy. In general, Google is known for their strict approach to content and long list of prohibited topics. If most of the content on your website can be attributed features form the prohibited list, you may as well start searching for other ad networks or options to monetize. On the other hand, if you infringe their content policy just a little bit, you have to think and decide if erasing or changing this particular parts will be profitable enough to start publishing ads with Google AdSense.
2. About Us, Contact Us and Privacy Policy pages
Google AdSense will never accept your website if there will be no page listing the whole Privacy Policy as well as some sort of legit Contact Us/About Us page with a working methods of communication between you and your visitors. If you currently don’t have such pages, be sure to add them to your website before applying for AdSense approval.
3. Your website has to have a good UX
Frankly speaking, whatever one may say about some of Google’s policies, they know their UX. And you should know it too if you want to publish their ads. If your website has poor User Experience, e.g. too bright and too contrasting colours, hard to navigate and has low readability score, it most likely won’t pass the Google AdSense audit. Moreover, even if you will be accepted, introducing ads to already messy website will make your visitors exit your website right away.
4. Be aware of invalid click policies
Google is also very strict when it comes to clicks on the ads. You should never click on ads at your own website, nor you can ask other people to do so. Likewise, buying clicks and traffic in general is considered infringement of AdSense rules and may be a reason to be banned. I probably don’t have to say that once you get banned from AdSense you may never join it with the same account/website again, right?
5. It’s content, not the number of pages that matters the most
Some guides talk about minimal number of pages your website has to have before it will be accepted by Google. There is no such thing. What matters the most to them is good, clean design built with the best user experience in mind and valuable, original content. You can have 300+ pages of thin, worthless content and not get accepted. You can have 5 pages of reliable original content of high readability and be immediately approved by Google AdSense upon submission.
6. You never know how much you can earn
One of the more important elements when it comes to running a business is the ability to project probable budget predictions and plan on their foundation. Unfortunately, AdSense doesn’t really give any clear numbers about the money you will earn while publishing their ads. You’ll also get no information about profitability of individual ads and advertisers.
7. AdSense doesn’t cooperate well with other ad networks
Even though Google states that you can have affiliate or text links on your website despite the displayed contextual ads, the truth is you either work with AdSense or you work with everyone else. Of course, if you’re lucky you can earn rather hefty sums from publishing AdSense ads, many website owners decide not to publish for them simply because it is unwise to keep all the eggs in one basket.
8. The payment options are limited
When you work for AdSense your earnings will be transferred to you by one of two ways: either by check or by wire transfer. There is also no option to change the payee name, so in case you have a new bank account on a new name, you won’t receive your payment. Moreover, some people prefer to remain as anonymous as it is possible which with AdSense choice of payment options is practically impossible.
9. There are dozens of other advertising networks
Being unable to be a publisher for Google AdSense is not the end of career. There are hundreds of other ad networks ready to take the place of AdSense — at least dozen of them really trustworthy and already checked by thousands of publishers all around the world. They usually are more flexible when it comes to content they accept, more flexible about payment options and often more transparent when it comes to earning predictions and bids.
About the author
My name is Janusz and I work as a content marketing specialist and one of the community managers at Shorte.st. I’m also a content creator at the Shorte.st blog. Privately, a writer and musician with love for a great UX.
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