I’ve been working with Google Adsense for a year now. To be honest, I didn’t have much trouble getting approved, but I notice that a lot of people do. Getting approved can be difficult. but that’s mostly because they’re not clear about what they want. 

This next part will make some of you angry. 😛 I was approved nearly immediately after sending Google my application. Though I get the feeling I applied on a very slow day–it really is not unusual for them to take a month to approve someone.

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of questions popping up about how to get an application approved. Google should be explaining why they reject applicants, but the reality is that they generally don’t. Which only leaves you feeling disappointed, confused, and probably frustrated depending on how many times you’ve re-applied. What are you supposed to do when they refuse to tell you why you’ve been rejected?

I’ve done a lot of research and paid attention to the things that seemed to help my blog get approval so quickly. So I’ve created this little check-list for you. Hopefully it helps!

How to Get Approved for Google Adsense

1. Add a Contact page, About page, and Privacy Policy 

This is one thing Google does say they want, but it’s well-hidden. A contact and about page are self-explanatory, but the privacy policy is one that I found odd the first time I heard about it. For more information on what exactly Google wants with that, you can go here.

2. Make sure your page looks professional and isn’t cluttered.

This one is difficult to do on  your own, so I recommend getting someone you know will be honest with you, even if it hurts your feelings. Have them take a look at your blog and tell you what they like and don’t like–but don’t be too discouraged if they can’t think of anything they like.

Remember: Constructive criticism doesn’t mean they have to be nice or they have to find something good before they find something bad. It just means what they say has to be helpful. Saying, “Your blog sucks” is not constructive because they don’t explain why. Saying, “Your blog sucks because you post only in Klingon,” while rude, is constructive because they explain what you can fix to make your blog suck less.

If you don’t have anyone like that, though, here are some things that can make your blog seem too cluttered.

• Get rid of the category cloud/list — You have a search bar for a reason. Get rid of the category list.
• Other ads — If you have too many ads, your site will look cluttered and spammy. That will not only deter Google Adsense, but readers as well. 
• Make sure your header doesn’t take up the whole page — If I have to scroll down (or zoom out) to see anything below your header, it’s time to change your header.
• Use contrasting colors — Don’t use pastels because they’re too difficult to read. (I have very poor vision and I have issues reading text that doesn’t contrast enough with the background.) Don’t make your text the same color as your hyperlinks. For a background, white is very popular. I know a lot of people don’t like it, but dark text on a white background is incredibly easy to read. And it looks clean. 
•  Make sure your front page only shows post summaries, not the full post — Nothing looks more disorganized than a dozen posts flowing right into one another. Readers want to be able to easily scroll and see what you’ve posted in the last week or so. That is incredibly difficult to do when you can’t tell where one post starts and another ends.

3. Apply with your legal information.

No fake names or nicknames (if it’s not the name you use to file taxes, you can’t use it). Use your real address and real phone number. Money made from Google Adsense is taxable, so they’ll have to send you a W-9 so you can file taxes. They’ll mail you a PIN, much like what a debit card does, and they’ll need an address to send it to.

Essentially, treat your application as though it’s a job application. If you lie on it or skip over things, you won’t get hired. (The exceptions are your TIN/SSN and your bank account information. They don’t need that until later.)

4. Learn how to write.

As with your blog’s layout, your writing should sound professional and be easy to read. I know not everyone is very good at writing and you don’t have to be an expert. You just have to be grammatically correct and use correct punctuation. Don’t write long, run-on sentences. When in doubt, write choppy, short sentences. They may not flow well, but they’re easier to read than run-ons.

And don’t be afraid to admit your writing isn’t fantastic. I majored in English and I STILL have trouble with commas and run-on sentences. Writing can be difficult if you don’t practice it enough.

But you should take yourself seriously when writing. I see a lot of bloggers say, “I don’t care about correct spelling and I don’t have time to check it.” If you want your blog to be your business then, you should care. For one thing, if you don’t have time to double-check yourself, what makes you think your readers have time to figure out what you’re trying to say?

Also, if you want to market yourself as an expert in your field and you’re spelling “a lot” as “alot,” how many people do you think will take your advice seriously? That’s a pretty elementary spelling error, so probably not many. With so many self-proclaimed “highly educated professionals,” it’s difficult to tell whose advice you should take seriously and whose might actually be worth something. Especially when all of their advice is different. So if you can’t spell a simple word correctly, you’ve given me a reason to eliminate your “expert” opinion. It may not seem fair, but that’s how it is.

5. Check your stats.

Google doesn’t actually list a minimum requirement for hits per day. However, I’ve heard a few times that they do want something. It doesn’t have to be massive, though–50 hits a day should do it. If your blog is brand-spanking-new, you should probably wait a few months to apply.

Also, Google Analytics is more accurate than anything else. WordPress and Blogger both include bots in your stats.

6. Blog Age vs. Content

This is another thing Google doesn’t really mention. They don’t have a minimum requirement for how many posts to have or how long those posts should be and they don’t say your blog should be a certain age. However, it can still be taken into account without us knowing. Especially if the rest of your application is meh.

I’ve heard of people being accepted by Google after blogging for only a month. I imagine age is something that would be taken into account only if you don’t have much content. 

Just to make sure they don’t reject you for this, have at least 10-20 posts that are about 500+ words long.

These are just things that you need to take into account. They may play a very small role in whether or not you get accepted, but it doesn’t hurt to have them. 

What did you do that helped get your application through faster?

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