Tagalog Version (Click Here)
Some time ago, a few of my readers asked about how they can setup Google AdSense on their blog and how to recover a disabled account. Of course, I was happy to help as best as I can, and I thought that other people might need that info. Since not a lot of people will be able to read the comments, I decided to create an article about it.
Google AdSense is, indeed, one of the most popular ways for you to earn money from a blog. This article is a quick list of what you’ll need to do, and what you should NOT do if you don’t want your account to be penalized or disabled.
Take note that this is meant to be a short reference guide and Google’s own guides will be far more detailed. I created this mainly because of the Tagalog version which should help a lot of new and upcoming Filipino bloggers (and soon, bloggers from other countries when I get this translated to other languages).
Google AdSense Basics: A Short Guide on How to Use AdSense
What you need before you register:
Let’s talk about what you need if you want to register for a Google AdSense Account. Here’s a summarized list of the “Before you sign up: Eligibility to participate in AdSense” article (click this one for the more detailed version).
- You need to have your own blog or website. Take note that some free blogging or website hosting services like wordpress.com will not allow Google Ads. You’ll usually need a self-hosted website (meaning, one that you likely paid a hosting service for) to use AdSense. By the way, you can’t use social media profile pages and fanpages (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) when applying for AdSense.
- Your website needs to comply with Google’s policies. Read about them here.
- For some countries, your website might need to be active for over six months. In the Philippines, I heard some people got their accounts approved in a few weeks or days so this requirement might not apply. I needed over five months and dozens of articles before mine got approved by the way.
- You’ll also need to be over 18 years old. If not, you can have your parent or guardian register an account that you can use under their name. When you turn 18, that’s when you can try registering for your own.
- If you’re using Blogger (one of their partnered websites), you’ll need to go to “earnings” and “sign up for adsense” there. Here’s a guide you can use for Blogger.
- For Youtube, you can apply for the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). Here’s a guide for the YPP. You need to live in a country where YPP is available (here’s the list of countries, Philippines is included), have more than 4,000 watch hours (people watched your videos) in the last 12 months, have over 1,000 subscribers in your channel, your content must follow the YPP policies, and you should also link your approved AdSense account.
- Your website should also follow Google’s Webmaster quality guidelines.
- You should create a privacy policy for your website. Tthis one is a bit difficult, but there are online privacy policy generators that you can use.
- It needs to be in a language supported by Google AdSense. This is very important if your website will use another language aside from English.
- Aside from all those, your website should contain a lot of original content. A blog that you just started and has less than a dozen articles might not get approved.
For other requirements and tips and tricks, you can read our How to get your Google AdSense Account Approved article here on this link.
How to Insert Ads:
- At a certain point, you’ll need to insert an ad code on your website.
- You would usually first create an ad unit, and then insert that code on your website.
- For WordPress websites, you can easily add a code using “Appearance > Widgets > Text” (You can also use “Custom HTML” instead of Text) on your admin dashboard. That’s what I used for the sidebar, though I did use a skyscraper-sized banner for best results. There are also plugins you can use like “Ad Inserter Pro” to insert code automatically on all your posts and pages. Check out our guide on those wordpress plugins here.
- I really suggest that you use AdSense’s auto ads. All you need to do is insert the code between the <head> and </head> tags of pages where you want to use it. If you’re using WordPress, try to look for the “Header scripts” of your website and insert the code there. In a Genesis theme like YourWealthyMind.com, it’s in “Appearance>Customize>Theme Settings>Header/Footer Scripts”. There are also plugins that allow you to insert headers and footers that you can use so you can just install those on your WordPress website.
- If you’re still having trouble, there are YouTube videos that show you how it’s done. Remember to watch some more recent videos since Google AdSense’s interface changes often.
What you should NOT do:
You’ve worked hard on your blog and you’ve created a lot of original content. It would be really terrible if your account suddenly got penalized or disabled. You must read and follow AdSense’s Policies here. These are some things you should avoid once you get your AdSense account:
- First, do NOT click on your own website’s ads. This is strictly prohibited.
- Do NOT encourage or tell others to click your ads.
- Do not put Google’s ads on your website in spam-like or annoying ways like through pop-ups, pop-unders, etc. Go check out the ad placement policies here. I recommend using AdSense’s “auto ads” system especially if you are just starting out. By the way, when I started using auto ads it really increased my earnings.
- No illegal content. No pornography, illegal drugs, firearms or guns, malware, alcohol, tobacco, harassment or hate speech, racism, etc.
- No copyrighted material. This includes sharing illegally downloaded music and movies, copyrighted videos and images, etc.
- No selling counterfeits or fake goods.
- Do not use illegal traffic generators. Those services that promise to increase your website views and backlinks? Those can ruin your website’s ranking in Google. Avoid those at all costs, especially if your blog will rely on organic traffic (i.e. people who find your site from search engines like Google).
- Do not steal other people’s personal information (e.g. phishing or hacking).
- Do not put malware like viruses and trojans or other similar programs in your website.
- Do not violate the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This is relatively unknown in certain countries, but it’s worth checking out especially if you plan to create content meant for minors.
What to do if your account gets suspended or disabled:
- Did you accidentally click your own ads or make friends and family click your ads multiple times? Did you violate some other policy? If your account got disabled, Google will likely warn you about it. Read the email carefully to find out what’s wrong.
- Fix the issue or violation and be absolutely certain that it’s fixed before having Google review your account.
- If your account got disabled for invalid traffic (i.e. making people click your ads, using illegal traffic sources and spam, etc), you do get a second chance. Again, read the email you got from Google, read the disabled for invalid traffic guide here, fix the error, and then try to make an appeal. Unlike application where you get multiple chances, you get ONE chance for appeal so make sure to give your best effort. Go find the “appeal form” in that link and use that.
What if your website or blog’s main topic is not allowed by Google or what if your appeal gets rejected? Don’t worry, there are many, MANY other ad networks that you can use instead. They’ll have different requirements and they may or may not contain stuff that Google does not allow (like potentially pornographic stuff), but at least you can still use them to monetize your website.
Just search online for some ad networks you can join like Nuffnang, Chitika, etc. and you’ll be able to find a lot of them.
To learn other things like how to get your account approved, other ways to earn money from your blog, how to claim your AdSense payment and more, read our other guides below!