Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly and Fast.
Prepare Your Website: Essential Site Setup for Approval with Google
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Prepare Your Website: Essential Site Setup for Approval
Getting approved is easier when your site looks complete, helpful, and safe. Think of this step as setting the table before guests arrive. Build a base of useful content, add trust pages, tighten mobile speed, and use a clean design that is ready for ads.
Craft Original, Valuable Content That Shines
Publish 15 to 20 original articles before you apply. Aim for 800 to 1,500 words each. Cover one clear search intent per post and answer it fully.
What to focus on:
- Originality: Avoid scraped text and spun content. Rewrite in your voice, add data, tools, or examples.
- Depth and quality: Use simple headers, short paragraphs, and visuals. Link to related posts on your site to keep readers moving.
- SEO basics: Place keywords naturally in the title, H1, H2s, and early in the intro. Add a meta title and description. Use descriptive slugs like
best-espresso-grinders. - Niche ideas that work: Home coffee gear, budget travel tips, beginner fitness plans, DIY repairs, pet care, simple finance, and local guides.
Cross-check your topics with Google’s rules so nothing flags during review. See the official AdSense Program policies.
Add These Must-Have Pages to Build Trust
Create and link these from your header or footer:
- About: Who you are, what the site covers, and why it helps readers.
- Contact: A form or email, plus social links. Show you are reachable.
- Privacy Policy: Explain cookies, analytics, and ads. Note third-party cookies used by Google products. Keep it updated if you use Analytics, AdSense, or consent tools.
- Terms and Conditions: Ownership, acceptable use, disclaimers, and how you handle user content.
New to policy basics? Start with AdSense policies: a beginner’s guide.
Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly and Fast
Most visitors browse on phones. Aim for a 70+ mobile score in PageSpeed Insights.
Quick wins:
- Compress and resize images, serve WebP.
- Use lazy loading and a lightweight theme.
- Limit heavy scripts, fonts, and plugins.
- Cache pages, use a CDN if traffic is global.
Faster sites get better engagement, which helps RPM over time.
Design a Professional Look Ready for Ads
Pick a clean theme with clear typography, plenty of white space, and simple menus. Keep categories tidy and limit pop-ups.
Ad-ready layout tips:
- Leave space for in-article and sidebar units without crowding text.
- Place the first in-content ad after the intro, not before.
- Avoid sticky placements that cover content or invite misclicks.
- Keep consistent spacing so pages feel balanced and easy to scan.
A polished site helps reviewers and readers trust you, which often leads to better earnings once ads go live.
Follow AdSense Content Policies and Apply with Confidence
AdSense wants helpful, original content that is safe for everyone. Keep your site clean, make your privacy disclosures clear, and apply with a simple plan. Do this well, and approval tends to follow.
Steer Clear of Prohibited Content to Stay Safe
AdSense bans content that harms users or breaks the law. Review your site with a critical eye before you apply.
- Banned topics: Illegal products or services, explicit adult content, graphic violence, hate or harassment, self-harm, weapons sales, hacking guides, and unauthorized copyrighted material.
- Risky areas: Misleading health claims, payday lending, scraped articles, auto-generated posts with no editing, and clickbait that withholds key info.
- Privacy and data: Be clear about cookies, ads, and data collection. Add disclosures for new surfaces like Connected TV apps and any app-like experiences. Keep your policy updated as rules change. See the official AdSense Program policies and the evolving policy change log.
How to check your site:
- Read five to ten random posts. Remove anything that breaks policy.
- Replace thin pages with original insights, data, or first-hand examples.
- Add or update your Privacy Policy and link it in the footer.
Step-by-Step Guide to Submitting Your Application
Set aside 20 minutes and follow these steps.
- Create your account at AdSense using your Google login. Start here: Sign up for AdSense.
- Enter your site URL and business details. Use your real name and address.
- Get your verification code. Place it in the
<head>of your homepage or use your CMS’s AdSense or header plugin. - Turn on ads.txt if your CMS supports it. It helps with revenue accuracy.
- Submit for review.
What happens next:
- Review often takes a few days, sometimes longer. Keep publishing and improving UX during the wait.
- If you get rejected, fix the listed issues, add a few strong posts, then reapply. There is no penalty for trying again once you have addressed the problems.
Pro Tips to Boost Approval Chances and Earnings
Small habits compound over time.
- Keep content fresh: Publish weekly, update top pages, and remove fluff.
- Track changes: Revisit policies monthly and watch for updates in your AdSense account. The policy log helps you stay ahead.
- Use AdSense tools: Start with Auto ads for smart placement, then refine with page-level ads. Review Reports to see RPM, CTR, and top-performing pages.
- Test and learn: Try different layouts, improve Core Web Vitals, and use clear headings. Better UX often lifts ad performance.
- Stay transparent: Keep disclosures current, including for Connected TV or app experiences, and honor consent choices.
For setup help and best practices, the official Google AdSense start page gives a quick overview.
Conclusion
You are set up for success when you hit four basics, eligibility, site prep, clean policies, and a simple, smart application. Own your site and your identity. Publish original, helpful posts. Keep pages fast, mobile-friendly, and easy to use. Add clear privacy and contact pages. Stay within policy, and keep an eye on updates that can affect placement or ad limits.
Take action today. Run a 15 minute audit, check your age and ownership, update your Privacy Policy, fix slow pages, and refresh thin posts. Add two strong articles that match search intent, then apply with confidence. Keep improving while you wait. If you get notes from Google, address them and reapply without delay.
The payoff can be real. Strong content, honest traffic, and a smooth user experience can turn ad views into steady income over time. Start now, sign up for AdSense, and set your site on a clear path to earn. Have a question or a tip to share, drop it in the comments. Thank you for reading, and good luck building a site that grows month after month.
