I have had a Google Adsense account for nearly 6 years now. My first Google Adsense earnings were made in July 2009.

I have so often heard that some people struggle to get an Adsense account, or that after their adsense account application is rejected, they struggle to be allowed to re-apply. Unfortunately I’m not sure how to go about re-applying for a Google Adsense account without any problems, but I can tell you how I went about applying for and getting my Google Adsense account first time round:

I read about using Google Adsense to monetize one’s site, somewhere or other online. It interested me and I started reading more about it.

I discovered that not everyone who applied for a Google Adsense account got one, and when they tried to reapply later it was difficult to be accepted due to their earlier rejected application. I didn’t want that happening to me, so read even more about Adsense before applying for an account.

Then I started working at doing things that would help me get my Adsense account application approved first time round.

• I made sure my site was getting at least 50 page views a day.
• I made sure that my site covered family-friendly topics only.
• I made sure that my site had a decent amount of words on each page.
• I made sure that there was a fair amount of main text content above the fold (that the top part of my pages were not just all images and navigation tabs).
• I made sure that my site had quite a few pages – at least 20 if I recall correctly, maybe it was 50.
• I had, and still have, a gmail email address. That meant I also had a Google account.
• I filled in the fields on the Google Adsense account application form, filling in all the fields 100% honestly, and submitted it.

I can’t remember how long I waited but I eventually heard that my Google Adsense account application had been accepted.

As I got closer to having made nearly R1 000 (ZAR – South African rands – the minimum payment threshold for South Africans – currently about $100), I think they sent me something or other in the mail and I had to use it (or a pin number on it) to activate (within my Adsense account) that I could receive my earnings.

I reached R1 000 in earnings soon after that, and then I waited for my Adsense check to arrive in the post.

When one reaches one’s minimum payment threshold one waits until the end of that month, and then a further month before Google posts your check to you.

It had taken me about a year to get my first Google Adsense check, and at the time I had no idea then that I’d still be bothering with Adsense nearly 6 years later. My Adsense earnings decreased horribly for a while, but that was only after also enjoying a period of over 18 months where I received an Adsense check (to the value of at least R1 000) every single month. I even enjoyed 4 Adsense checks that were each to the value of over R2 000 (over $200) during that time period.

I was thoroughly enjoying earning passive income from Google Adsense.

Although my Adsense earnings dropped off for quite a while, my Adsense earnings are slowly increasing again, and I am once again becoming excited about earning from Google Adsense.

I used to tell people that an easy way to get an Adsense account was through joining a writing site or other online earning site that encourages you to join Adsense using the url of your profile on that site as your “site” when you sign up for Adsense, because thereafter one could just also use one’s same Adsense Publisher ID (for generating code for ads within one’s Adsense account) for displaying ads on one’s own site. BUT I THINK (I’M NOT SURE) that that’s changed now, and one cannot use Adsense ads on one’s own site (after being approved for an Adsense account via one’s profile url on another site) unless one specifically has had one’s site approved by the Google Adsense program too.

I’m sorry I’m not sure what to tell those who applied for an Adsense account, had their application rejected, and then for some reason or other cannot get a re-application accepted either. But for those who have not yet applied for a Google Adsense account, I caution you to first make sure your site you want to display the ads on is getting a decent amount of daily traffic, has a fair amount of pages of content of at least 300 words per page, and has family-friendly content on it only – in other words comply with Google webmaster site quality guidelines – and to also fill in your Adsense account application form fields 100% accurately or honestly.

I also caution that once you get an Adsense account, to always abide by the Adsense Program Policies and terms and conditions, and keep your site complying with Google webmaster site quality guidelines. I have heard that if your Google Adsense account is shut down, it is extremely difficult to get it back again.

NOTE: I used to have this post published on a site called Bubblews, and below are some of my comments in reply to comments visitors to the post left:

– I too have heard some horrible stories about people having their Adsense accounts shut down for reasons unknown, but until such time that they may happen to me too, I’m enjoying working with Adsense. It’s making me work nicely on my site, and should I ever lose my Adsense account, I’ll still have that improved site, with a decent amount of content, that I can still monetize in other ways too.

– signing up for a Google Adsense account means one is also getting a Google account, or has one already – yes, perhaps because we already had Google accounts it was easier to sign up, I don’t know.

– did you have 600 questions you asked answered, or did you answer 600 questions other people asked? I was under the impression it was relatively easy to get a Google Adsense account through WebAnswers as long as one didn’t apply for that Google Adsense account until one had answered at least 50 Webanswers questions, and that each answer was of reasonable length – like at least 6 to 10 lines or so. I’m not sure what you mean by saying “writing won’t work for me” ? I think it is difficult to get an Adsense account if one isn’t accepted first time round. I’d heard that before I applied, and I made sure my site fit quality guidelines before I applied. For beginners applying for the first time, it may be a good idea to get a Blogger blog, and then follow the steps as described in my post above (about getting at least 50 visitors a day, and having at least perhaps 50 pages of content on the blog, and then only apply. Also to read the Adsense program policies and Google webmaster site quality guidelines and to be sure your site fits that too.

– you don’t have to have your own website to make money with Google Adsense. You could have a free Blogger blog where you could display the ads if you had an Adsense account, and there are also some writing sites or other online earning sites that allow you a share of their site’s Adsense earnings if you have an Adsense account and fill in your Adsense Publisher ID number in your account area at those sites – the earnings go to your Adsense account earnings balance; those sites don’t pay you for your Adsense earnings, Google does.

© Copyright Teresa Schultz 2014, 2015