How to get your site approved for Google AdSense? A practical checklist from our experience

Applying for Google AdSense is easy, but approval is not automatic. Google reviews every site manually or semi-manually before allowing ads to be displayed on it, and many good sites are rejected for small reasons that could have been avoided. In this article, we provide you with the checklist we apply to our own site, arranged by their impact on the approval decision.

1. Original content first

The most common reason for rejection is "low-value content". Google wants a site that offers something the visitor cannot find elsewhere:

• Write it yourself. Articles generated automatically without human review, or copied from other sites, are almost certain reasons for rejection.
• Sufficient quantity before applying. Do not apply with a site that has only three pages. Ten truly useful articles are better than fifty filler articles.
• Clear topic. A site that talks about everything seems identity-less. Specialization helps the reviewer understand the value of your site quickly.

2. Mandatory pages

Before the reviewer reads a single article, they look for pages that prove the site is serious:

• Privacy Policy that explicitly mentions the use of cookies and Google ads.
• "About Us" page explaining who is behind the site and its goal.
• Contact page with a real way to reach you.

The absence of any of these three pages is one of the most common reasons for rejection, and they are the easiest to fix.

3. Mobile speed and visitor experience

Google measures Core Web Vitals and links them to page experience, and a human reviewer immediately notices if the site is slow or broken on their phone:

• Open your site on a real phone, not just a compressed browser. Is the text readable without zooming? Are buttons far enough apart to touch?
• Huge uncompressed images are the silent killer of loading speed. Provide small versions for mobile, and only load images far from the screen as you scroll down to them.
• Avoid pop-up windows that cover content immediately upon entry, as they are a clear violation of page experience policies.

You can technically check your site's readiness with our SEO audit tool, which reveals speed, tag, and structure problems.

4. Navigation and site structure

The reviewer must be able to reach any page easily:

• A clear navigation menu at the top of the site, and internal links that connect articles to each other.
• A sitemap submitted to Google Search Console so that your pages are actually indexed before the review.
• No broken links or "under construction" pages.

5. Visits: what actually matters?

A common rumor says that AdSense requires a minimum number of visits. This is not officially true, but practically, a site with no real visits is difficult to evaluate. More important than the number is the source of visits: visits from search engines and natural links are a healthy sign, while purchased or exchanged visits harm you even after approval.

This is where content comes in: every useful article targeting a real keyword is a new door for a visitor from Google to enter. Review our article on writing page titles and descriptions to improve your pages' appearance in search results.

6. Common mistakes that cause rejection

• Applying on a free subdomain or a domain that is only a few days old.
• Prohibited content: articles about hacking, pirated software, or medical claims without sources.
• Placing the ad code on another site before approval.
• Copying articles from other sites, even with superficial rewriting.

7. After approval: Auto ads and visitor experience

After adding your site in AdSense ← Sites and getting it approved, activate Auto ads and let Google distribute the ads. But monitor an important balance: ads generate income, but overdoing them drives away the visitor and lowers your search ranking in the long run. Start with a moderate ad density, and monitor the bounce rate and session duration in Google Analytics.

The golden rule: a fast site, useful original content, complete introductory pages, and growing natural visits. With these four elements, approval becomes a matter of time, not a matter of luck.

---

Do you own a domain and want to know its value before building a site on it? Try our [free domain appraisal tool](/domain-search) or read our [domain investment guide](/methodology).