AdSense approval is a review, not a checklist with a guaranteed finish line. Google decides whether a site adds enough original value for advertisers. What you can control is the work: publish real content, build the pages reviewers look for, remove policy risks, and make the site technically clean before you apply.
What the review is really judging
Reviewers and automated systems look at the site as a visitor would. Is there a clear topic? Does the content read as if a person wrote it from experience? Can a reader find contact information, understand who runs the site, and navigate without guessing? A site built only to host ads rarely passes, even when it meets the technical rules.
There is no published minimum number of posts. A common working target is 15 to 30 substantial articles on one clear topic, each with a specific purpose. That is guidance, not a rule.
Content that survives review
Pick a narrow subject you can write about repeatedly. A site about budget travel in one region is easier to review than a site about everything. Write from first-hand use where possible: what you tried, what failed, what you would do differently. Use original photos or properly licensed images.
Avoid the patterns that trigger low-value flags: scraped articles, translations run through a tool with no editing, mass-produced text with no specific examples, pages that only summarize other pages, and affiliate content with no added experience. Length alone does not help. A 500-word page that answers a question completely beats a 2000-word page that repeats it.
The pages reviewers expect
Four pages do most of the trust work. They should be linked from the footer and written for humans, not filled with legal boilerplate copied from another site.
| Page | Why it matters | What to include |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy policy | Explains data collection, cookies, and advertising | What you collect, why, analytics and ad vendors, cookie choices, contact method |
| Terms | Sets the rules for using the site | Content ownership, acceptable use, liability limits, changes to the terms |
| Contact | Proves a real person can be reached | A working form or monitored address, response expectations, business location if relevant |
| About | Shows who is behind the content | Who writes the site, why it exists, relevant experience, how it is funded |
If you show ads to visitors in regions with consent rules, configure a consent message through your ad account. The privacy policy should match what the site actually does; a generic template that mentions tools you do not use creates more risk than it removes.
Navigation and site structure
- A homepage that explains the site in one screen and links to the best content.
- A menu with four to seven items, not twenty.
- Categories that group posts by topic, with an introduction on each category page.
- Internal links from every article to at least two related pages.
- No empty categories, broken menus, or pages that say coming soon.
Reviewers should reach your best article in two clicks.
Policy pitfalls to remove before applying
Read the program policies once, then audit your own site against them. The frequent problems are easy to spot: copied text, images hotlinked from other sites, adult or violent material, instructions for dangerous activities, misleading health or financial claims, and pages that promise results no one can guarantee. Remove fake authors, reviews, and testimonials. If you review products, disclose how you obtained them and whether you are compensated.
Thin affiliate pages and doorway pages built for search engines are separate risks. If most of your site exists to send people to another store, add enough original testing and context that the page stands on its own.
Technical readiness and ads.txt
Before you apply, confirm HTTPS on every page, a mobile layout that does not overflow, reasonable loading speed, and no broken links in the main menu. Check that robots.txt does not block the site, that pages are not set to noindex, and that a sitemap is reachable. These issues can delay a review or make the site look unfinished.
After approval, create an ads.txt file at the domain root with your publisher line, then open /ads.txt in a browser to confirm it loads. The line usually looks like this: google.com, pub-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0. Replace the placeholder with your own publisher ID.
If you are rejected
Read the reason in the email and match it to a real problem. Low value content usually means the site needs more original depth, not more posts of the same kind. A policy violation points to a page or topic; remove or rewrite it, then check the rest of the site. A message about non-compliance can mean navigation, missing pages, or an unfinished layout.
Fix the substance, wait until changes are live and indexed, then apply again. There is no guaranteed timeline or trick that forces approval. Reapplying without changes usually gets the same answer. Keep publishing useful pages; a site that helps readers is the only durable preparation. Start with a real site on the free plan, read the FAQ for limits, and register an account when you are ready to build the pages reviewers will actually read.