Contrary to many articles you may find scattered across the internet, Adsense is NOT for everyone. At least, not until you understand a few things and are prepared to follow the program and it's rules.
Are you ready for AdSense? Take the test and find out.
1. Do you know what a URL is?
2. Do you know what html is?
3. Do you know how to access html code?
4. Do you know how to copy and paste?
5. Do you have your own website or blog?
6. Is your website complete and launched?
7. Do you already have a stream of visitors to your website or blog?
8. Is your blog full of rich original content?
9. Did you write all your own articles?
10. Did you copy articles from other people?
11. Do you have free movies, music, or software links?
12. Is your site full of other people's videos?
13. Did you read the AdSense Program Policies and understand them?
14. Did you read the Webmaster Guidelines and understand them?
15. Did you read the Terms of Service and understand them?
16. Did you pay anyone for an AdSense "program"?
I'm sure some of you are probably thinking this is a joke, but it really isn't.
These are the sort of things we find ourselves answering in the AdSense Help Forums every day. Many people ask what a URL is and where they find it, or how to get one. Many more never bother to read the rules. Hundreds are taken in by websites selling a "product" related to Adsense. The fact is, you don't need to pay anyone at all to use AdSense.
Answers to the Test Questions
1. If you don't know what a URL is or where to find your URL, then you aren't ready for AdSense.
A "url" is the address that appears in your browser's bar when you visit a website. The url will start with "http://".
2 & 3. If you don't know what html is or how to access it, then you aren't ready for AdSense.
"Html" is a coding format that you'll find on most websites and you may see it designated as xhtml1. To see this code (or the code any website is made up of) you can use your browser's tool bar. Click on "View" and then look for "source" or "page source". When the dialogue box opens you'll see a bunch of stuff that may not make much sense to you, but makes sense to the robots who crawl and index these sites.
In order to be able to add AdSense codes to a website, you have to be able to edit this html code. You can't do that using a browser (unless you are a web developer and have the proper tools). Most people would use the same tool they used to build their website in order to access their code.
Blogs usually have a different method for adding the code, but you still need to understand some basic html.
4. If you don't understand how to copy and paste from one page to another, you'll have trouble inserting the code into your website.
5. If you don't have your own website or blog, you won't be able to access the html or apply the AdSense ad code to a page.
You can't place codes on anyone else's website without permission. All those sites you see that say you can earn money putting links on sites for AdSense are just plain wrong. It doesn't work that way.
Sites like Facebook, MySpace, Orkut and other similar communities cannot be used as your website.
6 -10. AdSense is designed for websites that are completed, or blogs that have a lot of content and are regularly updated.
If your website isn't launched, then you don't apply for AdSense.
If your blog doesn't have 6 months worth of original content, then don't apply.
What you can do is spend time creating content. AdSense requires publishers to have created their own content. The Webmaster Guidelines say we must have "considerable original content". Original content means content that you create, not content that you copy.
Many countries must have a website or blog that is 6 months old and has 6 months worth of content. An empty blog that is 6 months old does not qualify.
Websites and blogs without at least some visitors will do very poorly with AdSense and may take months before you have enough visitors to see any earnings at all. Placing ads on a website nobody sees is not good for the advertisers who pay for the ads, so it's not good for AdSense.
Putting ads on your website does not bring you visitors. You must have the visitors first.
11. Sites displaying AdSense must not contain, nor link to sites that have illegal content, such as pirated movies and music, hacked or cracked software (open source software is fine), copyright material such as photos and artwork. If your blog contains any of this, or links to sites that contain any of this, then it isn't suitable for AdSense.
12. While there is no reason you can't use embedded videos from YouTube on your blog or website, a blog or website that contains nothing but videos will not get you an AdSense account.
This is not considered "original" content, unless you created these videos yourself. Videos must not contain copyright infringements, like music or movies, or cammed/copied TV programs.
13-15. Since all publishers are required to follow the rules of the program and it's policies, and must agree to the terms of service, it is imperative that you understand what you've read, and yes you must, in fact, READ them. If you don't, it would not take very long for you to lose your account and whatever earnings you accrued.
These policies are your "warnings" - they explain what is expected from publishers, and what happens if you don't follow them.
16. There are thousands of sites and blogs on the internet that purport to have the "secret" to AdSense, and for just $1.97 (similar amounts in different places) they'll send you a free trial of their program. What they don't tell you is that after they send you that "free" trial, you will be charged every month to the tune of about $79 or more.
What they also don't tell you is that nearly all the information they'll provide is information you can find for free - at the AdSense Help Center, or by reading the hundreds of "real" bloggers out there who give you the information you need for nothing.
What You Can Do if You Didn't Pass The Test
Go to the AdSense Help Center and start reading. They have a section called "Newbie Central" that gives you some idea of what the program is about.
Read the AdSense Program Policies, the Webmaster Guidelines and the Terms of Service.
Ask questions in the help forum (after you've read the material).
Sign up for a free blog on Blogger.com and start working on your first blog. Or learn how to build a website using free online tools - just search for "how to build a free website".
Pretty soon, you'll be ready for AdSense.
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Contributor's Note
The author is a volunteer in the AdSense Help Forum. Along with other volunteers, they answer questions such as this many times a day. None of the volunteers in the AdSense Help Forum are paid, nor employed by AdSense or Google.
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