Questions FOR AdSense Publishers

Soooo my fellow publishers (yeah, it's been a long time since I wrote), today I have a little change of pace for you all.

Usually, I'm the one answering the questions, right? But today, I'd like to ask some questions instead, and maybe some of you publishers out there can answer them for me, because right about now ... I'm a little mystified. Years in the forum trying to help people, and I still don't get why some publishers do almost anything to get into AdSense, even when it's the wrong thing to do.  Currently, getting approved for AdSense is much more difficult than it used to be ... everywhere.



1. Why do many publishers come to the forum thinking they are entitled to an AdSense account?

I mean, AdSense is a business, and just like any other company they don't guarantee you get an account. Just because AdSense is cost-free to a publisher doesn't mean that everyone gets an account.

It's sort of like applying for a job (but you don't work for AdSense, you work for yourself) and any company who happens to have a job-opening. You don't assume that company will hire you, but you apply in the hope that out of the hundreds of applications (in AdSense's case, it's thousands per day) yours is the one that has the qualifications they are looking for.

AdSense is the same. None of us are entitled to accounts.  And even those of us who are approved have to continue supplying the type of content (and the type of traffic) they really want, and always  follow the rules in order to keep having an account.

2. Why do publishers think they have to write in English, or have a site in English?

Really, AdSense supports a lot of different languages. Not just English. And it isn't any easier to get approved with English than it is with any of the supported languages. If AdSense isn't your first language (ie: your native tongue - what you learned to speak from childhood) and you don't write as well in English as you do in whatever language you normally speak, then you are better off using your own language.

AdSense doesn't want stuff that isn't well written, and easily understood, no matter what language it is in, and most particularly if it is in English. If you are going to write in English, it better be well written, not stuff like "blog about my experiences became publisher adsense" because that certainly makes very little sense to an English speaking person.

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with writing in your own language, as long as it's supported (you can find a list of the languages AdSense supports here, in their help center).

3. Why do publishers say their site follows the rules, when it obviously doesn't, and they really haven't read the rules?

I just don't get it. 

Me, personally, I am a rules person. No, I don't think rules are meant to be broken. To me, that's the wrong mentality. 

Rules exist for a reason ... usually in society they are designed to help keep order and prevent chaos. In AdSense, they exist so the advertisers can have some security about how they spend their money, and in some cases, they exist to prevent fraud and illegal activity (like hacking).

People trying to get AdSense (and even some who already have it) think it's okay to break those rules because it suits them, or they want to do something that isn't allowed and don't really care what AdSense says.

Unless AdSense calls you up on the telephone and tells you that you've got the freedom to do that, then you don't. The rules apply to you, the same as they apply to me.

And if you don't want to follow the rules, well ... that's okay, as long as you don't care if you have AdSense or not. Just don't complain when you get booted out of AdSense, or when you get rejected for an account.

4. Why do people think it's good to make a business from AdSense?

That's something else I don't really understand either. Adsense is not YOUR business, it's Google's business.  AdSense supports itself ... does your business do that? Your business should be able to support itself before it ever uses or applies for AdSense. If your business can't support itself without AdSense, then it's a business that will fail ... for some, a lot faster than it will fail for others.

For a business to be successful long term, it has to have other revenue streams ... not just advertising from companies like AdSense. It has to have revenue it can depend on, like sales (subscriptions; or products) and services that are what earn the profit for the business. It should never depend solely on it's advertising from third-parties to make money.  

I can't even count the number of "businesses" that have failed over the years (many we've seen in the AdSense forum) because their only revenue came from AdSense. If you lose your account, or ad serving is disabled to your "business" website, then ... you lose your business.

I've got an interesting story about that ... about a business I know that just did things the right way (no, not my business ... I retired from my business, which didn't ever need or use AdSense to support itself) ... a business that started only last year, but hit success very quickly because of several factors.

Maybe I'll tell you about that the next time. It's worth understanding, particularly as it reflects on the news industry.

Til then ... consider the questions asked, and answer them ... if you can.

posted by J.Gracey Stinson