Where can I get regular AdSense news, feature updates and optimization tips?

You can find news, updates, tips and more by visiting the AdSense blog at adsense.blogspot.com. AdSense team members post several times a week on a wide range of topics, from optimizing AdSense for your forum pages to getting more visibility for your site.

How do I subscribe to the AdSense Calendar?

There are two ways to subscribe to the AdSense Calendar.

Adding in Google Calendar format

Most publishers will find it easiest to add the AdSense Calendar to their own Google Calendars. To do so, simply follow these steps below. If you have any questions about using Google Calendar, please refer to the Google Calendar Help Center.

Click this button:

If necessary, log into Google Calendar. Note: Logging into Google Calendar requires a Google Account. If you use Gmail, Google Groups, Google Alerts, Froogle Shopping List, Personalized Search, Personalized Homepage, or Google Answers, you already have a Google Account. Simply use the same login and password.
Once you are logged in, choose Yes, add this calendar to add the AdSense Calendar to your Calendar. You should now see AdSense Calendar events listed on your Google Calendar, as shown here.
Adding in another format

If you'd prefer to view the AdSense Calendar in another application such as a feed reader or a product that supports the iCal format (like iCal for Mac), please click the relevant link here to obtain the URL:

What is the AdSense Calendar?

The AdSense Calendar is a Google Calendar which contains our monthly payment schedule, a record of our blog posts, upcoming events, and upcoming system maintenance periods, backdated to the beginning of April 2006. We encourage you to subscribe to the calendar and consult it before contacting us about scheduled events.

This is how the AdSense Calendar would appear within your own Google Calendar (the events in orange are AdSense events).





To subscribe to the AdSense Calendar, please see our entry How do I subscribe to the AdSense Calendar?

What are 'Alternate Ads?'

Alternate ads allow you to utilize your ad space in the event that Google is unable to serve targeted ads to your page. By specifying an image, HTML page, or ad server of your choice, you can make sure that your advertising space is always being used effectively, either by targeted Google ads, or by your own choice of content. You can also select a solid color as your alternate ad, if you prefer not to display other advertisements or content when targeted Google ads are unavailable.

Alternate ads count as ad unit impressions like any other ad. Google does not keep track of clicks on alternate ads, and you will not receive revenue for them.

Alternate ads, if specified, will be shown when there are no targeted ads available for your page. The ad space will not be branded as 'Ads by Google.'

You can learn more about alternate ads by visiting our Alternate Ad Guide.

What is site targeting?

When targeting ads to specific sites in the AdSense network, AdWords advertisers list sites they'd like to advertise on or search for sites that relate to the themes and topics they'd like to target. If your site is part of the AdSense network, it should be visible to advertisers when they search for themes or topics related to the content of your site.

What are CPM ads?

CPM stands for "cost per 1000 impressions." Advertisers running CPM ads set their desired price per 1000 ads served, select the specific sites on which to show their ads, and pay each time their ad appears.

For publishers, this means revenue in your account each time a CPM ad is served to your page. CPM ads compete against pay-per-click (or CPC, cost per click) ads in our ad auction, so only the highest performing ads will be served to your pages. Advertisers will need to bid a higher CPM than the existing CPC ads in order to show.

CPM ads can be either text or image ads, and are always site-targeted. CPM text ads will expand to take up the entire ad unit. These expanded text ads can be viewed on our Ad Formats page.

What forms of payment are available to me?

Google AdSense offers payment to publishers in US dollar checks as well as local currency options in many locations. Secured Express Delivery is available to all publishers, and Electronic Funds Transfer is offered to publishers in a select number of countries and territories.

Electronic Funds Transfer: With Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), your payment is deposited directly into your bank account in your local currency. To find out more about this free payment type, please read What is Electronic Funds Transfer?

Local currency checks: Google will convert your earnings from US dollars into your local currency if this option is selected. Available to publishers in more than 40 countries, local currency checks are generally less expensive to deposit at your bank, and take less time to clear. For instructions on selecting local currency checks as your form of payment, read How do I sign up for local currency checks?

Secured Express Delivery: Secured Express Delivery ensures that your check arrives quickly and safely by using a courier service to send your check to you. You can find out more about Secured Express Delivery, including related fees, by reading What is Secure Delivery?

When do I get paid?

We'll send your check or EFT payment within approximately 30 days of the end of the month in which your account balance reaches US$100, unless a payment hold exists or unless otherwise agreed to in writing (including electronic mail).

For example, if you earn $40 in January and $70 in February, we'll send payment to you by the end of March.

If your account balance is less than US$100 at the end of the month, we'll roll your earnings over to the following month, until the payment threshold is reached. Balances include the combined earnings of AdSense for content, AdSense for search and referrals. You can review the Life of a Payment diagram below for a more complete picture of the payment cycle.

During 1st week: Finalized earnings for previous month posted to Payment History page
15th: Deadline for setting a hold, changing your form of payment, submitting tax information & entering a PIN. All holds must be removed to receive payment.
Last day of month: If you are eligible to receive a payment, your payment details posted to Payment History Page. Details...
5th: If you do not receive your Secured Express delivery check or EFT payment by this date, you can request a reissue
25th: If you do not receive your Standard delivery check by this date, you can request a reissue

Please note that if a publisher's account is found to be in violation of our Terms and Conditions or policies, we may at any time withhold payment (beginning from when Google initiates its investigation of potential violations), charge back the publisher's account, and/or refund advertisers for clicks received on the publisher's site or AdSense for search results page. In addition, if a publisher is past due on any payment to Google in connection with the Google AdWords program, we reserve the right to withhold payment until all outstanding payments have been made.

For a complete description of payment terms, please refer to the AdSense Terms and Conditions.

What reports can I view?

You'll be able to view reports for a specific day or date range, on an aggregate level or broken down into your defined channels. You'll see the total number of page, ad unit, and ad impressions as well as ad clicks, clickthrough rate (CTR), cost per thousand impressions (effective CPM), and your earnings. Reports are typically updated hourly, with an occasional delay of up to 24 hours.

What are the format and color options for ads on my webpages?

Google lets you select the colors and layout that best fit your site.

Ad Colors
You can select from our list of pre-defined color palettes or you can create up to 100 of your own. Color palettes allow you to make sure that the ad text, background, and border colors complement your website. We provide detailed suggestions for choosing color palettes that will be most effective for your site.

Ad Formats
You can choose from multiple ad formats designed to suit a wide variety of page designs - examples of each format are available on the Ad Formats page. You may place up to three standard ad units on each page that complies with our program policies, in addition to three link unit. Your three ad formats can contain any of combination of text ads, image ads, or video ads - it's up to you! You might find it helpful to check out our suggestions for choosing the right format.

How do I add sites to my filter list?

You can add up to 200 sites to your filter list. The URLs you enter into your filter list can be the actual URL of the website or the URL that is displayed on the ad for that website.

Log in to your account at https://www.google.com/adsense
Click Competitive Ad Filter under the AdSense Setup tab (for AdSense for search results pages)
Choose the appropriate product sub-tab
Click Add / Edit Sites
In the appropriate text box, enter the URLs of the sites whose ads you would like to filter from your site or AdSense for search results pages. Enter one URL per line.
Save your changes
Please note that it may take up to 3 hours for new URLs to be filtered from your pages.

How do I add more sites to my account?

There's no need to open another account or notify us when you place the AdSense code on a new site. The ad code and search code generated through the guided steps on the AdSense Setup tab of your account are valid for any page in any site on which you want to display Google ads or an AdSense for search box. Simply add the code to your page source, and we'll automatically detect the new site.

To place the code on a new site, please follow the steps below:

To display Google ads:

Log in to your account at https://www.google.com/adsense
Click the AdSense Setup tab and choose AdSense for content as the product
Follow the guided steps to choose your ad type, format, color, and any additional options
Copy the ad code from the Your AdSense Code box
Paste the code into the appropriate page on your site
To display an AdSense for search box:

Log in to your account at https://www.google.com/adsense
Click the AdSense Setup tab and choose AdSense for search as the product
Follow the guided steps to choose your search type, search box, search results style, and any additional options
Copy the search code from the Your AdSense Code box
Paste the code into the appropriate page on your site
You can find more detailed instructions on adding the code to your site by viewing our Quick Start guide.

How do I get the AdSense code?

The AdSense code is generated from within your publisher account. This is the code that you'll need to add to your pages in order to display Google ads or a search box on your webpages. Please follow the steps below to generate your AdSense code:

Log in to your account at https://www.google.com/adsense
Visit the AdSense Setup tab
Choose your product - AdSense for content to place ads on your site, AdSense for search to add a search box to your site.
Follow the guided setup to choose a format and colors. You can also choose any additional options that may apply to
your site, including channels and alternate ads
Your code will be generated in the Your ad code window according to your selections.
Copy-and-paste the code into the source code of the webpages on which you wish to display Google ads or an AdSense for search box. For tips on adding the code to your page, read How do I add the AdSense code to my site?.
If implemented correctly, Google ads or a search box will appear immediately. Initially, the ads that appear may be public service ads, for which you will not receive earnings. Once our crawlers have visited your page, however, targeted ads will begin to appear.

How do I log in to my account?

Your AdSense account gives you access to all of the features of the AdSense program. From your account, you can generate your ad code, set up reporting features such as channels, and view reports on earnings and impressions.

To sign in:

Go to https://www.google.com/adsense
In the Existing Publisher Login box, at the upper right of the browser window, enter the email address and password you supplied during signup.
Click Login to enter your account.
If this is your first time entering your account, you'll be asked to read and sign the Google AdSense Terms and Conditions. There's important information about the program, so take the time to read through these terms before proceeding.

Once you've read through the document, select the agreement checkbox and click I agree to continue to your account.

Quick Start Guide


Once your AdSense application has been approved, you can follow this guide to get started with AdSense right away. The three steps below will help you add an AdSense ad unit to your site.

Step 1: Log in to your account



Go to https://www.google.com/adsense
In the Existing Publisher Login box, at the upper right of the browser window, enter the email address and password you supplied during signup
Click Sign in
Agree to the Google AdSense Terms and Conditions by clicking I Accept



Click on the AdSense Setup tab
Choose AdSense for content as the product
Select the 'Ad unit' radio button and click Continue
Select your ad format and click Continue
Click in the grey box under 'Your AdSense code' to highlight your code
Note: From your AdSense Setup page, you can also generate code for AdSense for search or referrals by choosing either as the product.

Step 3: Copy and Paste the code to your pages
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copy the code you've just highlighted
Paste this code into your webpages using your HTML editor
Save your pages and publish them to the web
For an implementation demonstration and help with common problems, please see our Code Implementation Guide.

Back to top

Additional Resources
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AdSense Help Forum - Learn from other AdSense publishers: ask questions, share answers, and post your favorite AdSense tips and tricks.
AdSense Demos and Guides - More tutorials on getting started, payments, troubleshooting, advanced features, and optimization
AdSense Help Center - Our complete resource center, where you can find answers to all your AdSense-related questions
Inside AdSense Blog - Subscribe to the official Google AdSense blog, which includes announcements, optimization tips, product feature descriptions, and ideas on getting more out of AdSense.

If I am a Google AdWords advertiser, can I sign up?

Yes. We're excited to help you find yet another way for you to increase your revenue and encourage you to submit an application.

Can I sign up if I am already a part of an ad network?

Yes. However, we do have some guidelines as to how non-Google ads may be displayed along with Google ads. We do allow affiliate or limited-text links.

If your ad network already displays Google ads on your pages, you can still join AdSense and run ads on your site through our program. We allow publishers to display up to three standard Google ad units on any webpage.

Keep in mind that it's your responsibility to work out any contractual issues that may arise with your ad network as a result of serving Google ads directly.

Does Google guarantee revenues?

Since the revenue that you may earn through Google AdSense depends on the content of each of your webpages or the search terms entered by your users, as well as the availability of related Google ads, Google does not guarantee that you will earn any revenue amount.

Am I a Business or Individual account?

Generally, if you are a business with 20 or more employees, you should apply as a Business account. Individual publishers, or businesses with less than 20 employees, should sign up as an Individual account.

There's no difference in the services or payment structure between Individual and Business accounts. Business account payments will be made payable to the Company Name, while Individual accounts are paid out to the Payee Name of the account holder.

Should you ever need to select a new account type, our specialists will work with you to close your current account and to open a new account with your updated information.

How do I sign up for AdSense for search?

If you comply with our program policies, simply complete our online application and select AdSense for search from the Products selections. The program is free, and Google pays you for valid clicks on the ads on your search results pages.

We'll review your application and follow up with an email within 2-3 days. If you are accepted into the program, you can log in to your new account and get the HTML code to insert into your webpages.

Existing AdSense for content publishers do not need to apply again - simply visit the AdSense Setup tab, choose AdSense for search as the product, and generate the AdSense for search code.

Does my site qualify for AdSense?

Google AdSense and AdSense for search is open to website publishers of all sizes. Please read our program policies to ensure that your content fits in to our guidelines.

If, after reading our policies, you're not sure if your site qualifies, we suggest that you go ahead and submit an application. Our program specialists will review your site and respond within 2-3 days. If you're approved, you'll receive an email with instructions on logging in to your account and getting started with the program.

What if my full name doesn't fit in the application page?

The 'Payee Name' field on the AdSense application is limited to 35 characters. If your payee name is longer than this, please enter your first initial and complete last name.

I submitted the wrong email address with my application. What do I do now?

If the email address you submitted on your application contains a typo or you no longer wish to use that address for AdSense, the way to correct this issue differs based on where you are in the application process.

If you have not yet verified your email address, or your application has been reviewed and disapproved, you're more than welcome to submit a new application using your desired email address.

If you have verified your email address, please wait 2-3 days for your application to be reviewed. If your application is approved, follow the steps to update your login.

Why does the application take me back to the beginning every time I click 'Submit'?

If you're taken back to the beginning of the AdSense application every time you try to submit, you may need to change your browser settings. Please enable cookies and SSL 2.0 and clear your browser cache. Once you've done so, try submitting your application again.

If you continue to have trouble, please contact us with a description of your issue and answers the following questions:

What browser version are you using?
Does this issue occur in a different browser or on another computer?

What is a verification email and what do I do if I haven't received it?

Once you've applied, you'll receive an email asking you to verify your email address. You must click on the link in this verification email in order to confirm your email address. Until you complete this process, we'll be unable to review your application for AdSense.

If you haven't received your verification email, it may be in the Bulk/Spam folder of your email account, so please check there before requesting a replacement.

To request that the email verification message be resent:


Visit the AdSense homepage at www.google.com/adsense.
Sign in using the email address and password provided with your application.
Click the Sign In button.
Click Send.
Check your email account.
When you receive the email, simply click on the link to confirm your email address. This will submit your application to us for review, and we'll follow-up with you by email in 2-3 days.

How long does it take to have my application reviewed?

Once you've submitted your AdSense application and verified your email address, it typically takes 2-3 days for our specialists to complete the review. However, depending on the volume of applications we receive, it may take up to one week.

As soon as we've reviewed your application, we'll send you an email with details on your application status.

How do I sign up?

To get started with AdSense, follow the steps below:

If you don't have a website, you can create one using Blogger or Google Page Creator (English only).
Learn more about your site's compliance with our program policies and our tips for application success.
Complete an application.
When you receive an email from us, submit your application for review by clicking on the link to verify your email address. If you don't receive the email verification message, click here.
Wait to receive an email from us about your application status.

How can I help make sure my application will be approved?

Savvy publishers like yourself can avoid common application pitfalls by being mindful of the trouble areas below.

Payee/Contact Name
You must be able to receive checks made payable to the name on your AdSense application. AdSense applications with incomplete names won't be approved.

For business accounts:

Enter the name of the organization in the 'Payee Name' field
Enter the name of the person in your organization who manages the website in the 'Contact Name' field
Address
Only AdSense applications with valid mailing addresses will be approved. Please provide your complete address including as much of the information listed below as is available for your location.

Street Address (including house number, street name/number, flat/apartment number)
City / Town
State / Area
Zip Code
Country / Territory
Need extra help filling out your name and address? View an example here.

Email Address


The email address you enter will be the login you use to sign in to AdSense. You'll also receive all communication regarding your AdSense account at this email address, starting with your email verification message. For this reason, please make sure you enter a valid address where you can receive email.
If you enter an incorrect email address, you'll need to submit a new application using your desired email address.


Under Construction/Difficult Site Navigation
In order to be approved, your website must be launched and contain enough textual content for our specialists to evaluate. Websites that are under construction, don't load, or have non-functioning links, will not be approved. Please ensure that the URL on your application is entered correctly.

Domain Ownership
You must have access to edit the HTML source code of the website you submit for AdSense. If you submit a site you don't own (for example, www.google.com), you won't be able to place the AdSense code on the site and your application will not be approved.

Unsupported Language
Unfortunately, AdSense is not yet available for all languages. If the primary language of your website doesn't appear in our list of supported languages, we'll be unable to approve your application. In the future, please check back at the link provided to learn whether AdSense is launched in your language.

Other Disapproval Reasons
For a complete list of requirements for a successful AdSense application, please read our program policies in detail.

What characters can I use in my application?

Due to printing constraints with our billing system, we're only able to accept characters from the ISO-Latin-1 character set. Please use any characters from the set below to fill out your name and address.

How should I enter my payee name and address?

We've provided an example below that may help you determine how to fill in your name and address in the fields on our application form. Keep in mind that the address below is simply an example, and you should provide your address accurately to conform to postal requirements in your location.