Complete Google AdSense Beginner's Guide: Start Earning Passive Income from Scratch (2026 Edition)

It was 3 AM when my phone buzzed. I opened my eyes and checked the notification—it was from AdSense dashboard: “Your account earnings have reached $100.” Honestly, I was pretty excited at that moment. Even though this money accumulated over two months, even though it averaged less than two dollars a day, thinking that an article I wrote three months ago was still making money for me—that feeling is really different.

You might have heard of Google AdSense, or seen many enticing headlines like “Earn $10,000 per month.” But what’s the real situation? A small blog with 1000 daily IPs earns roughly 100-500 yuan per month. Doesn’t sound like much? But think about it—this is passive income. Your articles are working while you sleep.

This article won’t tell you AdSense can make you rich overnight (that’s a lie), but I’ll tell you what AdSense really is, how to apply, how to avoid common pitfalls, and how much you can actually earn. AdSense in 2026 is very different from a few years ago—Google introduced AI smart optimization, changed payment models, and review standards keep evolving.

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Understanding Google AdSense—What It Is and How It Works

The Essence of AdSense: Google’s “Landlord Model”

Google AdSense is essentially an intermediary platform. Think of it like this: you have a house (your website), Google helps you find tenants (advertisers), and you split the rent. Advertisers place ads on Google Ads, Google matches appropriate ads based on your site’s content, and when visitors see or click ads, you get a share.

The whole process is pretty simple. Advertisers pay Google → Google displays ads on your site → Visitors interact with ads → Google settles your revenue. It’s the world’s largest ad platform, trustworthy, with stable payouts.

Three Ways to Make Money: What Are CPC, CPM, and RPM?

When you first encounter AdSense, all these English acronyms are really confusing. But once you understand, it’s quite simple:

CPC (Cost Per Click) - Pay Per Click
You earn $0.01 to $0.25 for each ad click. This is the old model, but still in use. The problem is click-through rates are usually only 0.5%-2%, meaning out of 100 visitors, only 1-2 will click ads.

CPM (Cost Per Mille) - Pay Per 1000 Impressions
Ads display 1000 times, you get paid, regardless of clicks. Since 2024, Google made this the primary payment model, which is more publisher-friendly—you earn as long as people see the ads.

RPM (Revenue Per Mille) - Revenue Per 1000 Impressions
This is the most important because it represents your actual earnings. The formula is:

RPM = (Estimated Revenue / Page Views) × 1000

For example: Your site had 10,000 page views this month, AdSense paid you 50 yuan, so RPM is (50 ÷ 10,000) × 1000 = 5 yuan. Average Chinese sites typically have RPM between 2-5 yuan, while English sites can reach 10-30 yuan.

Interestingly, Google gives you 80% of ad revenue and keeps 20%. Sounds fair, since they handle finding advertisers, matching ads, and processing payments—that 20% is reasonable.

Which Niches Make the Most Money?

Not all website topics earn the same. Finance, insurance, law, B2B services, tech products—these niches have the highest advertiser bids because their customer value is high. Food and lifestyle blogs have much lower CPC. A friend who does finance education can reach 15 yuan RPM, while my tech tutorial blog only gets around 5 yuan.

The gap is obvious, but don’t be discouraged. Writing about what you’re good at and can consistently produce is the way to go. Forcing yourself into high-paying niches without good content means no one will read it.

Application Process—Complete Path from Registration to Approval

Before Applying, You Need These

Last year I helped a beginner friend apply for AdSense. He submitted without even creating necessary pages, and got instantly rejected. Don’t make the same mistake—check these first:

1. Independent Domain Website
Since 2019, Google doesn’t accept subdomains (including those starting with www). You need a full domain like yourdomain.com. Using Blogger or WordPress.com free subdomains? Not allowed.

2. 10-15 Original Articles
At least 800 words each. Don’t think about copy-pasting to pad numbers—Google can tell. When I applied, I spent two weeks writing 12 articles, each around 1200 words, decent quality, passed on first try.

3. Necessary Pages Can’t Be Missing
“About Us,” “Contact,” “Privacy Policy”—these three pages are mandatory. Let Google know you’re a legitimate site, not just messing around.

4. Don’t Cross Content Red Lines
Adult content, violence, hate speech—these definitely won’t work. Some borderline content also needs caution, like medical advice, financial investment advice (unless you have qualifications).

5. HTTPS Certificate
Most hosts provide free SSL certificates now, install one. That little lock in front of the URL is important—without it, review might fail.

5 Steps to Complete Application (This Is Exactly What I Did)

Step 1: Visit Official Site to Register
Open https://www.google.com/adsense/start/, click “Get Started.” Log in with your Gmail account, or register one if you don’t have it.

Step 2: Fill Website and Basic Information
Enter your main domain, note: don’t include www. Then choose whether to receive Google’s optimization suggestions (I chose to receive, occasionally see useful stuff).

Step 3: Fill Payment Information
This step is crucial! When selecting payment address country, I recommend choosing Mainland China. I know some people follow trends and choose US or Hong Kong, then face all kinds of payment troubles later.

Fill in real name and address, here’s the key—remember to add your phone number in the address field. Because when your earnings reach $10 (used to be $5, now adjusted), Google will mail a PIN code to this address to verify your identity. If the courier can’t find you, it’s awkward.

Step 4: Verify Website
There are two methods, I recommend the first:

Method 1: HTML File Verification
Create a new ads.txt file in your site root directory, paste the code Google provided, save. Then go back to AdSense and click “Verify.”

Method 2: HTML Tag Verification
Add a code snippet in the <head> section of your webpage. This is more troublesome, beginners easily add it in the wrong place.

Step 5: Wait for Review
After submitting, it’s just waiting. Official says 3 days to 2 weeks, actual situations vary quite a bit. I waited 6 days, a friend waited almost 3 weeks. Don’t be idle during this time—keep updating content, keep the site active.

When I received the approval email, I felt pretty good. Like passing an exam.

A Few Tips to Improve Approval Rate

English Content Has Higher Approval Rate
If your English is decent, writing an English blog is easier to pass review. From my observation, Chinese site reviews are indeed stricter than English sites.

Maintain Update Frequency
Update 2-3 original articles daily, continue for 5 days before applying. Let Google see you’re serious about content, not just setting up a site and leaving it.

Clean Up the Front
Check all links, fix dead links. If you previously had other ad network codes, remove them first. Navigation should be clear, let people browse your site smoothly.

Don’t Rush
I’ve seen people say they applied for AdSense right after launching their site. Don’t! At least wait 2-4 weeks after site launch, get some basic traffic first. Google likes sites with some history.

Application Rejected? Common Rejection Reasons and Solutions

Receiving a rejection email is really discouraging. The first time I helped someone apply, it got rejected. I stared at that email confused, not knowing what went wrong. Later I researched and found rejection reasons are just a few, and all have solutions.

TOP 5 Rejection Reasons (By Frequency)

1. Insufficient Content—This Is Most Common

What does insufficient content mean? Not that you only wrote 5 articles, but Google thinks your articles lack information. Clickbait titles, all images, too short—all count.

I’ve seen a blog with 20 articles, but each only 300-400 words, like long social media posts. Getting rejected is normal.

Solutions:

• At least 10-15 articles, 800+ words each
• Articles need substantial content, not rambling
• If it’s an image or video site, add detailed text descriptions

2. Duplicate Content—Don’t Try Shortcuts

Copying others’ articles, or repeating the same content across multiple pages—Google sees right through it. A friend created three similar category pages with 80% overlapping content, triggered this rule.

Solutions:

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• Ensure every article is 100% original
• Avoid creating multiple pages with similar content
• If reposting, significantly rewrite and cite source

3. Missing Necessary Pages—This Is Most Unfair

Many people just forgot to add “About,” “Contact,” “Privacy Policy” pages. Google will think your site isn’t legitimate enough.

A guy had a really nice-looking site with good content, just no contact page, got rejected twice before finding the problem.

Solutions:

• Add “About Us” page (introduce site and author)
• Add “Contact” page (email is fine, phone not required)
• Add “Privacy Policy” page (templates online, modify and use)

4. Site Navigation Issues—User Experience Is Also Review Criteria

Common navigation problems:

• Links don’t work (dead links)
• Some pages require login to view
• Too many popups, ads jump out as soon as you enter
• Pages still under construction, saying “Coming Soon”

Google simulates users browsing your site. If experience is poor, instant rejection.

Solutions:

• Check entire site, fix all dead links
• Either complete or hide “under construction” pages
• Remove all popup ads
• Ensure visitors can see main content without logging in

5. Content Quality Below Standard—This Is Most Subjective

What does below standard mean? Google’s wording is “lacks valuable information.” Translation: your content is too shallow.

Typical shallow content:

• Only title, no body
• Articles are all AI-generated clichés (2026 checks this more strictly)
• Pure product lists, no analysis or insights

Solutions:

• Each article provides specific information, data, cases
• Add personal opinions and experience
• Give readers practical advice, not empty talk

What to Do After Rejection? Don’t Rush to Reapply

I’ve seen people immediately resubmit after rejection, then get instantly rejected again. This doesn’t work.

Correct approach:

1. Carefully read rejection reason email - Google will tell you roughly what’s wrong
2. Wait at least 1 week - Improving site takes time, reapplying too fast makes Google think you didn’t seriously fix it
3. Make targeted improvements - Check each of the 5 items above
4. Use Google’s diagnostic tools - AdSense dashboard has a “Site approval issues diagnostic tool” that can find some hidden problems
5. Resubmit after improvements - Don’t worry about rejection count, as long as you truly solved the problem

I have a reader who got rejected 3 times before passing, but he seriously improved each time and eventually succeeded. Patience is important.

After Approval—Ad Placement Optimization Strategies

Getting approved is just the beginning. Many people think once approved, they can just sit back and collect money. Then a month later, earnings are pitiful. How to place ads, where to place them—there’s skill involved.

2026 New Changes (You’ll Miss Out If You Don’t Know)

Google made quite a few changes to AdSense these past two years:

AI Smart Optimization Launched
Starting January 10, 2026, Google’s machine learning system automatically manages ad placement. Official claims 8.15% total revenue increase, 10.2% conversion rate improvement. Sounds great, I’m still observing actual effects, but at least the direction is right—let AI optimize for you, better than randomly adjusting yourself.

CPM Becomes Mainstream Model
Before 2024, mainly earned through clicks (CPC), now changed to impression + click hybrid payment. This is actually good for us—don’t need to rely on visitors clicking ads, earn as long as people see them.

New Rules to Note
Ad landing pages must label “Sponsored” text, ad density can’t exceed 30%, maximum 1 ad unit per screen. Don’t think about filling the screen with ads—Google will warn you.

Beginner Recommendation: Start with Auto Ads

Right after approval, I recommend directly enabling auto ads. Google’s AI automatically selects positions and adjusts quantity, you don’t need to worry.

How to enable? Go to AdSense dashboard, find “Ads” → “Auto ads,” turn on the switch. You can also adjust ad delivery volume, with “Low,” “Medium,” “High” three levels. Start with “Medium,” run for a week to see data, then decide whether to adjust.

Auto ads’ benefit is convenience—Google knows better than you where to place ads. Disadvantage is you can’t control specific positions, sometimes ads appear in places you think aren’t quite appropriate.

Advanced Play: Manual Ad Units

Once you’re familiar with AdSense, you can try manual ad placement. Which positions have high conversion rates? From my exchanges with several AdSense friends, these positions work well:

After First Paragraph
Where reader attention is most focused. I usually place a banner ad after the first or second paragraph, click-through rate can reach 1.5%-2%.

Middle of Article
About halfway through reading, place an in-feed ad (those that look like article content). Key is don’t interrupt reading rhythm, make it natural.

End of Article
People who finish reading are high-quality users, placing ads here also has good conversion rates. I’ll add a rectangle ad before the conclusion.

Top of Sidebar
Useful on desktop, basically useless on mobile. If your traffic is mainly mobile, you can ignore this position.

Remember, use responsive ad units—they automatically adjust size based on visitor device. Don’t use fixed-size ones, they’ll look ugly on mobile.

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5 Truly Useful Optimization Methods

1. Optimize Traffic Sources
I found users from Google search (SEO traffic) have highest click-through rates, social media traffic is lower. SEO traffic users are looking for information, more likely to click ads. Spending time on SEO is more useful than randomly adjusting ad positions.

2. Choose Right Content Niche
As mentioned, finance, tech, B2B niches have high ad rates. But don’t force it—write what you’re good at. I’d rather deeply cultivate a 5 yuan RPM niche than struggle in a 15 yuan niche.

3. Improve User Experience
High bounce rate, short dwell time means fewer ad impressions. Write good articles that make people want to keep reading—this is fundamental.

4. Build English Sites (If Possible)
This is the truth—English sites’ RPM is 5 times or more than Chinese sites. A friend runs both Chinese and English blogs simultaneously. English site with 500 daily IPs equals Chinese site with 2500 daily IPs in revenue. Of course, English content creation is much harder.

5. Don’t Be Too Greedy
I’ve seen people want to insert an ad every two paragraphs, resulting in terrible user experience and skyrocketing bounce rates. Google’s AI will notice this, lower your ad quality score, and you’ll earn even less. Moderation is key.

A/B Testing: Let Data Speak

AdSense dashboard has an experiment feature to compare effects of different ad settings. For example, if you want to know if sidebar ads are useful, you can set an experiment: 50% users see sidebar ads, 50% don’t, run for two weeks and check data.

This feature is powerful, but many people don’t use it. Don’t decide based on gut feeling—let data tell you which solution is better.

Real Earnings Expectations—How Much Can You Earn?

This is everyone’s most concerned question. Online claims vary—some say tens of thousands per month, some say they earned nothing. Real situation is in between—depends on your traffic, niche, and quality.

First, the Formulas (Don’t Be Scared, They’re Actually Simple)

There are two algorithms for estimated revenue:

Algorithm 1: Based on Clicks
Estimated Revenue = Page Views × Click-Through Rate (CTR) × Cost Per Click (CPC)

Algorithm 2: Based on Impressions
Estimated Revenue = (Page Views / 1000) × RPM

For example: Your blog had 30,000 page views this month, RPM is 5 yuan, so revenue is (30,000 / 1000) × 5 = 150 yuan.

Click-through rates are usually between 0.5%-2%, CPC between $0.01-$0.25. These numbers are affected by many factors, so income fluctuations are normal.

Real Cases: How Much Different Scale Blogs Can Earn

I collected several real cases, names anonymized:

Case 1: Rabbit’s Tech Blog (2024 Data, Latest)

• Scale: 900 daily IPs, 106 articles
• Content: Tech tutorials and tool reviews
• Earnings: Average $1 per day (about 7 yuan)
• Monthly income: Around 210 yuan
• Main traffic: China and US each 50%

This is typical small blog earnings. Not much, but very stable. Rabbit says this money covers server costs with some left over—the site supports itself.

Case 2: Xiao Yang’s Lifestyle Blog (Friend of Mine)

• Scale: 1500-2000 daily IPs, Chinese content
• Content: Parenting, home, food
• Earnings: 300-450 yuan per month
• RPM: About 3-4 yuan

Xiao Yang is a full-time stay-at-home mom, blog as side income. She says although money isn’t much, seeing monthly income deposits is still quite happy, at least can buy some formula.

Case 3: Pinch of Yum Food Blog (International Benchmark)

• Scale: Large professional blog, millions of monthly visits
• Content: English food recipes and photography
• Earnings: $52,300 in ad revenue in 2017
• Proportion: Over 50% of total revenue

This is an extreme case. Team-operated, professional content, all English, audience is Western users. Hard for ordinary people to reach, but shows AdSense’s ceiling is quite high.

Case 4: Daily Dot News Blog

• Scale: 5-10 million ad impressions per month
• Type: Hot news and commentary
• Earnings: Tens of thousands of dollars

Top media play, requires massive resource investment.

5 Key Factors Affecting Earnings

After reading cases, you’ll find earnings vary greatly. Why?

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1. Traffic Scale—The Foundation
No traffic means no earnings. 100 daily IPs vs 10,000 daily IPs can mean 100x difference in income. But traffic isn’t the only factor—quality matters more.

2. Traffic Region—This Is Critical
1000 views from US can equal 5000 views from China. Western advertisers bid higher, Chinese ad market is relatively small. This is why everyone says English sites make money.

3. Website Topic—Choose Right Track, Half the Effort
Finance > Tech Products > Education > Entertainment > Daily Life

This is roughly the CPM ranking. Of course, doesn’t mean you should force yourself to write finance—if you write poorly, no one reads it anyway.

4. Content Quality—Affects Dwell Time
Well-written articles mean longer dwell time, more page views, more ad impressions. I have two articles—one in-depth long article with 5-minute dwell time, one shallow article with 1-minute dwell time. The long article’s RPM is clearly higher.

5. User Behavior—Organic Traffic Is Most Valuable
SEO traffic users have most authentic behavior, Google gives better ads. If you use improper methods to inflate traffic, Google can detect it—not only no earnings, but account might get banned.

Set Realistic Expectations (Avoid Fantasy and Disappointment)

Based on my own and friends’ experiences, you can roughly estimate like this:

Beginner Phase (First 3 Months)

• Traffic: < 500 daily IPs
• Monthly income: Dozens to 100 yuan
• Status: Practice phase, don’t expect to earn money

Growth Phase (3-12 Months)

• Traffic: 1000-3000 daily IPs
• Monthly income: 100-500 yuan
• Status: Steady growth, can see hope

Stable Phase (1+ Years)

• Traffic: 5000+ daily IPs
• Monthly income: 500-2000 yuan
• Status: Decent side income

Professional Level (Full-Time Operation)

• Traffic: 10,000+ daily IPs
• Monthly income: Thousands to tens of thousands
• Status: Requires team and resource investment

Honestly, for most individual bloggers, reaching growth phase is already good. Earning a few hundred yuan per month, enough to cover domain and server costs with some pocket money left—this is AdSense’s real face.

Those saying tens of thousands per month are either top influencers or selling courses to scam you. Don’t get scammed.

My Suggestion: Treat AdSense as Icing on the Cake, Not a Lifesaver

AdSense’s biggest value isn’t making you rich, but:

• Proving your content has value (someone is willing to pay to display ads for it)
• Providing stable small passive income
• Motivating you to keep creating quality content

If you started blogging just to make money, you probably won’t stick with it. But if you already enjoy writing, AdSense can give you positive feedback—this feeling is quite nice.

Now I check my AdSense dashboard every morning when I wake up. Seeing I earned a few more yuan yesterday makes me think “hmm, my articles are still working.” This feeling is worth cherishing.

Conclusion

After all this, back to the original question: Is Google AdSense worth doing?

For me, the answer is yes. Not because it can make you rich, but because it provides a simple, reliable monetization method. You don’t need to sell courses, don’t need to take ads, don’t need to beg others for cooperation—just write good content, leave the rest to Google.

Let me recap this article’s core points:

• What AdSense is: Google’s ad intermediary platform, you provide website space, Google matches ads, you get 80% share
• How to make money: 2026 mainly relies on CPM (pay per impression), supplemented by CPC (pay per click), actual income depends on RPM
• How to apply: Prepare 10-15 original articles, necessary pages, independent domain, follow 5-step process, review takes 3 days to 2 weeks
• What if rejected: Check if content is substantial, original, has necessary pages, navigation is smooth, improve then reapply
• How to optimize: Beginners use auto ads, advanced users manually place ad units, focus on improving content quality and SEO, don’t be greedy with too many ads
• How much can you earn: Blogs with 1000-3000 daily IPs earn 100-500 yuan/month, English sites earn more, but require continuous investment

If you already have a blog, you can check if you meet application requirements now. If not, choose a topic you’re good at, write 10 articles first.

Friends who passed review, remember to enable auto ads, run for a while to see data, then slowly optimize. Don’t expect immediate results—the charm of passive income lies in time accumulation.

Finally, AdSense is just a tool. What’s truly valuable is your content. Focus on creating valuable articles, monetization will come naturally. Those who spend all day researching ad placement often forget the most important thing—writing good content.

Want to chat about your AdSense experience in the comments? How did you feel when you first received an earnings notification? How many rejections before approval? How much do you earn per month now? Let’s exchange ideas, might spark new optimization insights.

19 min read · Published on: Jan 7, 2026 · Modified on: Jan 22, 2026

Easton

Digital Media