Let’s walk through the full process, step by step.
We’ll go from getting your website approved for AdSense all the way to earning your first payout once you hit the $100 payment threshold.
That’s when the first real deposit lands in your bank account.
5 Steps to Add AdSense to Your Website or Blog
We’ll walk you through this using a WordPress site as an example.
If you’re using a different website builder, don’t worry—it’s mostly the same process across platforms.
Step 1: Verify Website Ownership
To start, you’ll need to connect your site to AdSense and verify that you own it.
If you haven’t already, sign up for a Google AdSense account.
You can register without a live website, but we’ll assume you already have one ready to monetize.
Complete the form, accept the terms, and make sure your domain is entered correctly.
Click Submit.
Next, Google will prompt you to verify ownership of your website.
You’ll have three options for verification—all involve adding a snippet of code or text to your site’s source code.
Copy the AdSense code snippet, Ads.txt entry, or Meta tag and paste it into your site as instructed.
We used the AdSense code snippet for WordPress. Google recommends placing it:
- Between the <HEAD></HEAD> tags
- On every page of your site
So where exactly is that head section?
It depends on your theme, but it’s usually easy to find. Try these areas in your WordPress dashboard:
- Theme Settings > Header Settings
- Appearance > Theme File Editor > header.php
- Appearance > Widgets > Header section
If you still can’t find it, Google: “header settings + [your WordPress theme]” to get instructions.
We used the Widgets method, which is super common. Here’s how it works.
With the AdSense code copied, go to your WordPress admin dashboard.
Select Appearance > Widgets and locate the Custom HTML widget.
Add a Custom HTML block to the Header widget area.
Paste the AdSense code snippet into that block:
Click Update to save your changes.
That snippet is now inserted between the <HEAD> tags across your entire site—exactly what AdSense requires.
Go back to your AdSense dashboard and click Verify once the code is live.
That’s it!
Now Google knows you own the site and can begin crawling it for eligibility.
What if my site has password-protected pages?
Good question. Google’s bots can’t access those, which might delay approval.
To fix this, follow the instructions here: Grant AdSense crawler access to login-protected content.
Can I use a plugin to add AdSense?
Yes, and many people prefer that route—especially beginners.
Google and its partners offer plugins as part of the AdSense Starter Kit for WordPress.
Personally, I avoid adding plugins unless I truly need them.
If it’s just to paste a few lines of code into your header, I say skip the plugin—it’s easy to do manually.
Plugins can also create confusion by adding multiple header sections. I’ve run into that issue before with some themes.
Fewer plugins = faster, cleaner sites. That’s a hill I’m happy to die on.
Step 2: Pass Eligibility Review
The review process can take anywhere from a couple of days to several weeks, depending on your site’s status and traffic.
During that time, Google will evaluate your site to ensure it meets AdSense’s eligibility criteria.
If you’ve built your site with real users in mind, you’ll probably pass without issue.
Here’s what Google is looking for:
Your site should be easy to use
Text must be legible and properly formatted. Navigation should be intuitive and accurate. Avoid confusing or misleading menu structures—Google will flag it.
Your traffic must be legitimate
Advertisers pay for real views and engagement. Google can spot fake traffic or traffic from shady sources, and they’ll reject your site if they find it.
Your site should have 50+ pages of original content
Google wants fresh, unique content that offers value. Thin, repetitive, or scraped content won’t cut it.
There’s no official rule about how many pages or how long each article should be, but based on experience:
- A site with 50+ high-quality posts usually gets approved.
- A site with 20 thin posts? Probably not.
Don’t obsess over numbers. Just commit to publishing helpful content consistently.
Ignore word count hacks—focus on answering real user questions. When your content is useful, length takes care of itself.
That’s the gist of it.
You can read Google’s full AdSense eligibility guidelines here. They’re pretty upfront about what they require.
While under review, check your AdSense dashboard to see your site’s status.
A “Getting Ready” status means Google is still checking your site.
Once it says “Ready,” your site has been approved and ads can start showing.
If you see “Needs Attention,” review the rejection reason, make the fixes, and resubmit.
Step 3: Update Your Website Privacy Policy
Before you place any ads, update your privacy policy—or create one if you don’t already have it.
Google requires all AdSense sites to have a clear privacy policy that explains how user data is handled, including the use of cookies and personalized ads.
Here’s Google’s official privacy policy guidance. Depending on your region, you might need to include additional legal disclosures (e.g. GDPR, CCPA).
Do people still get approved without a privacy policy?
Sometimes—but that loophole is closing fast. Google has been tightening its enforcement, especially in the EU and U.S.
For example, if you want to serve ads to visitors in Europe, a privacy policy is non-negotiable.
You could try skipping it, but you might end up reapplying later anyway.
Just make the policy—it’s not hard. Use our privacy policy template guide to get it done quickly.
Step 4: Create Sidebar Ads on Blog Posts
You can place AdSense ads almost anywhere—but the sidebar is one of the easiest and most effective places to start.
AdSense is largely “set it and forget it.” The goal is to have ads on as many pages as possible, without constant micromanagement.
That’s why we recommend placing display ads in your blog post sidebars. It’s simple, scalable, and doesn’t interfere with the content experience.
Almost every website template includes a sidebar. If not, you can usually add one through your theme or site builder with just a few clicks.
Most WordPress themes already have a sidebar widget area, so there’s no need to touch your design.
Drop a single code snippet into your sidebar widget area, and boom—every blog post will show ads automatically.
Let’s walk through how to create a sidebar ad unit and insert it into your WordPress site.
First, go to the Ads section of your AdSense account and click the By Ad Units tab.
Select Display ads to create a new ad unit. There are other types (e.g., in-feed, in-article), but display is the most beginner-friendly.
Next, configure the ad size:
Set it to Responsive unless you know the exact dimensions that fit your sidebar.
If you prefer fixed dimensions, go ahead and set a custom width and height.
In our example, we used a popular format called the “Skyscraper Ad,” which is 120px wide by 600px tall.
Stick to well-supported ad sizes. Google has extensive data on which ad formats perform best.
When ready, click Create.
Google will generate an HTML snippet for the ad unit. Copy this code.
Now, open your WordPress Admin dashboard. You’ll add this code to the sidebar using the same approach you used earlier for the verification snippet—except this time it goes in a different location.
- Open WordPress admin panel
- Go to Appearance > Widgets
- Insert a Custom HTML block into the Sidebar widget area
- Paste the ad code into the block
- Click Save
Be sure you’re using the sidebar widget area—not the header section used in Step 1.
That’s it! Ads should start appearing on your blog posts within 20 minutes.
What if it doesn’t work?
Each WordPress theme is different. You might need to use Theme Settings instead of Appearance, depending on your setup.
If you get stuck, search for “Add sidebar ad code [your WordPress theme]” and you’ll likely find the answer.
Step 5: Set Up AdSense Payment
Once ads are live, your estimated earnings will start appearing on the Reports tab of your AdSense dashboard.
When you earn your first $10, you’ll be asked to verify your identity and mailing address.
Once you reach the payment threshold, you can choose a payout method and link your bank account.
In the U.S., the payout threshold is $100. You can see the full list of thresholds by country here.
After you hit $10, Google will mail a PIN to your address—this typically takes 2–3 weeks to arrive.
Once received, log into your AdSense account, enter the PIN, and complete the payment setup process.
Congrats—you’re officially ready to receive your first AdSense payment.
Can People Make A Lot Of Money With AdSense?
Yes—absolutely.
If you have a website with valuable content and tons of traffic, AdSense can generate significant revenue.
Most high-earning AdSense publishers don’t rely on a single site. They often manage a portfolio of content-rich websites, each built with strong keyword research and monetization in mind.
If you’re running a small or brand-new site, expect modest returns at first. It takes time and content volume to ramp up.
Let’s do some quick math on what’s realistically possible.
- Google is switching AdSense to a per-impression model. That means you earn revenue every time an ad is displayed—not just when it’s clicked. (Read more about this change here)
- You’ll track your earnings using RPM—revenue per thousand impressions. “Mille” = 1,000.
- RPM varies wildly. Some sites earn less than $1 RPM, while niche sites with engaged traffic can earn $20, $40, or more.
- We’ll use a middle-of-the-road RPM of $5 to keep things simple.
Here’s how that plays out:
- $100/month = 20,000 ad impressions @ $5 RPM
- $1,000/month = 200,000 impressions @ $5 RPM
- $10,000/month = 2,000,000 impressions @ $5 RPM
As you can see, traffic volume is the biggest lever you have. More traffic = more impressions = more money.
That said, you can also increase RPM by optimizing ad placement, choosing better-performing ad formats, or improving content quality to increase time-on-page.
When your content is helpful and engaging, people scroll further, visit more pages, and see more ads—leading to better monetization.
Here at Quick Sprout, we don’t rely on AdSense for revenue—but it remains a totally viable monetization method.
And if it takes a few months to earn your first $100? No problem. You’ll learn along the way, and the long-term opportunity is massive.
Trillions of ad impressions are out there—you just need great content and steady traffic to claim your share.
Sites that publish genuinely helpful content and build trust with readers will win in the long run.