Adsense Approval for Indians

Never a day passes without this (or similar) question popping up in the forums -

“I have joined HP three days /six days/15 days back, and my Adsense application is not yet approved. Why?”

or

“I have applied for an Adsense account 22 times, and each time my application was rejected. Why?”

Then, HP being such a great community, someone will look at the profile of the OP, and have this for reply -

“Are you from India/China/Some part of Asia? Then you will have to wait for six months.”

“I can see that you are from India/China. In that case, you will have to wait for six months”.

Then, some of the OPs will (obviously) be surprised, some will get (naturally) indignant at allusions of discrimination, and some will simply resign to the fact.

Then, the same question will pop up, again, the next day.

“My Adsense application was rejected/ My Adsense application is still pending after 47 reminders/ Why is Google Evil?”

Sigh!

Let’s admit this – Google Adsense is probably the most attractive Ad network – not only for advertisers, but also for publishers. I mean, just write a few words, put it on a web page, get an Adsense account, and you will be soon rolling in money! What else can be easier? Right!

Then, someone unscrupulous came up with this idea – Adsense clicks mean money, right? More clicks = more money, right? I will ask my friends to open my webpage, and click on the ads a dozen times. Then we will have beers on Saturday night!

More and more people eventually got on to this bandwagon, and whole web rings were devised – which established websites with the express purpose of committing click fraud, and duping Adsense. Have you ever seen adverts for “Get paid just for clicking ads” or “Get paid just for reading webpages”?

As it happened, this trend of defrauding Adsense somehow became more popular in some countries. Unfortunately, and shamefully, India and China figure somewhere on the top of the list of those countries.

So, are India and China (or more appropriately, publishers form India and China) the only countries that are on the watch list of Google?

NO. Look at this click fraud heat map of high threat countries. Read that article too – in full, from top to bottom. Then come back.

So, obviously, Google is NOT selectively targeting India and China.

Ah! That is some consolation! – you can say.

Why is Google So Uptight About Click Fraud?

After all, they are also getting paid (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).

Hmm, it doesn’t really make sense to feed on the spoils of fraud. And moreover, Google Adsense (and other ad networks too) get their bread, butter and jam from ADVERTISERS – not PUBLISHERS.

As it turns out, the advertisers are turning out to be the biggest losers in this whole deal. And they are raising a lot of hue and cry, Stink, even.

And Google is listening to them. It has to.

I have read about a class action suit that some advertisers brought against Google. It was settled out of court – for USD 60 millions. Do you think Google would like to pay more of such settlements?

-Yes.

-What? This is injustice!

-No. It is not.

-Huh?

It is well within its right to protect its interests, and that of its primary customers – the advertisers.

I could say – Adsense is a privilege, and not a right. But I will not – because I don’t think Adsense is a privilege.

But, I don’t think it is a right either – that you can demand an Adsense account approval from Google. NO.

Sorry boss, it does not work that way.

There are other countries too, right?

Well, as it happens, Google EXPLICITLY mentions these two countries, right here.

If you don’t want to read all that, here is an extract -

In some locations, including China and India, we require publishers to have owned their sites for 6 months. We've taken this step to ensure the quality of our advertising network and protect the interests of our advertisers and existing publishers.

Again, read the whole thing carefully, and come back. Because I will shortly reveal how to get an Adsense account if you are an Indian, or Chinese citizen. Completely free of charge!

In the above extract, I have underlined/highlighted two parts -

including China and India

means that there are indeed more countries.

owned their sites for 6 months

This is a bit tricky. Does this mean that I need a self hosted site? I have to buy a domain name and hosting?

Well, if you are really serious about Adsense, you can do that – go ahead.

But there is another way – completely free – Make a blog on blogger.com. And fill it with great content. Apply again after a few months.

Great content. Hmm. What is that?

Ahh. I am not telling that right now. I want you to read this whole article – it was hard work typing all this!

If I am from India, or China?

Before that, I will ask this – did you read the complete article that I linked to?

Because there, Google specifies that it wants great content.

Many, many applicants, after being rejected the first time by Adsense, will come back again, and complain that they had done all the hard work, without success.

“I made a great blog. It is called downloadfreemp3songs.com. But Google says – unacceptable content. I don’t understand!”

“I made an absolutely cool website. It is called hotbollywoodpics.com. It is full of hundreds of pictures, and my commentary on them. Yet, Google is not impressed.”

Sigh!

The above statements are not completely imaginary – they are almost actual responses from real people.

Sorry, that does not count as great content.

But before that, let me explain what will NOT be accepted.

- Pirated content (obviously). This includes articles and photographs.

- Free downloads of music/software/songs/other files.

- Adult content

- Free ringtones/free wallpaper/free anything.

Get a detailed view of what is accepted and what is not. PLEASE – read Google Adsense program policies, and Adsense terms and conditions.

Read this Adsense help article by Google.

And while you are at it, PLEASE also read the Adsense new applicant FAQs.

Meanwhile, read this article by a blogger from India, his name is Basant Narayan Singh. He runs a great blog – Techno-Pulse. It will give you some idea about the quality of content that Google expects. He has written a great article with some tips on getting Adsense approval quickly. Please read it – it will inspire you.

If you have been rejected by Adsense, don’t get disappointed.

But of course, you will get disappointed, even dejected.

OK, don’t get TOO disappointed.

Follow the guidelines that are listed above – very carefully – the probability of acceptance will increase drastically.

Anyway, Adsense is not the end of the road, is it?

You will definitely find some sites/advertisements where someone will claim – I have a secret way to get Adsense approval in 2 days, flat. This is my phone number – call me. Only for first 25 people – I charge only Rs 1,000!

Please. Do NOT believe this guy. You will get in trouble – sooner or later.

Just follow what I pointed out above. It is not my brilliant plan. It is what the Google Adsense guidelines say.

Remember -

“He who wishes to be rich in a day will be hanged in a year”

- Leonardo da Vinci

There is NO shortcut to success. There is no shortcut to getting approved for Adsense either.