Why Doesn't My Blog Qualify for Adsense?

Yep, you got it. That's another often asked question that echoes through the Adsense forum lately. Some are posted in AdSense, and some are moved to the AdSense forum from the Blogger forum. But all of them nearly always have the same answer, BUT, there are several situations that apply here.

Situation #1 - Applying for a new AdSense Account

When you create a new blog on Blogger and want to apply for AdSense with it, you will probably find the "Earnings Tab" is not active, and you can't submit an application.

This is because the blog is either too new, or has too little content to be able to qualify for AdSense, so the ability to apply is on hold (by the Earnings Tab being temporarily disabled) until such time as the maturity of the blog (it's age) and the amount of contents on the blog deem it as being fit to apply with.

When the earnings tab is enabled, you'll be able to apply with your blog. This, however, does not mean your blog is approved yet, it just means that you can apply with it. Whether or not the blog is approved will not be decided until it goes through a 2-step approval process.

The first step allows you to login to an AdSense account and to place the code on your blog. Once you've placed the code on your blog, the second step will begin.

The second step is where AdSense will review your blog and all of it's contents to see if it's something suitable for them to monetize. During this time, you won't see any ads on your blog. You won't see any ads unless AdSense approves it during this second step. Once the review is complete (this review can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks) AdSense will send you another email, but you may notice ads showing before you actually get the email.

So, when does it become enabled?

Well, that's open for discussion really. Nobody knows because there is no information posted about what will cause it to become enabled. Having spent enough time in the AdSense forum you come to the conclusion that it can take several months before that happens. If one thinks about it logically, in a couple of months, how much content would you post? The average blogger probably posts twice a week at least, so two posts a week times 8 weeks equals about 16 posts, but most of the time, what we're seeing is the blogs need more than that in terms of content amounts, unless the posts are very long, so shoot for somewhere around 20 to 30 posts. The more content in each post, the more likely you'd be accepted with a lower number of posts. (Don't add words just for the sake of adding words. The posts have to be useful.)

If your blog is almost a few months old, or is a few months old and you have at least that much content, you should be getting pretty close to seeing your Earnings Tab enabled.  Unless ... well there is another requirement that Adsense has for just about all of the Asian countries, and that is the fact that sites should be six months old, so some of you may have to wait longer than a couple of months.

Situation #2 - Adding a Blogger Blog to a Fully Approved AdSense Account

This occurs when you already have an AdSense account that's approved to display ads on your own websites, or already approved to display ads on Blogger URLs (blogspot URL).

Even though your AdSense account is already approved for another blog, your new blog still has to qualify to display ads on it, so ... the earnings tab is disabled, the same as if you were applying for a new blog.

This makes sense because no advertiser wants their ads displaying on sites with one post, that's a few hours old. The idea is pretty much the same as in Situation #1 - when your blog is suitable (in terms of age and content amount) the Earnings tab will become active and you can link your blog to your already approved AdSense account.

You will not have to go through another review at that time. Your account is already approved, so the ads will begin to show once you can link it to your AdSense account.

Situation #3 - Your Blog uses a Custom Domain

In some cases, the Earnings tab may not be available when you want to apply because your blog is already using a Custom Domain. In this case, if your site is old enough, and has enough content you can apply at the AdSense homepage with your domain instead. Be aware that if your site is really new and hasn't much content, it's likely to be rejected, even if you can apply.

Your account will go through the same 2-step process as noted above in Situation #1. If it's approved and the ads begin displaying, the Earnings Tab should eventually become enabled, but even without the earnings tab, the ads will still work fine and still accrue earnings.

Situation #4 - You Already have an AdSense Account approved through YouTube or AdMob

You can't place AdSense ads on a blogspot URL if your account was approved through YouTube or AdMob. Not without upgrading that Host Account.  And to upgrade that Host account, you can't use a blogspot URL. Please see "Applying for a Host AdSense Account Upgrade" on this page for instructions on how to upgrade.

posted by J. Gracey Stinson

AdSense, Where's my Payment?

Over the last month or two I think I've seen more payment related questions in the AdSense help forum than ever before. There seems to be a small flood of them, this month alone. Some of the questions have related to the new line entry on the payments page, where Adsense now shows the amount of earnings that have been deducted due to invalid activity (usually accidental clicks, or from "bad" traffic and/or bots - often not the direct fault of the publisher).

Prior to this change when deductions were made, it wasn't noted how much of that deduction was due to invalid clicks. For more on this update to the Payments page, see the recent article on the Inside AdSense Blog.

But the vast majority seem to be "why wasn't my payment issued?" ... these questions have come from publishers world-wide, and many are from publishers that have been collecting payments regularly without any problems.

Most of the publishers have either reached, or exceeded the payment threshold and have long ago entered all the required details to verify their accounts and payment methods. So where is the payment? Why hasn't it been released (issued) this month?

A few of the publishers who qualify for direct contact with AdSense staff have contacted staff and asked that exact question.

A few indicated that the response said their accounts were under investigation and until that was complete, the payment wouldn't be issued.  How long one of these "investigations" takes is anybody's guess. I really don't know, but I would expect for the most part, it isn't going to be "a few days". Anyone that's been around AdSense long enough already knows that there isn't much that AdSense does "quickly".  I would think it wouldn't be a surprise if the investigation took a week or two, or ... unfortunately, even longer than that.

What sort of investigation it is, or why the account was chosen is something else I can't really answer. We do know that all publisher accounts are monitored by AdSense. We also know that when AdSense finds something to be "irregular" in a publisher's account they'll investigate further. (Also see reasons for payment holds in the help center.)

• Your account is currently under review for compliance with our program policies
  All accounts are monitored for policy compliance and invalid activity. At times, while your account is under investigation, your payments will be temporarily placed on hold. You do not need to contact us about this hold; the hold will be automatically removed at the end of the investigation if your account is policy compliant and your traffic is valid.

Whether that's an odd batch of traffic and/or clicks on ads, or whether it's multiple reports coming in from the website reporting options (such as spam websites, or publisher's spamming groups or people with emails they didn't sign up for, or improper ad placements, etc.) or a payee name change in an account (which isn't allowed), AdSense is going to investigate these issues to make sure the account doesn't become a risk for the advertisers whose ads appear on on our sites.

The bottom line is that nobody can answer for AdSense when it comes to payment issues. If you qualify for direct email support from AdSense you'll be able to access the contact email form in the help center, in which case you can ask for yourself why your payment hasn't been sent.

So far, I haven't personally had to deal with an investigation issue myself, so there isn't much in the way of help that I can offer. I can, however, tell you what I would do if I found myself in this position.

1. I'd start by looking at my traffic over the last few months: where it came from; the referring sites; checking my promotional methods. Fairly often, bad traffic can be an issue, so that's the place I'd start investigating my own stats.
2. Then, I'd consider my methods of promotion. Did I hire someone who might have sent spam emails to promote me? Did someone put my site link on a link exchange (cause I surely would not)? If I hired some off-beat SEO firm, the first thing I'd be doing is asking for an exact copy of every single thing they did to promote my site. (Often, these people do things way outside of AdSense policy without telling you.)
3. Next, I'd review my blogs or websites for content compliance. Is my content original (my own/did I write it myself or copy it?); is any of my content in violation of any policy?; are any of the comments users leave considered spam, or lead to spammy websites?; is my own content sort of spammy and poorly written?
4. Then, I'd start investigating my own social pages and links. Have I spammed my site/post links all over the web using social services? Have I misused social sharing in some way? Have my personal friends or family gone on a "sharing spree" without telling me (which would only make things worse).

I can tell you that if my own account were under investigation by AdSense, I'd be spending 100% of my time investigating my own site, it's visitors, it's contents, and my own actions to make sure that there wasn't anything "odd" going on.

... I wouldn't be sitting around just waiting for AdSense to finish up.

posted by J. Gracey Stinson

AdSense and Nigerian Publishers

In the last couple of years Adsense has seen an increasing number of Nigerian publishers jockeying for approvals for their websites and blogs, and fairly often what we see in the AdSense Help Forum are, sadly, rejections.

The same as any publisher with a rejected website, they wonder why. Most are simply baffled, and not aware of the policies, but some cry foul because of race. AdSense doesn't reject websites based on race or nationality. Most of the time, rejections are based on content suitability, and many of the contents on Nigerian blogs aren't suitable for AdSense.

So it's not a race issue, and it's not even really a country issue, since publishers from Nigeria can be approved for AdSense provided they produce the right type of content. What it probably boils down to is a culture issue. Every country (in fact, even within a country every province) and it's people develop in different ways. Britain is often known for it's restraint (or what some people call their stuffiness); Canada is often referred to as the "polite" or "politically correct" country (frankly, I live here and beg to differ, but hey, that's how people see us), and Nigeria is no different. They have their own unique culture - colourful, boisterous and full of life.

Unfortunately, while they seem to be a really "open"people, they also have no problem publicly discussing the types of topics that aren't suitable for Adsense.

Many blogs we see rejected have contents that have been copied from other news sites, and the majority of sites from Nigeria that are rejected have a similar bent ... copied news, and copied celebrity gossip, much of which often contains contents of an adult nature.  That's frowned on by Adsense and by AdWords advertisers, which is an important fact in whether or not the site can be approved.

I personally don't understand the preoccupation with gruesome news, but I expect it's because they seem to live in middle of it and are forced to endure exposure to things most of us in this area of the world can only shudder at. It's sad, and frightening, but this sort of gruesome content isn't acceptable for Adsense either.

I also don't get the preoccupation with celebrities. They're just people, like the rest of us. I've never understood that, and it's pretty popular in all cultures. But copying a celebrity's images from someone else isn't allowed, and can actually cause you to be sued by the celebrity, never mind being rejected by Adsense.

All sites (no matter where the publisher lives) are expected to comply with copyright laws, including the copyright laws of the US, and the copyright guidelines issued by AdSense.

So although it might not seem that simple to some, the answer really is simple.

1. Write your own contents based on your own personal experiences. Don't copy it, don't edit someone else's articles, don't write about the same thing others are writing about unless you've personally got experience to draw from.
2. Don't copy other people's images. Only use images with permission, or pay a licensing fee to use it.
3. Don't write about gruesome news, don't show gory or disturbing images, don't write about women/children being abused in horrible ways using graphic language.
4. Don't go for the most common information available all over the web. Write something different. BE different ... and be yourself.

DON'T be a follower of all the others around you. Be a leader to others in your culture and break away from the multitude of "same" type blogs. Come up with your very own, very unique ideas and start writing; start photographing; start painting or drawing or doing whatever it is you do best ... as long as what you do best isn't copying others.

posted by J. Gracey Stinson

Choosing the AdSense Payment Method

Over the past several years there have been ongoing changes to the payment system for AdSense.  More countries have been moved from payment by cheque or Western Union to EFT (electronic funds transfer) or Wire Transfer, and some countries now have SEPA payments. The actual steps to set up your payment method and to see what is available to your country, see the AdSense help center articles "Setting up your Form of Payment" and "Payment FAQs".

Why can't I choose my payment method?

At one time, as soon as your estimated earnings crossed the Payment threshold (usually around $10) the option to choose and confirm your payment method became available in your AdSense account. That, however, has changed now.

If you aren't able to choose your payment method, check your "Payment" page in your account. Are there verified earnings showing that reach or exceed the threshold ($10) on that page? If not, you won't yet be able to choose a payment method. Instead of working off the estimated earnings, AdSense payment method now only becomes active shortly after the verified earnings are posted to your payments page, and have reached the verification threshold.

For those earning only from a YouTube channel, this would mean waiting until around the 15th of a month for your YouTube earnings to be transferred from your channel onto the Payment page in your Adsense account.

For publishers earning from websites or blogs, the finalization takes place between the 1st and 7th of a month.

"Why Can't I Get my Payment by Cheque ?" OR "I don't have a Bank Account"

In some cases, the payment method that once existed in your AdSense account may no longer be available in your AdSense account.

This would mean that you will need to set up a new payment method in order to continue receiving your payments. In most of the countries where AdSense used to offer payment by cheque and now offers EFT payments, you will no longer be able to get your payment by cheque. You will most likely only be able to choose EFT as your payment method and will require a bank account.

When I enter and verify my bank account, when will I get my payment?

This depends on a couple of things. If you haven't actually reached the payment threshold (usually set at $100US or equivalent in local currency) then you wouldn't receive a payment until your verified earnings reach that, and then you'd receive a payment during the normal payment cycle. (See "When will I be paid.")

If you just reached the payment threshold and entered your bank account, you would also be paid during the normal monthly payment cycle for that month.

If your AdSense Payment page has shown that you have been at or above the payment threshold for a few months, but haven't yet received a payment because either you hadn't entered a PIN or hadn't entered and verified a bank account, then you may see your payment issued within a few days after verifying your bank account.

This doesn't apply to accounts that still receive payment by Western Union or cheque. Accounts still using those payments would have their payment issued in the regular payment cycle.

Can I use someone else's bank account, like a parent or friend?

No, you won't be able to verify a bank account unless your name is on the bank account. The account holder of the bank account needs to match the payee name in your AdSense account. Since you can't change the payee name in your AdSense account, you need a bank account in your own name.

If a parent has signed up for you, the parent would most likely be the payee name in your AdSense account. That means the parent needs to enter their bank account.

For spouses, or anyone else who holds a joint account with someone else, as long as your name is also on the joint bank account, you can use a joint account to receive your payment, as long as the payee name in the AdSense account is one of the names on the joint bank account.

Also note, the bank account must be located in the same country as the address in your AdSense account, so as an example, if you live in Canada (like me) and your AdSense account has your Canadian address, you'll need a bank account in a bank in Canada.

posted by J. Gracey Stinson©

Can I use Affiliates with Adsense?

That's a question we seem to be getting more often than we used to, particularly from newer publishers.  The simple answer is yes you can. But it's more involved that just a simple answer (and that's pretty much how a lot of things are with Adsense.

You can use an affiliate link (or even two) on a blogpost or website page that also has Adsense ads on it. But there are things you need to know. Don't run off to plaster affiliate links on your site before reading the rest of this, or you could find yourself in a world of hurt.

AdSense doesn't provide guidelines on using affiliate links, but it does provide guidelines on the contents you can place Adsense ads on. One of those stipulations is that your contents must be original, another involves not using unsuitable contents (such as adult contents, or contents on drugs and some types of supplements that might be illegal in the US, or gambling) ... there are too many "Prohibited Contents" to mention one-by-one here. Just make sure to read the policy.

Those policies basically mean that anything you put on your pages that have an AdSense ad on them must also comply with the policies, and that means any affiliate links should also comply. Don't use affiliate links to sites that contain contents prohibited for Adsense.

Because you need original contents, if your pages only contain a bunch of affiliate links from somewhere like Amazon, and only contain the the original reviews and summaries, don't put Adsense ads on those pages. Pages like that would fall into the "thin affiliates" category.

Don't put Adsense ads on a page whose sole purpose is to promote an affiliate - pages like that are nothing more than a gigantic advertisement for the affiliate product. If it looks like an affiliate promotion, smells like an affiliate promotion, and sounds like an affiliate promotion ... leave Adsense off of that content. Don't put adsense on e-stores with no original contents, and almost no textual contents. This would also be considered a "thin affiliate" site.

Make sure any page(s) that contain your affiliate links use the "no follow" attribute for all the links, and make sure you have more original contents of your own than affiliate links. One or two lines of text with half a dozen affiliate links is not going to be considered as:

• sufficient
• original
• unique
• useful

Write an article, one that provides some useful and personal insights, then you can include an affiliate link or two with the article, along with your Adsense ads.

Learn to think like Adsense. When an AdWords advertiser puts their ad on your site ... why are they putting it there?  They want people to see their product or service, they don't want it alongside a dozen other similar products owned by different companies. The chances of someone being interested enough to visit the AdWords advertiser grow smaller with each affiliate link that's on the same the page.

That's not great news for the AdWords advertiser. It may not even be that good for you either. If people visit your affiliate links and move away from your site onto a shopping site (like Amazon), you'll only make money if those people buy a product. If they don't buy and leave Amazon to go search for something else, you lose out altogether. The AdWords advertiser loses out. AdSense loses out.

Keep your affiliate links on your AdSense monetized pages to a small, reasonable amount and you can have an effective page that can work for both types of advertising, and may earn you money from both.

posted by J. Gracey Stinson

Safeguard your AdSense Account Against Hackers

Every AdSense publisher is responsible for keeping their own AdSense account safe, and for protecting themselves (and their own websites) against hackers. AdSense will not protect your account for you (beyond the safeguards given in your account). So the question is, how do you keep your accounts (and yourself) safe from hackers?

Regardless of what anyone else tells you or what you might read on blogs or websites, there is no 100% foolproof method to protect yourself. You can do everything "right" and still may (at some point in your life) find yourself the unhappy host for something you don't want.

That doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't take the steps required to protect yourself. The more protections you set up, the harder you make it for someone to get into your accounts. Don't offer them an open door, which so many people seem to do because they haven't thought much about protection, until they really need it..

Where to Begin - the Google Account

The first place you begin is with your Google Account, because your Google Account is your access to every other Google Product you use - it opens the door to all of your products: your Blogger, your Gmail, your YouTube channel, your Adsense account ... anywhere you use your Google login, can be accessed by signing into your Google Account.

1. Choose your username carefully.
2. Make your password hard to guess. If there's room, use as many as 20-25 characters for your password. Use a random choice of lower case letters, upper case letters, numbers, and characters (like a # sign, $ sign, ! sign, etc.) Not only are these harder to guess, they also take much longer for crypto program algorithms to find the correct set of characters.  Since you choose these randomly, they're also very hard for YOU to remember, so write it down on paper. Don't lose it. 
3. Don't store it on your computer, or in your phone or mobile device. 
4. Don't let your browser save it. 
5. Don't use the same password anywhere else. 
6. Change your password weekly. 
7. Don't use the same password twice when changing it (don't don't alternate between 2 or 3 different passwords).
8. Enable 2-step login verification. If you have a security key, use it.
9. Don't login to your Google Account from anywhere except your own devices.
10. Remember to log out when finished.
11. Don't share your password or login information with ANYONE, even if you trust them.
12. Don't share screenshots from your accounts in public forums unless you blank out your personal information.
13. Don't invite other users to your accounts.
14. If you must invite others, and they are not YOUR own other accounts, do NOT make them Administrators. Making anyone else an admin. means they can lock you out of your own account.

Since your Google account is your login for your AdSense account, taking these steps will also protect your AdSense account - at least as much as it is possible to protect an account.

All of the above are simply common sense. It really doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand the importance of keeping intruders out of your account.

But, there are other ways a hacker can get your information, and you need to be aware of these as well.

Learning What Not to Click, and What Not to Trust

Everyday, most of us will receive some sort of spam or email with the enticement to "click here" for something ... whether it's to change your password, or to login to another account, or to claim a prize or ... well anyone of a hundred different things.

DO_NOT_CLICK any link in any email from ANYONE without checking it out.

In Gmail, the first step is for you to check the email headers. Use the curved arrow at the right side of the page, and choose the option to "show original". This will open in a new page. Check for the domain authentication. If it was really sent from that sender, and not just spoofed, the authentication will usually show as a "permitted sender". If it's spoofed (ie: looks like it comes from a real person or a business your recognize but really doesn't), it will usually show that as non-permitted, or not allowed sender.

That's just the first clue though, and may not always be reliable.

If there's a link in the email, check it first. DO NOT click on the link.  Just hover over it. Look at the status bar at the bottom of your screen.

It shows you (usually) where that link will lead. If it's fake, it won't lead where you think it should.

The next safety check is to search for that URL on the link. Highlight the link from your email, and select "copy link" or "copy URL". Paste that URL into a blank notepad. Most of the time, there will be a domain name in that link. Go to "Google.com" to search for the domain - don't go there directly, not yet.

Check the search results for the domain on the link you copied. See what the web has to say about it. If it looks legit, visit one of the pages using a cached page view.  Make sure your browser is using security before visiting. use a popup blocker; use a tracker blocker like ghostery; use an adblocker; use a anti-phishing plugin/extension, and make sure your browser is protected by an antivirus.

Never just click a link in your email without first checking it. Doing so can take you to a site or page that can gather your personal information, including login data from your browser.

Protecting your Website Against Intruders 

Fairly often we see frantic publishers in the AdSense forum whose websites have been hacked and taken over by others. While it isn't always possible to protect against every type of attack on a website, there are simple common sense things you can do if you are using paid hosting, but what's available on paid hosting can depend on what type of hosting you have, and what type of website you've developed.

Wordpress.org self-hosted sites are usually the most prolific and widely used, and there are many ways to protect against unwanted take overs, but none are perfect. Most will work, unless someone really wants in. If you aren't using any protection, you need to.

1. Set your "login attempts" plugin to really low allowances. Allow no more than 2 login attempts, without lockouts after that. Set the lockout to last for an hour. After two lockouts, they can't try again for 24 hours. Also note that this will make it difficult for you login if you enter a wrong password, so make sure you know your password.
2. Make your login username different than the name you show on your blog as the person posting. For example, if you write a post and it says "posted by admin"  do not use "admin" as your login name (also don't use administrator).
3. Don't use your own name as your login.
4. Don't use your site name as a login.
5. Don't use a name that can be associated with you in any way as your own user login.
6. Make your password long, with 20 or more characters. 
7. Don't use common phrases in your password (for example, don't use things like "4U" together).
8. Don't use the name of your site, don't use your own name, birthdate, address, phone number or any other sort of personal information as part of your password.
9. Don't use the same password as your Google account uses, in fact, don't use the same password anywhere else.
10. If you host multiple sites under your hosting plan, make sure you use different logins and passwords for each of your websites.
11. Install security for your website. Sites built on wordpress have multiple plugins you can use (WordFence, and Simple Firewall are just two). Before installing any plugins, check them out. Make sure the developer is trustworthy and the reviews are reasonably good.
12. Follow the suggestions used above: don't login to your admin account unless using your own devices. Logout when you're done. 
13. Don't share your login with anyone. 
14. Don't let your browser store your logins. 
15. Change your password once a month - more frequently if you see people trying to access your admin account. 
16. Don't store your login/password anywhere online.
17. If you can avoid it, don't post to your site using a mobile device. Turn off that option.
18. Be careful how you set up your FTP accounts.
19. If your hosting allows it, use an .htaccess file to block suspect IP addresses and web spiders you don't trust.

Note that blocking an individual IP address is not the most effective way to prevent problems, particularly if that's all you've been doing for protection. Many (if not all) hackers don't use their own IP addresses, and use one of the hundreds of proxy sites which assign random IP addresses. That means you could block thousands of IPs that don't necessarily belong to an actual hacker. Using other methods will provide more protection than just blocking a bunch of IP address, or even a range of IPs.  So yes, you can block the IPs, but one shouldn't count on just that  to do the trick.

posted by J. Gracey Stinson

The AdSense PIN Process

What is the AdSense PIN, and Why is it Needed?

The AdSense PIN is a unique identification number issued to every publisher in their advertising network. The PIN is issued on a folded postcard that is sealed along the bottom, and mailed to your home address (the address used when you signed up for Adsense).

The purpose of the PIN is to verify your address, or in other words, to prove to AdSense that you live where you say you live.  When you sign up, you have to give the address of your residence - your home, or apartment, and the address includes your street address (or PO Box) and your country and postal code. While you can change your street address if you move, you cannot change change your country so when you sign up, you must be sure to give your correct country.

We've seen several problems when people try to sign up using some fictitious address in a different country because they think it will be easier to get approved. This usually doesn't work. Most of the time the application is rejected for incorrect information, but in the few cases where it has worked (usually when they have someone located in that country do the signup), when it comes time to get paid, they cannot receive a payment. To get your payment, it must be issued to the same country location as your address. These people end up being stuck with no way to get their payments.

No, you can't just change the country and address to receive the payment. The country can't be changed.

This is one of the purposes of the PIN. Sure, the PIN might be issued to the fictitious address, but the publisher would never receive it. If they used a friend or family member's address in a different country, the friend/family member might be able to get the PIN and give the publisher the PIN number to enter into their account.

While that might work to verify the address, come payment time ... the publisher won't receive his or her payment. If you use EFT or Wire Transfer (the majority of accounts now use this option) the bank account you have your earnings issued to must be your own - using your own name. It must also be located in the country where your address is. If you live in India but have a UK address in your AdSense account, then you need a bank account in the UK.

Most countries won't allow you to open a bank account if you don't reside in that country, and you usually need some sort of photo-ID and/or government ID to open a bank account.

So, the result is that you will save yourself a lot of trouble if you just use your own address in the first place.

When is the PIN Issued

In most countries, the PIN threshold is around $10US or the equivalent in local currency.  What may be confusing for some is the fact that this threshold is the value of "verified" earnings, and not estimated earnings.

AdSense used to send the PIN once estimated earnings reached $10, but haven't been doing that for some time now. Once your Payments page has a total of verified earnings at or over the $10 required threshold, the PIN would usually be issued with a week or so of that amount showing up on your Payment page.

You'll know when they've issued your first PIN - there will be a red notice in your AdSense account telling you that your payments are on hold until you enter your PIN. The PIN is sent out in the regular mail services, so it's no different than if you bought a postcard, stuck a stamp on it and dropped it off at the post office to be sent out to someone else. Adsense does the same thing (not literally).

How Long Does it Take

Once they stick it in the mail, how long it takes to get to your home address depends entirely on the mail services. AdSense has no control over how long the postal service takes to deliver it, nor even whether it gets delivered at all. If the postal service loses it, or delivers it to the wrong address, the publisher might not get the first PIN at all.

You can request a second PIN about 4 weeks after the first one had been issued. If you don't get that, you get one more opportunity to request your PIN (again about 4 weeks after the second was issued). If you don't get your third PIN ... is it "3 strikes, you're OUT!!!" ?

No - don't get excited. There is still a way to verify your address. About 4 weeks after you request the third PIN if you haven't entered a PIN into your AdSense account, AdSense will ask you to submit documentation to prove your address. This option will appear in your Adsense account, with a link so you can upload documents. What you'll need is an official document or two that shows your name and address - a passport if it shows your address (not all passports show an address in text); a government issued identification card; a driver's license; sometimes they'll accept a utility or tax bill. If you aren't sure which is best, it wouldn't hurt to submit two documents.

What if My Payments are on Hold?

Once you enter your PIN, the payment hold would be lifted within a few days (if not immediately), but you may not receive your payment immediately. It will depend on the payment system you are on, and how long you've been at the payment threshold waiting for your PIN, and whether or not you have other payment holds (ie: entering your tax info, setting up a payment method).

In some cases, those at or past the threshold who have been waiting through several payment cycles may see their payments issued within a few days, and those who only got to the payment threshold will probably see their payment issued during the upcoming payment cycle.

If you aren't using EFT or Wire Transfer then you would not receive payment until the next payment cycle.

What if I enter my PIN wrong 3 Times?

I used find it hard to believe that any one could accidentally enter the number wrong 3 times in a row, but considering how many people use mobile devices to access their accounts, it is a lot easier to make that mistake than it used to be.

If you enter your PIN wrong 3 times, you are likely to find yourself locked out of your account. For this, you would need to use the PIN troubleshooter to contact AdSense for help.

If you are don't receive any response at all from the troubleshooter, as a last resort, you can ask for help in the AdSense help forum.

posted by J. Gracey Stinson