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My view after six years and more than 100 approved domains
I have run AdSense for six years, from 2020 to 2026. More than 100 of my domains have received AdSense approval. I have repeatedly built websites, gained approval, and operated them, watching the approval environment change firsthand.
My message today is clear: do not fall for claims about an 'AdSense approval method.' Many articles and videos present methods that worked in the past as secrets that still work today. The reality I am experiencing in 2026 is entirely different.
This article is based on what I have personally experienced and observed. Instead of spending your time looking for a quick approval recipe, take a serious look at what you need to build now.
Since June 2026, approval has felt almost blocked
From what I have seen, AdSense approval became progressively harder starting in January 2026. Since June, it has felt like more than a higher hurdle: it has felt almost blocked. Trying to explain today's situation using past approval experience does not match the reality.
As of October 8, 2026, I have not encountered a credible recent AdSense approval report. I did see one online claim of approval, but I cannot verify the actual approval record, so I do not believe that claim.
The important question is not who was approved using which method in the past. It is whether that method actually works now. Do not mistake a past success story for a current approval secret.
Do not trust claims that policy pages or tools alone will get you approved
'Add a privacy policy, terms, and contact page to improve your approval chances.' 'Build a tool-based website instead of a blog for easier approval.' These claims sound plausible. During the first half of 2026, advice like this did broadly align with my experience.
Since June 2026, however, I have seen even these approaches stop working. Adding the relevant pages, improving the design, and providing tools have not led to approval. The claim that changing the website format solves the problem does not reflect the situation I see today.
Policy pages and a way to contact the operator are basic preparations for running a website. Do not treat them as a special approval secret. Dressing up a website without meaningful content or value for visitors achieves nothing.
Google's rejection guidance also asks publishers to review original, substantial content and the value offered to users. Focus on raising the quality of the website itself, not on tricks involving a few extra pages.
Abandon the strategy of mass-producing long articles with AI
AI has made it possible for anyone to mass-produce spam-like articles. Adding titles and subheadings, increasing the word count, and making a page resemble an informational article are no longer difficult. Repeating yesterday's strategy is not enough to survive this flood of content.
Here is my hypothesis: Google sees this mass-produced content as undermining the AdSense ecosystem and is moving toward identifying genuinely high-quality websites. I think the change I have experienced in approval fits that pattern.
AdSense eligibility requirements call for high-quality, original content. Google Search guidance also addresses AI-generated content produced at scale without adding value for users. The ability to offer something unavailable elsewhere matters more than the ability to produce more articles.
Mass-producing long informational articles with a convincing format achieves nothing by itself. Do not stop at rearranging information supplied by AI. Without your own experience and verification, you are producing articles anyone else can make.
Build high-quality content from firsthand experience for at least a year
What should you do instead? My recommendation is to combine genuinely high-quality informational articles with firsthand experience AI cannot live through, and operate that website consistently for at least a year. Do not begin with a quick approval deadline. Start by building experience and expertise in one field.
AI cannot work in the field or make mistakes on your behalf. Record what failed during your work, which conditions changed the outcome, and how you solved the problem. Show evidence you collected yourself, such as original photos, your process, and before-and-after comparisons.
For an article on website performance, do not merely list common optimization tips. Show the actual site's problem, technical environment, changes you made, and measurements before and after the work. Accumulated experience produces articles only you can write.
Instead of repeatedly switching domains and subjects after rejection, go deeper into one field. Build a website readers return to. Keeping the same content while changing the appearance and submitting again is not a solution.
For YMYL topics, demonstrate why readers should trust you
YMYL refers to subjects such as health, law, taxation, and finances that significantly affect people's lives or money. It stands for 'Your Money or Your Life'. For these topics, who wrote the article matters as much as what it says.
If you explain health professionally, demonstrate that you are a doctor; if you discuss law, show that you are a lawyer; if you explain taxes, show your qualifications and experience as a tax professional. Give readers a clear reason to trust your explanation. A profile that merely sounds professional is not enough.
Abandon the idea that you can invent a background or qualifications. We live in the age of AI. Do not assume that you can fool it. Trust comes from consistency between your real qualifications, career, activity records, and the content you publish.
If becoming a doctor, lawyer, legal documentation specialist, or tax professional is not a practical path for you, consider relevant qualifications and hands-on experience in a field that suits your direction, such as nursing, administrative services, or insurance. Start by showing what you have actually done and learned within your professional area.
Would doctors, lawyers, and tax professionals pursue AdSense earnings?
Would established YMYL experts such as doctors, lawyers, and tax professionals explain their subjects and place AdSense ads on those articles to earn money? I think this is where you should start. They have a much more direct revenue model than waiting for ad clicks: selling their own services.
Imagine a doctor publishing health information, a lawyer explaining legal matters, or a tax professional writing about taxes and placing AdSense ads on those articles. The ads can feature a competing clinic, another lawyer, or another tax professional. They have attracted readers through their own expertise, only to help those readers purchase a competitor's services.
In my view, building trust through useful articles and connecting readers to their own consultations, treatment, or professional engagements is a better route to pursuing earnings several times greater than ad revenue. That is why established experts tend to build websites around selling their own services rather than treating AdSense as their main business model. They have little reason to promote competitors in exchange for advertising income.
So who is AdSense suitable for? Someone who genuinely understands the field and can explain it, but can build greater advertising revenue from their content than they would earn by selling their own services. Look beyond the name of a qualification and examine both your expertise and your service revenue model.
Consider nurses and insurance professionals with knowledge of health or insurance, or administrative specialists experienced in administrative and legal procedures. Among people with this practical knowledge, those who can earn more by distributing expert content widely and monetizing it with ads than by selling their own services have a strong reason to consider AdSense.
The world is harsh. That is the reality. If someone in your subject has greater expertise and higher-priced services, your role can be to attract visitors through content, promote that person's services, and receive advertising income. Look honestly at where your own revenue model sits.
But do not be discouraged. Add marketing ability to expertise and the picture changes. By understanding what readers want and attracting a large audience through search and content, you can build an AdSense business that earns more than a doctor or lawyer. Expertise is the starting point; how widely you communicate it changes the scale of your income.
If you are not an expert yet, document how you are learning
In the age of AI, sources and author credibility have become even more important. Examine the expertise you already have. If you have none, develop it first. Replace time spent looking for secrets with time spent learning and gaining firsthand experience.
You do not need to pretend to be an established expert from the start. Write about the field you chose, what you are learning, the qualifications you are preparing for, and what you have actually tried. The process of finding and developing expertise becomes content that belongs to you.
- Explain honestly what you are learning and why you chose the subject.
- Record the conditions, process, results, and mistakes from work you have actually done.
- Show how you are developing expertise through qualification preparation, practical experience, and work results.
- Update older articles when circumstances change and answer readers' questions.
- Record sources and verification dates, and build content that genuinely helps visitors.
Forget one-click income and develop your expertise first
After six years running AdSense and more than 100 approved domains, my conclusion is clear: the era of meeting superficial requirements, mass-producing articles, and getting approved quickly is over. Abandon the expectation that those days will return.
Let go of the idea of earning money with a few clicks. Before repeatedly following tricks labeled 'approval methods,' work and learn in one field until you become someone readers can trust.
Find your expertise, develop it if you lack it, and document the process. Build a website shaped by your own experience and expertise, not an imitation of an AdSense approval recipe. That is where you should invest your time now.