Part 2 of the ‘Blog Monetization’ series. ← Previous: Two Ways to Monetize a Blog
Summary
- Monetization starts with the foundation, not the apply button. Both AdSense approval and affiliate trust hinge on it.
- Four things to have: HTTPS · content worth reading · essential pages (privacy, contact, about) · ads.txt.
- Without these, AdSense usually rejects you. With them, review goes smoothly.
- It is not about money or tools — it is the basics of trust.
Why the Foundation Comes First
AdSense review is a trust check: “is this site safe to put ads on?” An empty shell, or a site with no policy pages, fails that check.
Affiliates are the same. Visitors must trust your recommendation before they click. The foundation is the floor that trust stands on — like a building’s footing, you lay it before anything goes on top.
Foundation 1 — HTTPS and Domain
HTTPS is not optional. Sites without a secure connection (HTTP) are rejected outright by AdSense.
These days your host or Cloudflare installs a free certificate, so it is easy. If you see the padlock in the address bar, you are set.
A domain age of three to six months is said to help, but strong content passes on new domains too. Content beats age.
Foundation 2 — Content Worth Reading
Ads or affiliates only work if people actually come and read. Copied or mass AI-generated posts get filtered out in review.
The bar is quality, not volume. The common “10–15 posts, 800+ words each” is a rule of thumb, not an official number.
What matters is one topic genuinely dug into. A post that just re-summarizes what is already searchable has little value.
Foundation 3 — Essential Pages
Privacy policy, contact, and about pages are your trust card. The privacy policy in particular is required by AdSense.
- Privacy policy — required, since ads handle data through cookies. Start from a generator, then adapt it to your case.
- Contact — a way to reach the operator. Even a single email line works.
- About — who runs this blog and why. The first impression of trust.
Foundation 4 — ads.txt
ads.txt is a list of who is allowed to sell your ad inventory. It acts as a gatekeeper, blocking impostor ads and protecting your revenue.
Put it as a text file at the site root (sticknstone.org/ads.txt). After approval, paste the one line Google gives you.
You can apply without it, but after approval you must add it to clear the “unauthorized seller” warning.
Pre-Application Checklist
When all of these are checked, you are ready to apply for AdSense.
- [ ] Padlock in the address bar (HTTPS)
- [ ] Enough original posts
- [ ] Privacy, contact, and about pages
- [ ] A clean menu (visitors do not get lost)
- [ ] (after approval) ads.txt
The next part covers applying for AdSense and getting approved on this foundation.
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