How I Got My First Google AdSense Approval in 2021: A Step-by-Step Journey

Getting approved by Google AdSense was a milestone that took me from uncertainty to excitement. It was early 2021 when I finally received that email saying my website was approved. But the road to approval wasn’t straightforward. It took a lot of patience, trial and error, and learning from mistakes along the way. Let me share my journey with you – how I went from a total beginner to receiving my first payment in my bank account.

The First Step: Finding My Niche and Building a Website

I first came across Google AdSense back in 2020 while searching on YouTube for ways to make money online. The skill I had was building websites, so naturally, I wanted to know how I could make money from them. After watching a video about AdSense, I was convinced it was worth pursuing. My first website focused on hosting services, but it didn’t gain the traction I expected. My second project was about uploading videos, but again, without the right audience, it didn’t succeed. It was only with my third website, which focused on educational content, that things started to click.

Taking Time Before Applying

The most important lesson I learned early on was the need to focus on creating quality content before even thinking about applying for AdSense. I made sure my website was user-friendly, easy to navigate, and that it had essential pages like “Contact Us” and “Terms and Conditions.” It’s tempting to apply for AdSense right away, but patience is key. Google wants to see that your website has real, valuable content and that you’ve spent time promoting it before you even think about monetizing.

Promoting My Website and Gaining Traffic

Getting traffic was another big challenge. I wasn’t very familiar with the best strategies, so I turned to Facebook groups and WhatsApp. I joined groups related to my website’s niche and started sharing my link there. I also used my WhatsApp status to share updates, driving traffic to my site. Initially, I didn’t see much traffic, but over time, I started to understand what kind of content people were engaging with, and I focused on producing more of that.

Getting the Email: The First AdSense Approval

Fast forward to early 2021 – after months of hard work, I finally applied for Google AdSense. I’ll be honest – I didn’t have the highest hopes. I wasn’t sure whether my website would meet their standards, but I gave it a shot. To my surprise, I got approved in March or April. The email came in, and I was so happy! I couldn’t believe it – after all the effort and learning, I had finally made it. I celebrated by myself because, at the time, not many people around me understood what I was doing.

Seeing the First Payment: The Ultimate Validation

Getting my first AdSense payment was even more thrilling. It didn’t happen immediately after approval, but by August 2021, the money hit my bank account. I screamed in joy – I had finally proven to myself that this whole online money-making thing was real. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make me believe in the process. For someone like me, especially as a South African who had doubts about making money online, seeing that money in my account was a huge validation.

Key Takeaways from My Journey

Looking back, I realize that the key to my success was persistence. Google AdSense didn’t come easy, but the process taught me valuable lessons about website building, traffic generation, and content creation. So, if you’re just starting out with AdSense, my advice is to be patient, focus on quality content, and don’t rush the process. Getting AdSense approval is possible, but it takes time, effort, and, most importantly, believing in what you’re doing.