A Computer / Tech Blog Is Not A Good AdSense Host

Some blog owners do not understand why ads do not display, on their blogs.

We see a frequent complaint, in AdSense Help Forum: Blogger, YouTube, Partner sites.

I installed ads to my blog - but the ads are not showing. It has been several months already - and I have received no feedback, from AdSense.

Too frequently, the blogs in question turn out to be computer / tech blogs - many offering free downloads of various commercial products.

Many computer / tech blogs do not get AdSense ads, even if approved - for several good reasons.

• Too many blogs, applying for AdSense, are tech blogs.
• Too many tech blogs copy content from other blogs and websites.
• Too many tech blogs offer downloads, and provide possible copyright violations.

Too many blogs, applying for AdSense, are tech blogs.

There's no market for more tech blogs, because there are too many tech blogs, already.

AdSense puts ads on blogs and websites that are relevant to the product being advertised. Relevant blogs and websites bring relevant traffic - and customers - to the ads displayed, and sell more product.

To get ads, a blog needs informative, interesting, and unique content. With the marketplace for tech blogs saturated, it is unlikely that any relevant blog will have content that is significantly more informative, interesting, and unique than the general population.

Even if approved to host ads, that does not guarantee that any blog will show ads at any time - or on all pages. Ads are placed when available, on the best blogs to host them.

Too many tech blogs copy content from other blogs and websites.

Content copied from other blogs and websites produces little traffic - and sells less product.

AdSense is going to put ads on blogs and websites with unique content, because blogs and websites with unique content get more traffic. And blogs and websites with more traffic sell more product.

Too many tech blogs offer downloads, and provide possible copyright violations.

AdSense won't put ads on blogs and websites which present possible DMCA violations. There is no system, right now, to identify what content, offered for download, is being offered by the content producer - so downloadable content, in general, is suspicious.

If AdSense was to place ads on a blog which offers downloads as significant portions of blog content, they would be placing Google in potential legal jeopardy, for content which is a problem with DMCA action.

The bottom line.

In short, if you publish a computer / tech blog, you may have to come up with an imaginative twist to your content, if you hope to host AdSense content.

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Some owners of #Blogger blogs which deal with computer / technical subjects don't understand why their blogs - even having been approved for #AdSense ads - don't show ad content. They don't understand that ads are not always available, for all approved blogs.

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With AdSense, Ads Are Not Based On The Minimum

One sign of confusion, in AdSense Help Forum: Blogger / Host Partners, involves new blog publishers, who want to immediately add ads, after starting their blogs - and need reassurance, about how soon they will be seeing income.

What is the actual qualification level, for AdSense?

This is a question, from somebody who probably does not understand the AdSense approval process.

If AdSense is run properly, final approval is not based on any fixed minimum. There are too many different blog / website subjects, and advertising targets, to have a consistent minimum across all product lines.

I've seen too many blogs with very little content - significantly below the often stated "minimum" of 50 posts, 100 - 200 words / post, showing ads - to believe that there really is one common minimum qualification level.

Some of the experienced helpers in the forum seem to suggest a very restrictive "qualification level".

100 posts, 500 to 1,000 words / post.

There are more blogs that will never get ads - even after being given approval.

Qualification is based on supply vs demand, for each blog subject.

My suspicion is that the qualification level is based on what ads are being sold (by the ad managers) vs what blogs and websites are being offered for ads (by the owners).

It would make no sense to qualify a blog about automobiles, based on current standards for selling ads about bicycles.

• At any time, these may be more blogs about bicycles, than about automobiles.
• Automobiles cost more than bicycles, so it's likely that one automobile ad click is worth more than one bicycle ad click.
• Next month, there may be more advertisers selling ads about bicycles (in San Francisco), than about automobiles (in Los Angeles).

Approval is based on blog and post size - ads are sold, based on a variety of details.



Qualification is based on a combination of details.

At minimum, I would bet eligibility for ads is based on a combination of metrics - including current demand.

• Post count.
• Post length.
• Post subject.
• Blog language.
• Blog location.
• Demand for ads of a given language, location, and subject.

If a given ad manager is prepared to pay for 5 blogs about automobiles in Los Angeles, the best 5 blogs, based on current metrics, will be "qualified". This week, some blogs with 50 posts may be chosen to host ads.

Next month, with the Tour de France scheduled for San Francisco, there will be more market for ads about bicycles there. With more ad managers paying for ads about bicycles in San Francisco, blogs about automobiles in Los Angeles will have less demand.

Automotive blogs may be chosen based on 75 posts / blog and 200 words average / post - and some blogs about bicycling in San Francisco, being more in demand, may be chosen with 25 posts / blog and 100 words average / post.

Work on your blog more - and your blog will host ads sooner.

To anybody asking

What post count, post length, traffic level is required, for qualification?

I would suggest a different approach.

Work on your blog - and don't spend time asking about qualification level.

What you need, to make serious bucks, is going to be more that mere qualification level. And ad managers want to pay for ads hosted on blogs that will be in business longer, and deliver relevant traffic consistently - because that's where more paying customers originate.

And blogs that make more money have owners who are better motivated to publish more - and stay in business longer.

Better / more content --> More earnings --> Better future --> Preferred for ads

That's your qualification levels.

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Some #Blogger blog owners want to host AdSense ads on their blogs - with their blogs immature, and lacking content. They ask about qualification levels, rather than look at how valuable their blog may be (or not) for hosting ads of a given subject.

They ignore the concept of supply and demand - even though that's very likely as important as blog subject - or size.

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Is Affiliate Marketing Allowed, In Blogger?

Anxious blog owners ask the question periodically, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.

Is affiliate marketing allowed, in Blogger?

And the truth is that there is no prohibition against affiliate marketing, by name.

If the blog content is legal, you can do anything. The question is, can you make a Blogger blog, and use affiliate marketing, and not run afoul of Spam and TOS guidelines?

A description of "affiliate marketing" - or maybe the problems involved - would be a good place to start.

Affiliate marketing networks consist of blogs and websites, linked through ads. The reader, who clicks on an ad in a blog, is redirected to another affiliate blog - randomly selected by the redirector.

Blogger blogs need informative and interesting content, to attract traffic.

A blog, to successfully host ads, needs its own unique content, that both

• Is interesting or informative, to your readers - and to the search engines.
• Is relevant to the nature of the products advertised.

Too many blogs that involve affiliate marketing depend upon the affiliate relationship to both provide traffic to, and reward for ads hosted on, the blog. That's where the problem starts.

Ads need to be relevant to subject of the posts - and to the readers.

When you have a network of affiliate blogs and websites, where the only thing common between the blogs and websites is the affiliate relationship, the problem becomes worse.

Blogs that host ads, that are not relevant to the content of the blog, or to the interests of the readers, are considered spam hosts.

As an example, AdSense is a contextual service. AdSense ads are chosen according to content of the posts.

Non contextual ads still need to be relevant to the post content - and this may not be the case, with affiliate ads.

Ads that link blogs with illegal content can also use affiliate techniques.

Some blogs with illegal content can also link to similar blogs. In this case, all blogs are detected, and deleted.

Bookmakers setup blogs which focus on various gambling activities, like sports betting.



Bookmaking is a popular blog topic - and bookmakers have been known to setup affiliate networks - which can be deleted when detected.

Network membership does not provide content - it links to content.

Affiliate marketing network membership, by itself, does not provide content - and blog readers are not cattle, to be shifted from blog to blog, randomly.

If a reader clicks on a link, he expects to be taken to another blog with relevant or similar content, with complementary information - not just complementary ads. Ads are not content - they are, at best, decorations.

Both Blogger Content - and Google Terms Of Service contain details.

If you publish a blog and intend to include affiliate networking, stay well within the limits, described in Content and TOS. If you cross the line, you may not get a warning, in time to save your blog.

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Some #Blogger blog owners join affiliate marketing networks, to both gain traffic and get paid for providing traffic. They do not care that their readers, clicking on an affiliate ad, may wind up on another blog or website with completely different content - but the same ads.

The affiliate network both compensates for the clicks by the readers, and transports the readers randomly, from blog to blog. To an affiliate redirector, one blog is as good as another - and this makes the affiliate links spam.

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Blogger Blogs Cannot Be Used As Gateways

We see evidence of confusion, from time to time, in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?.

How do I move an established blog to WordPress (or any other platform), while retaining the history, reader interest, search engine reputation?

Some blog owners think blog readers are cattle (to be herded from blog to blog) - or monkeys (to be attracted by shiny things).

We've known for some time, that Blogger blogs cannot be used as gateways, with traffic automatically redirected from one blog to another - or from a blog to a non Google website. Use of traffic redirection scripts is a known cause of blogs classified as malware hosts.

If you wish to relocate a Blogger blog in another hosting service, you can always publish your Blogger blog, and a non Google blog / website, as dual hosts, in a non BlogSpot domain.

With your Blogger blog and non Blogger website published to the same domain, you can then combine the two, dynamically. Just remember to add unique content to each, periodically, to retain search engine reputation.

1. Publish your Blogger blog to a host in your custom domain.
2. Publish your WordPress (or any other platform) blog to a host in your custom domain.
3. Combine the two blogs.
4. Let your readers access either blog, as their choice.
5. Update both blogs, to retain search engine reputation, regularly.
6. When the WordPress (or any other platform) blog receives enough reputation and traffic, make the Blogger blog into a stub blog.

Just don't build a maze of blogs and web sites - and don't waste time or money artificially developing traffic. Blogger blog readers are attracted by interesting, unique, and useful content - and are retained by new content, added periodically.

And don't try adding clever code, to shuffle your readers from one blog to another. That could make your blog look like one member in a well planned spam blog farm - and leave you reporting

Help! Blogger just deleted my blog!!

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