Earning with ads: AdSense, ads.txt and consent
Ads can pay some of your site's bills, but only after Google approves the site, and only if visitors don't leave because of them. This lesson walks you through getting Mangrove Kitchen ready, applying, publishing ads.txt, handling consent and getting paid.
By the end you can
- Explain how display ads earn money and why small sites often earn little
- Prepare a site for review: content, About, Contact and Privacy pages
- Apply for AdSense, verify the site and publish ads.txt
- Set up a consent message for visitors in Europe and the UK
- Place ads safely and know how payment works
The everyday picture
Think of a busy bus stop with an empty billboard. An advertising agency will rent the space, but first they check the stop is real, people pass it, and the area is safe for their clients' brands. They pay by how many people see the poster. If you cover the bus timetable with posters, people stop using the stop, and the money stops too.
Your site is the bus stop. Google is the agency, your visitors are the people walking past, and the timetable is your content.
How ads pay, and what Google checks
With AdSense, Google runs an auction each time a page with an ad slot loads. Advertisers bid, the winning ad shows, and you get a share. Most money comes from views and clicks, summed up as RPM.
RPM depends on where visitors live, what the page is about and the season. Many small sites earn only a few dollars a month at first, so treat ads as a bonus that grows with traffic.
Before you apply, check what Google's review looks for:
- Original, useful content, enough of it that a visitor could spend a while. A handful of pages is often called "low value content".
- About, Contact and Privacy pages. The privacy page says you use cookies for analytics and ads, and that Google is a third party that does so.
- Easy navigation: a menu, working links, no "coming soon" pages.
- A site you own, on your own domain (rg-01), and an account holder who is 18 or older.
Quick check
A site with 6 short pages and no privacy page applies for AdSense. What is the most likely outcome?
Thin content and missing policy pages are common reasons for a rejection. There is no fixed traffic number, so waiting for 1,000 visits a day is not the rule; useful content is.