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Easily link your AdSense account and start earning money on YouTube
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Do you want to link AdSense to your YouTube account? In order to earn money on YouTube , you need to monetize your YouTube channel. Linking a verified AdSense account is a crucial step in the process. AdSense is how you get paid on YouTube. In order to link your AdSense account to your YouTube channel, your channel needs to qualify for monetization. This wikiHow article teaches you how to link your AdSense account to your YouTube account.
Things You Should Know
- You need 4000 public watch hours and 1000 subscribers to qualify for YouTube monetization.
- You can only have one AdSense account per payee name.
- You can link multiple YouTube channels to a single AdSense account.
Steps
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Open YouTube in your browser. Type or paste https://www.youtube.com into the address bar, and press Enter or Return on your keyboard.
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Click your profile picture on the top-right. The thumbnail of your picture in the upper-right corner of the page will open a drop-down menu.
- If you're not automatically logged in to your channel, click the blue SIGN IN button on the top-right, and sign in.
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Click the YouTube Studio . It's the second option in the drop-down menu. This opens YouTube Studio where you can manage your YouTube channel.
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Click Monetization . It's in the menu to the left. This will display a page that lists the qualifications. If you will meet the qualifications, you will see a checkmark next to each of the listed qualifications. If all options are not checked, you will not be able to monetize your channel. The qualifications are as follows:
- 1000 subscribers to your channel.
- 4000 total watch hours.
- Enable 2-Step verification on your account.
- Have no active Community Guideline strikes.
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Click Apply Now . If you meet the qualifications for monetization, there will be a blue button at the bottom that allows you to apply for monetization.
- Warning: Do not try to game the system in order to meet the monetization qualifications. If YouTube suspects you are subscribing to other channels in exchange for subscriptions to your own channel (sub4sub) or watching other videos in exchange for views (view4view), your application may be denied. [1] X Research source
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Click START on the "Review Partner Program terms" card. It's the first card at the top of the page. This displays the Partner Program terms and conditions.
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Accept the YouTube Partners Program terms. To do so, read through the agreement and click the checkbox next to "I accept the YouTube Partner Program terms." Then click the button that says Accept terms .
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Click START on the "Sign Up for AdSense" card. After completing the first step of monetization, you'll be able to link your existing AdSense account or create a new one in the second step.
- You may be asked to sign in to your YouTube account again. If prompted, enter the email address and password associated with your YouTube account.
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Select if you have an existing AdSense account and click Continue . Use the drop-down menu on the card to select one of the following options, and then click Continue in the lower-right corner of the card: [2] X Research source
- Yes, I already have an account — Select this option if you already have a Google account with an associated AdSense account. You will be prompted to select or sign in to a Google account that has an associated AdSense account. You can link more than one YouTube channel to a single AdSense account.
- No, I don't have an existing account — Select this option if you do not have an existing AdSense account. You will be redirected to the page where you can create an AdSense account. You will be required to provide some personal information, including your name, address, and tax information. The process can take up to 30 days, and Google will mail you forms that need to be filled out during the process. Make sure you enter your information correctly. Do not select this option if you already have an AdSense account.
- I don't know — Select this option if you do not know if you have an existing AdSense account. You can only have one AdSense account under the same payee name. If you're not sure if you have an AdSense account, select this option. Signing up for a new AdSense account when you already have one can delay the approval process [3] X Research source
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Wait for your channel to go through the review process. Once you have an AdSense account verified and linked to your YouTube channel, YouTube will review your channel to make sure it complies with YouTube's monetization policy. This can take 10 to 15 days. You will receive an email from YouTube once they reach a decision. You can check on the progress of your channel monetization as well as the AdSense approval process by clicking Monetization in YouTube Studio.
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Open YouTube in your internet browser. Type or paste https://www.youtube.com into the address bar, and press Enter or Return on your keyboard.
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Click your profile picture on the top-right. The thumbnail of your picture in the upper-right corner of the page will open a drop-down menu.
- If you're not automatically logged in to your channel, click the blue SIGN IN button on the top-right, and sign in.
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Click the YouTube Studio . It's the second option in the drop-down menu. This opens YouTube Studio where you can manage your YouTube channel.
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Click Content . It's the first option in the menu to the left. This displays a list of all your videos.
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Click the checkbox next to all videos you want to monetize. The checkbox is to the left of all listed videos. Check any and all videos you want to monetize.
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Click Edit . It's in the menu bar at the top of the list of videos. This displays a drop-down menu
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Click Monetization . It's in the drop-down menu that appears when you click "Edit" in the menu bar at the top. This displays another drop-down menu above the list of videos.
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Select On . Use the Monetization drop-down menu at the top of the page to select On .
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Click Update Videos . It's above the list of videos in the upper-right corner. This displays a pop-up dialogue box.
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Click the checkbox next to “I understand the consequences of this action." It's at the bottom of the dialogue box that appears when you click "Update Videos".
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Click Update Videos . This updates and monetizes all the videos you selected.
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Join the Discussion...
Hey ya’ll! I’m curious about how people actually make money on YouTube. I’ve been thinking about starting a channel myself to try and earn some side gig money, but I don’t actually know the mechanics behind how that works. Is it like a views thing where videos make money at a certain threshold? Or is it a subscribers thing? Basically, how would I go about making money on YouTube?
My biggest advice to anyone starting a YouTube channel is to pick a niche
. That could be lifestyle, travel, food, parenting, etc. A lot of niches have overlap with other niches, so don't ever feel like because you picked food, now you're stuck making content in the kitchen. You could go to restaurants or travel and do travel content while you're exploring your main base, which is food content.
Then make sure you:
To make money on YouTube, there are a couple of different avenues:
Use affiliate marketing. This would be linking things like your equipment or materials that you’re using in your videos through Amazon, Like To Know It, or a similar program, that people can shop through, and you’ll get a small kickback. This is great because people are always looking for reputable reviews on what to buy, and because you're building trust and engagement with your audience, they’ll be more inclined to utilize your affiliate marketing links.
Offer memberships and exclusive content. Instagram has exclusive content that you can hide behind a paywall, as well as sites like Patreon or Substack. This is great for your tried and true fans. When they love what you're posting, and they want more of you. Typically, people are charging anywhere between $5-$20 or more a month. And this is a great way to really dive deeper into your niche and really build strong relationships with your core fan base or core followers.
Sell merch or special services on YouTube Shopping or third-party sites. That can be tricky because it's a lot of overhead, and you never really know what people are going to respond to. T-shirts are always popular, koozies, stuff like that. But to be honest, not everyone is going to like want to wear you across their chest or on their hat. So, just be picky about what kind of merchandise you want to sell.
And then just be patient and adapt . Making money on YouTube takes time, so stay consistent and adjust your strategy based on how your analytics are looking.
Then make sure you:
- Upload videos on a regular basis to help build an audience. That's just because posting consistently allows your audience to build trust, so they know exactly when and where to find you. It also helps with algorithms. So, if you're consistently posting, for example, on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. or Sundays around dinner time, people are always going to know when and where to find you.
- Optimize for SEO. So before, SEO was only words, right? You had to have keywords in your bio and in your video titles and descriptions, and you should still include keywords there. But when you're thinking about short-form video, sound is now a part of search. So you want to make sure that you're utilizing trending sounds. That way, you can be found when people are utilizing those sounds.
- Community management and engagement are always going to be really popular – that's engaging with your followers and people within your niche and community who are making and engaging with content that you're making as well.
- Share your videos on other platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X to attract more viewers. Cross-promoting is always great, but it can also be a little tricky because content may not translate as well on different platforms, and your audience may be looking for a different content style on different platforms.
- Watch what's trending and create content around those trending topics to get more visibility. Those are always great because it's what everyone is doing. You don't have to hop on every trend because it might not make sense for your style or your content, but it doesn't hurt to stay in the know about what's happening. And then being patient, you've got to be in it for the love of the game and not for the numbers.
To make money on YouTube, there are a couple of different avenues:
And then just be patient and adapt . Making money on YouTube takes time, so stay consistent and adjust your strategy based on how your analytics are looking.
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Community Q&A
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QuestionWhy won't YouTube allow me to link my AdSense account?Community AnswerIt could be that you are underage. If that's not the case, phone verification could also be your issue. Before adding ads to your video and making money off of videos, you need to turn in a lot of legal documents. If you haven't gone through that process yet, I will tell you that is 100% the reason why. If you are under 18, you will have to get your parents' permission to use AdSense.
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QuestionHow much time is required for approval?Community AnswerIt typically takes about a week.
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QuestionWhat should I do if I can't move beyond the second step of linking AdSense?Community AnswerI faced the same issue and was able to correct the problem by downloading the newest version of the browser.
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About This Article
Article Summary
X
1. Sign in at https://studio.youtube.com/
in a web browser.
2. Click Monetization
in the menu to the left.
3. Click Apply Now
if you meet the qualifications.
4. Click START
in the "Review Partner Program terms" card.
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Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 315,294 times.
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"It is very helpful. Good to use."
