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AdSense Tip :: PIN Google Down

Posted February 1st, 2007 by Wendy Piersall

A little while ago, I reached an advertising milestone - my AdSense earnings went above $100, the first threshold for payment. Wow. (Don’t all gasp at once!!)

Soon thereafter, AdSense simply stopped working - they refused to serve up any new ads on my site. There was a little note on the admin panel stating

“Your pages are displaying Public Service Advertisements (PSAs) because you have not verified your contact information”

But when I clicked on it, it took me to a completely uninformative page that didn’t give me ANY clue as to what to do to get my ads back up and running.

For a week or so, I just blew it off - I make so little on AdSense that it wasn’t a priority. But I finally caved and shot Robyn Tippins an email asking her advice. She mentioned that I probably didn’t enter in the PIN that Google snail-mailed me :: and also said that it was likely I never even recieved the PIN in the first place.

She was right. In fact, even the Big Guy had a hard time getting his PIN.

So if you are using AdSense, here’s my tip. As soon as you have hit $50 or so in earnings, do the following:

  • Login to your Google AdSense Account
  • Click on the My Account tab
  • Click on Payment History
  • There is a box in the middle of the page for “Required Actions“
  • There you will find the info to request your snail mail PIN

This PIN takes 2-3 weeks to arrive - by the time I procrastinated, figured out the problem, requested “another” PIN, and finally received aforementioned PIN, my ads were down for nearly a month.

THAT actually took a bite out of my earnings.

In other words, go get that PIN now. :)

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 1st, 2007 at 7:16 am and is filed under Online Marketing, Blogging. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will be moderated but will appear as soon as humanly possible.

6 Comments on “AdSense Tip :: PIN Google Down”

  1. Char Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 8:37 am

    Great advice Wendy. Here is another piece of advice. Get the first Google check via Snail Mail - that way you can copy it and frame it for nostalgia’s sake. THEN immediately change to direct deposit. You’ll get your money much quicker that way.

    And congrats on crossing the “threshold” - it’s a great feeling, isn’t it?

  2. Andrea Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 9:11 am

    I’d say your lack of ads had nothing to do with the PIN. I had well over $300 in my account before I received and entered it but I kept earning without any problems.

  3. Holly Schwendiman Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 12:36 pm

    I hear ya, I just did the verification myself within the past month. I was surprised at the multi-step task but happy to have it done!

    Hugs,
    Holly
    Holly’s Corner

  4. eMom Says:
    February 1st, 2007 at 12:55 pm

    Andrea, I think the PIN thing is a “relatively” new introduction to the process, so that could be why you got so darn lucky! :)

    Thanks Char - and that is a great idea. ;)

    Holly - I know, you would think that if they were going to go through such a process to verify people, at least they would get the darn PINs in the mail!

  5. urbanmike Says:
    February 2nd, 2007 at 12:58 am

    I’ve got my PIN on the way to my old address, (I’ve moved from Australia to Canada), but I’m glad to read that I need to make sure it gets sorted out! Thanks for the tips!

  6. Quick AdSense Tip · CosminPTR.com Says:
    February 2nd, 2007 at 1:03 am

    […] Here’s a quick and useful tip from Wendy at eMoms at Home on what to do to make sure Google doesn’t stop putting ads on your site. […]

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