Skill: AdSense Site Auditor

Audit whether your website is ready to apply for Google AdSense — covering eligibility, content quality, crawler access, privacy compliance, and all Google Publisher policies.

How to Use

  1. Copy the content below.
  2. Save as .claude/skills/adsense-auditor/SKILL.md in your project.
  3. Also save the checklist as .claude/skills/adsense-auditor/references/adsense-requirements.md.
  4. Run: "Audit https://example.com for Google AdSense readiness using the adsense-auditor skill."

SKILL.md Template

---
name: adsense-site-auditor
description: Audit websites for Google AdSense application readiness and ad-serving compliance. Use when checking whether a site is likely to satisfy AdSense eligibility, site ownership, content quality, navigation, crawler access, ads.txt, privacy disclosure, Google Publisher Policies, AdSense Program policies, or when the user asks if a site can apply for AdSense, pass AdSense review, show ads, or fix AdSense rejection/site-not-ready issues.
---

# AdSense Site Auditor

## Core Rule

Use Google AdSense and Google Publisher official documentation as the source of truth. This skill converts those docs into an actionable website audit, but it cannot guarantee approval.

Before a serious audit, refresh the official docs when internet access is available because AdSense policies can change. If live docs conflict with this skill, the live Google docs win.

Every audit must explicitly evaluate every checklist item in `references/adsense-requirements.md`. Do not sample, summarize, or check only likely problem areas. For each requirement ID, assign exactly one status: `Pass`, `Fail`, `Unknown`, or `N/A`. Use `N/A` only when the requirement truly does not apply to the site type or monetization mode, and state why.

## Required Reference

Read `references/adsense-requirements.md` before auditing. It contains the full checklist, severity mapping, and source URLs.

## Audit Workflow

1. Identify the target:
   - Live URL/domain, repo path, or both.
   - Whether the audit is pre-application, post-rejection, or ad-serving cleanup.
   - Whether the site is a normal website, CMS/blog, directory, ecommerce, tool/app, UGC site, video site, or login-gated product.

2. Gather evidence:
   - Crawl the homepage and representative content pages.
   - Check `robots.txt`, sitemap, canonical URLs, redirects, HTTP status, login walls, WAF/geoblocking symptoms, and whether important pages render without POST-only state.
   - Inspect privacy policy, about/contact/ownership signals, navigation, content depth, ad/affiliate density, copied or embedded-only content, and unsupported/prohibited content risks.
   - If repo access exists, inspect templates/routes/content sources rather than only the rendered homepage.

3. Classify findings:
   - `Blocker`: likely to prevent application approval or violate a hard policy.
   - `High`: meaningful approval or ad-serving risk.
   - `Medium`: quality, crawlability, UX, disclosure, or evidence gap that should be fixed before applying.
   - `Pass`: checked with evidence.
   - `Unknown`: cannot verify from available access; state exactly what is needed.
   - `N/A`: not applicable; state the site condition that makes it irrelevant.

4. Produce an audit report:
   - Executive decision: `Ready`, `Not ready`, or `Ready after fixes`.
   - Findings first, ordered by severity.
   - For each finding: requirement ID, issue, evidence, official basis, exact fix.
   - Include a final exhaustive checklist table covering every requirement ID, with `Pass`/`Fail`/`Unknown`/`N/A`, evidence, and next action.

## Implementation Guidance

Prefer concrete checks over generic advice. Examples:

- Say `robots.txt blocks Mediapartners-Google` instead of `crawler issue`.
- Say `article pages are mostly scraped snippets with no added commentary` instead of `thin content`.
- Say `ads or affiliate blocks exceed the main content area above the fold` instead of `too many ads`.
- Say `privacy policy does not disclose third-party ad cookies or Google data use` instead of `privacy policy incomplete`.

Do not advise applying until all Blockers are resolved and High risks have either been fixed or explicitly accepted.

## Completeness Gate

Before finishing, count the requirement IDs in `references/adsense-requirements.md` and compare them with the IDs in the final checklist. If any ID is missing, the audit is incomplete. Add the missing rows before giving a final readiness decision.

adsense-requirements.md (73-Item Checklist)

Save this as references/adsense-requirements.md alongside the SKILL.md:

# AdSense Website Requirements Checklist

## Source URLs

- AdSense Help: https://support.google.com/adsense/?hl=zh-Hans#topic=16344192
- Ensure pages meet AdSense requirements: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/7299563?hl=zh-Hans
- AdSense eligibility requirements: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/9724?hl=zh-Hans
- Site ownership requirement: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/91205?hl=zh-Hans
- AdSense site management: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/12131223?hl=zh-Hans
- AdSense crawler troubleshooting: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/2381908?hl=zh-Hans
- AdSense Program policies: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/48182?hl=zh-Hans
- Google Publisher Policies: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/10502938?hl=zh-Hans
- Google Publisher Restrictions: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/10437795?hl=zh-Hans

## Severity

- `Blocker`: hard policy violation, ownership/crawl failure, no original content, severe deceptive UX, prohibited content, or application cannot be verified.
- `High`: likely review failure or ad-serving restriction, but not always a hard account-level block.
- `Medium`: quality, trust, UX, disclosure, or implementation gap that should be fixed before applying.
- `Unknown`: needs owner/account/server access or more pages to verify.

## A. Eligibility and Account Requirements

| ID | Severity | Requirement | Check |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ADS-ELIG-01 | Blocker | Applicant must be eligible for AdSense and generally at least 18 years old, or use a parent/guardian account when under 18. | Ask/confirm owner/account context when relevant. |
| ADS-ELIG-02 | Blocker | The publisher should not create duplicate AdSense accounts for the same publisher; use an existing account to add more sites unless a distinct organization entity applies. | Ask whether an existing AdSense account exists. |
| ADS-ELIG-03 | Blocker | Site content must comply with AdSense Program policies and Google Publisher Policies before application. | Run sections C-H below. |
| ADS-ELIG-04 | Medium | Hosted products such as Blogger/YouTube have separate hosted-account flows and eligibility. | Note if the site is Blogger/YouTube/hosted partner. |

## B. Site Ownership, Verification, and Readiness

| ID | Severity | Requirement | Check |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ADS-OWN-01 | Blocker | Publisher must control the site and be able to access the HTML source or CMS/plugin/theme path needed to place AdSense code in `<head>`. | Confirm repository/CMS/template access; verify `<head>` injection path. |
| ADS-OWN-02 | Blocker | Do not apply with a site the publisher does not own or cannot verify. | Confirm domain/control ownership. |
| ADS-OWN-03 | High | The site should support JavaScript and normal browser rendering for AdSense code. | Check pages render with JS enabled and do not break head/body structure. |
| ADS-SITE-01 | Blocker | A site must be added to the AdSense site list, ownership verified, reviewed by Google, and marked ready before ads can show. | For account audits, check AdSense site status if accessible. |
| ADS-SITE-02 | High | Ownership may be verified by ad code, `ads.txt`, or a meta tag depending on AdSense flow. | Confirm one working verification method can be deployed. |
| ADS-TXT-01 | High | If the domain uses `ads.txt`, Google must be listed as an authorized seller for the account. | Fetch `/ads.txt`; check for correct Google seller line after account id exists. |
| ADS-TXT-02 | Medium | Publishing `ads.txt` is recommended to prevent unauthorized selling of inventory. | Recommend adding once AdSense publisher ID is known. |

## C. Content Quality and Site Value

| ID | Severity | Requirement | Check |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ADS-CONTENT-01 | Blocker | Site must have useful, original, visitor-relevant content. | Sample key pages; reject scraped, AI-spun, doorway, placeholder, or auto-generated pages without value. |
| ADS-CONTENT-02 | Blocker | Do not rely on copied articles, embedded videos, syndicated content, or affiliate feeds without original commentary, curation, review, data, tools, or analysis. | Compare templates and page bodies; check duplicate snippets and source attribution. |
| ADS-CONTENT-03 | High | Main content should be substantial enough for users and crawlers, not only navigation, tags, listings, empty galleries, or thin pages. | Check homepage, category/list pages, and detail pages. |
| ADS-CONTENT-04 | High | Site must not be under construction, empty, or built only to display ads. | Check live pages, broken sections, lorem ipsum, coming soon blocks. |
| ADS-CONTENT-05 | High | Ads, affiliate blocks, sponsored listings, or paid promotion must not exceed or dominate publisher content. | Estimate above-the-fold and full-page ratio. |
| ADS-CONTENT-06 | Medium | Main content language should be supported by AdSense. | Identify site primary language and check if mixed-language pages have real content. |
| ADS-CONTENT-07 | Medium | Comment sections and user-generated content must be moderated for policy compliance. | Check visible comments, review workflow, spam, adult/offensive links. |
| ADS-CONTENT-08 | Medium | Content should not use excessive keyword repetition, doorway pages, or pages made mainly for search engines. | Inspect title/H1/body patterns and internal page duplication. |

## D. Navigation, UX, and Trust Signals

| ID | Severity | Requirement | Check |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ADS-UX-01 | High | Navigation must be clear, readable, aligned, and functional. | Test header/menu/dropdowns/footer links on desktop and mobile. |
| ADS-UX-02 | High | Users must be able to understand what the site is, find content, and move between sections without misleading paths. | Check homepage/category/detail flow and breadcrumbs/search. |
| ADS-UX-03 | Blocker | Do not use deceptive navigation, fake download/play buttons, links to nonexistent content, irrelevant redirects, or ads where navigation normally appears. | Inspect CTAs, buttons, ad placeholders, and redirects. |
| ADS-UX-04 | Blocker | Site behavior must not change user preferences, redirect unexpectedly, trigger downloads, include malware, or use obstructive popups/popunders. | Test page load, clicks, mobile overlays, external scripts. |
| ADS-UX-05 | Medium | Include basic trust pages appropriate to the site: About, Contact, Privacy Policy, terms/disclaimer when relevant. | Verify pages are real, accessible, and not boilerplate-only. |
| ADS-UX-06 | Medium | Avoid intrusive ad-like layout before approval; do not create confusing separation between ads and content. | Check visual hierarchy and labels. |

## E. Crawlability, Access, and Technical Availability

| ID | Severity | Requirement | Check |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ADS-CRAWL-01 | Blocker | The site must be live and publicly reachable; key URLs must not return 404/5xx. | Fetch homepage and representative pages with `curl` or browser. |
| ADS-CRAWL-02 | Blocker | AdSense crawler must not be blocked by login walls, IP restrictions, geoblocking, WAF rules, or robots.txt. | Check public access, `robots.txt`, firewall/bot protection symptoms. |
| ADS-CRAWL-03 | High | Do not require POST data to view ad-bearing pages; crawler does not send POST payloads. | Check forms/search/detail pages and server routes. |
| ADS-CRAWL-04 | High | Avoid excessive or fragile redirects on pages where ads will show. | Trace redirects and cookie/session dependencies. |
| ADS-CRAWL-05 | Medium | Prefer stable, simple URLs over per-user session IDs or one-off dynamic paths for same content. | Inspect URLs for session/user identifiers and canonical tags. |
| ADS-CRAWL-06 | High | DNS and hosting must reliably resolve and respond. | Check DNS, TLS, uptime, server response times. |
| ADS-CRAWL-07 | Medium | Newly published pages may need time to be crawled; large UGC/news/catalog sites should expose stable index paths and sitemap. | Check sitemap and internal links. |

## F. AdSense Program Policy Requirements

| ID | Severity | Requirement | Check |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ADS-PROG-01 | Blocker | Do not click your own ads and do not artificially inflate impressions or clicks with bots, repeated manual actions, automated tools, or fraudulent software. | Ask owner and inspect traffic/automation if relevant. |
| ADS-PROG-02 | Blocker | Do not ask users to click or view ads, offer rewards for ad actions, use phrases like support us by clicking ads, or place arrows/images to draw attention to ads. | Inspect copy near ad slots and CTA wording. |
| ADS-PROG-03 | Blocker | Do not make ads hard to distinguish from content or label ads misleadingly; acceptable labels are neutral such as ad/sponsored. | Inspect ad slot labels/design. |
| ADS-PROG-04 | High | Traffic sources must be legitimate; avoid paid-to-click, paid-to-surf, auto-surf, click exchange, spam email, spam posts, toolbar/software-driven traffic, or online ads with poor landing pages. | Ask owner; inspect campaign sources if available. |
| ADS-PROG-05 | High | Ad code modifications must not inflate performance or harm advertisers. | Inspect ad code and wrappers when present. |
| ADS-PROG-06 | Blocker | Do not place Google ads in software, toolbars, popups/popunders, emails, private communication screens, non-content pages, ad-only pages, framed third-party content, or pages impersonating Google. | Inspect placement plan and templates. |
| ADS-PROG-07 | High | WebView monetization has special requirements; normal websites should not assume app WebView eligibility. | Mark applicable only for app/webview audits. |

## G. Google Publisher Policies: Prohibited Content and Conduct

Any matching item is normally a `Blocker` for AdSense approval or ad serving on affected pages.

| ID | Requirement | Check |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ADS-PUB-01 | No illegal content, illegal activity promotion, or rights violations. | Review topic, products, downloads, instructions. |
| ADS-PUB-02 | No copyright infringement, counterfeit goods, or brand/trademark abuse. | Check copied media, product pages, logo use, fake brand claims. |
| ADS-PUB-03 | No dangerous or derogatory content: hate, discrimination, harassment, threats, self-harm promotion, violence praise, terrorism/cartel support, extortion. | Review content and UGC. |
| ADS-PUB-04 | No animal cruelty promotion or sale of endangered species products. | Review niche/product content. |
| ADS-PUB-05 | No misleading representation: do not hide or misstate publisher identity, content creator, content purpose, content itself, affiliation, endorsement, or brand relationship. | Check About, author, branding, logos, product claims, disclosures. |
| ADS-PUB-06 | No deceptive behavior: phishing, personal-information theft, fake get-rich claims, intentionally misleading content or service promotion. | Check forms, offers, lead flows. |
| ADS-PUB-07 | No content enabling dishonest behavior: fake documents, academic cheating, drug-test evasion, hacking/cracking, unauthorized tracking/spyware. | Review tools/downloads/tutorials. |
| ADS-PUB-08 | No paid sexual acts, mail-order bride/cross-border marriage broker content, adult themes in family content, or child sexual abuse/exploitation. | Review adult/family/UGC areas carefully. |
| ADS-PUB-09 | Publisher information and ad request data must be accurate and complete, including site/app identity and ads.txt/app-ads.txt where applicable. | Check metadata, account/site mapping, ads.txt. |
| ADS-PUB-10 | Ads must not interfere with content or user interaction, overlap navigation, push content away, or trap users on screens that require ad clicks to exit. | Inspect ad layout plan. |
| ADS-PUB-11 | Do not show ads on screens with no publisher content, low-value content, under-construction content, copied content without added value, unsupported languages, or where paid promotion exceeds content. | Inspect representative templates. |
| ADS-PUB-12 | Do not place ads out of context: background pages, off-screen placements, or screens where user attention is clearly elsewhere. | Inspect responsive layout and lazy-loaded slots. |
| ADS-PUB-13 | No demonstrably false claims that undermine elections/democratic processes, harmful health claims contradicting scientific consensus, or climate-change claims contradicting authoritative scientific consensus. | Review news, health, politics, science, climate, and UGC content. |
| ADS-PUB-14 | No manipulated media that deceives users about politics, social issues, or public-concern topics. | Review images/video/audio and AI-generated media disclosures. |
| ADS-PUB-15 | No child endangerment, grooming, sextortion, sexualization of minors, child trafficking, or CSAM-related content; treat any signal as an immediate hard blocker. | Review content, images, comments, uploads, moderation logs where available. |
| ADS-PUB-16 | Do not monetize content that requires sensitive-event restraint when it exploits, denies, or is insensitive toward an active crisis or unexpected event. | Check news/crisis pages and monetization context. |

## H. Google Publisher Restrictions: Restricted Inventory Risks

Restricted content is not always an account/application blocker by itself, but it can sharply reduce or prevent ad demand and should be treated as `High` for approval readiness unless isolated and clearly excluded from ads.

| ID | Requirement | Check |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ADS-REST-01 | Sexual content, sexual entertainment, sexual products, sexual health supplements, or sexual advice. | Review categories, images, UGC. |
| ADS-REST-02 | Shocking, graphic, violent, disgusting, or prominent obscene language. | Review images, articles, comments. |
| ADS-REST-03 | Explosives, firearms, firearm parts, other weapons, or instructions to obtain/assemble/improve them. | Review products/tutorials. |
| ADS-REST-04 | Tobacco, recreational drugs, drug paraphernalia, drug production/use instructions. | Review products/articles. |
| ADS-REST-05 | Alcohol online sales or irresponsible drinking promotion. | Review ecommerce/affiliate links and content framing. |
| ADS-REST-06 | Online gambling or paid games of chance, subject to location exceptions. | Review offers and target geos. |
| ADS-REST-07 | Prescription-drug sales, online pharmacies, unapproved drugs/supplements, or delisted Google Play apps. | Review health/ecommerce/app content. |
| ADS-REST-08 | Ad obstruction: ads covering content, content covering ads, video ad controls hidden, unsupported video implementation, autoplay/sticky video violations. | Inspect layout/video placements. |

## I. Privacy and Data Requirements

| ID | Severity | Requirement | Check |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ADS-PRIV-01 | Blocker | Publish and follow a privacy policy that discloses data collection, sharing, and use caused by Google products, including cookies, web beacons, IP addresses, or other identifiers. | Inspect privacy page and footer link. |
| ADS-PRIV-02 | High | Disclose that third parties may place/read cookies or use web beacons/IP addresses because ads are served on the site. | Check privacy policy language. |
| ADS-PRIV-03 | High | Do not pass personally identifiable information to Google in ad requests or use Google services to identify users without required notice/consent. | Inspect URLs, query params, ad code, analytics/ad personalization setup. |
| ADS-PRIV-04 | High | Comply with EU user consent policy where applicable. | Check consent banner/CMP for EEA/UK traffic. |
| ADS-PRIV-05 | High | If collecting precise location data, disclose use, obtain opt-in consent, transmit securely, and document it in privacy policy. | Check app/site permissions and data flows. |
| ADS-PRIV-06 | High | If content is child-directed or COPPA-covered, mark it appropriately and do not use interest-based targeting for children. | Check audience, content, account settings. |
| ADS-PRIV-07 | High | Do not set, modify, intercept, or delete cookies on Google domains. | Inspect scripts only if custom ad/proxy code exists. |
| ADS-PRIV-08 | High | Do not use Google ad code or platform products to target personalized ads or build audience lists from child-directed activity, adult/gambling/government-site activity, or sensitive information such as health, financial hardship, ethnicity, religion, crime, political affiliation, union membership, sexual behavior, or sexual orientation. | Inspect ad personalization, remarketing, audience lists, analytics audiences, and data-layer events. |
| ADS-PRIV-09 | High | In the US and Canada, do not target housing, employment, or credit-related ads by gender, age, parental status, marital status, or postal code. | Check ad/marketing audience settings if site advertises or retargets these categories. |
| ADS-PRIV-10 | Medium | If personalized ads are used, confirm the publisher has rights to audience data and shows required interest-based advertising disclosures or controls where applicable. | Check consent/CMP, privacy policy, and ad choice disclosures. |

## J. Recommended Audit Output

Use this format:

```markdown
**Decision**
Not ready / Ready after fixes / Ready

**Blockers**
- `ADS-CONTENT-02`: Issue. Evidence. Fix.

**High Risks**
- `ADS-CRAWL-02`: Issue. Evidence. Fix.

**Medium Risks**
- `ADS-UX-05`: Issue. Evidence. Fix.

**Exhaustive Checklist**
Every requirement ID in this reference must appear exactly once.

| ID | Status | Evidence | Next action |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ADS-ELIG-01 | Pass/Fail/Unknown/N/A | ... | ... |
| ADS-ELIG-02 | Pass/Fail/Unknown/N/A | ... | ... |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |

**Completeness Check**
- Requirement IDs in reference: `<count>`
- Requirement IDs in report: `<count>`
- Missing IDs: `none` or list IDs

Rules:

  • Do not collapse multiple IDs into one row.
  • Do not omit IDs because they seem unlikely; mark them N/A with a reason.
  • Do not mark an item Pass without evidence.
  • Use Unknown when account data, analytics, AdSense dashboard access, owner confirmation, or server access is required.

## Quick Start Prompts

**English:**

Audit https://example.com for Google AdSense application readiness. You must cover every ADS-* requirement ID and output a complete Pass/Fail/Unknown/N/A table.


**Chinese:**

审计 https://example.com 是否符合 AdSense 申请要求。必须逐项覆盖所有 ADS-* 检查项，并输出完整 Pass/Fail/Unknown/N/A 表。


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