Login message clarification

Are you seeing the following error message when trying to log in?

"Welcome! You're signed in to Google Accounts under the email [your email address] and your Google Account password, but this is not a valid AdSense login."

We’ve heard that there’s been confusion among publishers about this login error message -- especially if you're absolutely positive that you’ve used the correct email address when logging in. (And 99.9% of the time, this is the case.) To help you access your account, we’d like to provide you with some clarification and tips for troubleshooting.

If you’re seeing this error message, this means your AdSense account shares the same login and password as a Google Account, but the two accounts are not linked. As a result, when you try logging in at www.google.com/adsense, our system will only grant you access to your Google Account -- not your AdSense account. To resolve this issue, you’ll need to maintain two separate passwords.

The easiest way to proceed is to first ensure that you're logged out of Google Accounts for any other products you use, such as Gmail or AdWords. Then, change your AdSense password at https://www.google.com/adsense/assistlogin. You’ll be asked to submit your login email address to us, and we’ll then send a reset link to that address. When changing your AdSense password, please be sure to select a unique password that you’re not using with any other Google product. After you've changed your AdSense password, please try logging in again at www.google.com/adsense.

We understand that this is inconvenient, and we apologize for the confusing situation. We’re working on migrating all AdSense accounts over to Google Accounts, and in the meantime, we appreciate your patience.

Posted by Arlene Lee – AdSense Publisher Support

Pinning it down (to $10)

As part of our efforts to make sure that the AdSense account details publishers provide are valid and correct, we do a couple types of validation that you may be aware of: the Personal Identification Number (PIN) program and, in some locations, phone number verification. One or both of these verification methods is required in order to ensure the security and accuracy of your information so you can receive payments from AdSense.

In the past, our system would ask you to verify your information when your earnings reached $50. However, we've recently changed the threshold to $10. This lowered amount means many of you may see a PIN arrive in your mailbox soon, as well as a prompt in your account to verify your phone number. For more information about these holds, visit the links in the 'Required Actions' box on your Payment History page.


(Psst: If your all-time earnings are between $10 and $50, this might be a good time to learn all about PINs so you'll know what to expect. Or, if you prefer surprises, you can remain blissfully ignorant till a PIN mailer pops up in your mailbox. Just be sure you don't pitch it in the trash!)

Posted by Julie Beckmann - AdSense Publisher Support

AdSense in fashion for those who wear many hats

Here's another AdSense Story Contest submission, this time from internet entrepreneur Shawn Collins of New Jersey.



Shawn has been an affiliate marketer since 1997, and joined AdSense in 2003 after he found it to be a natural extension for monetizing his websites. He wears a lot of different hats as an Internet marketer -- not only is Shawn the co-founder of the Affiliate Summit conference, but he also runs the Affiliate Buyer's Guide and is an affiliate himself.

Before AdSense, Shawn relied on running affiliate ads and selling space on a CPM basis. This could be hit or miss, as he would manually try to place ads that were the best fit. As his sites grew, he would sometimes forget about a time-sensitive ad, and that ad slot would become wasted space. "With the contextually served ads from AdSense," Shawn says, "my advertising is always fresh and spot on."

Shawn also blogs daily about affiliate marketing and maintains an affiliate manager resource site. His audience is savvy, since they're internet marketers as well, so he considers it essential that targeted, relevant advertising is served up to his visitors. According to Shawn, "AdSense is an ideal solution for my varied web properties, and I work with AdSense for content, AdSense for search, referrals, and video units."

As Shawn mentions in his video, one of the highlights of his day (sometimes many times a day) is when he logs in to his AdSense account. He likens it to holding a lottery ticket as he waits for his daily earnings to be revealed. "I try to guess the daily total, based on my past performance, which makes the whole process a little more fun. When I experiment with new placements or have a particularly good day with my traffic, it's always a thrill to see my milestones measured in AdSense commission spikes."

Posted by Ryan Hayward - AdSense Product Marketing

Hebrew AdSense Help Forum launched

We're all about numbers and international launches this week, so we're excited to tell you that we've recently launched our (sweet) 16th AdSense Help Forum, this time in Hebrew. If you're a Hebrew-speaking publisher, visit the new forum to ask your questions about the AdSense program or share your advice with other publishers. You may also see occasional posts from a Google representative nicknamed AdSensePro.

With the ever-growing number of forums in a wide variety of languages, now's a great time to join the AdSense community in your language! Our forums are also available in Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.

Posted by Arlene Lee - AdSense Publisher Support