How to Resolve the YouTube AdSense Error and Ensure Successful Monetization

If you’re trying to monetize your YouTube channel with AdSense, you’ve probably encountered some frustration. One common hurdle that creators face is the Step 2 AdSense Error during the sign-up process. This issue arises when you attempt to link your newly created AdSense account to your YouTube channel. Let’s dive into how to solve this issue and prevent it from happening in the future.

The AdSense Error: What’s Going Wrong?

You might think that you can simply set up an AdSense account via the standard AdSense website and link it to your YouTube channel. However, this often leads to the dreaded Step 2 YouTube AdSense error. The root of the issue lies in the fact that YouTube only accepts AdSense accounts set up directly through the YouTube console. When you try to link an existing AdSense account (especially one created via AdSense.com for a website), the system sees a conflict between the two accounts.

Here’s why this happens:

• Two types of AdSense accounts exist: one for websites and one for YouTube. YouTube will only accept the YouTube-specific account.
• If you try to use a website AdSense account (or one linked to a website) to monetize your YouTube channel, it will get rejected.
• Even if your website AdSense account is approved, your YouTube application will fail, causing a headache and delay in monetization.

What Should You Do Instead?

The solution is simple, yet crucial: Always create a new AdSense account directly through YouTube Studio. This ensures that you have a YouTube-only AdSense account. From there, you can link it to your website later if needed.

The Steps:

1. Do not create a new AdSense account through AdSense.com. This will link it to your website, causing the conflict.
2. Go directly to YouTube Studio and apply for AdSense via the “Monetization” section. YouTube will walk you through the process and provide you with a YouTube-specific AdSense account.
3. If you’ve already made the mistake of linking your website AdSense to YouTube, you’ll need to delete your existing AdSense account and restart the process.

Fixing the Error: A “Nuclear Option”

If you’ve already encountered the error and need to fix it, there’s a more drastic solution that may help speed up the process.

1. Delete your existing AdSense account and Google payment profile from your Google account.
2. Go back to YouTube Studio and apply for AdSense again, ensuring you set up a YouTube-only account.
3. Please note: AdSense only allows a new account to be linked once every 32 days, so you may need to wait if you’ve tried this before.

Alternatively, you can reach out to YouTube Support for help. Logging a support case might get you quicker resolution if the internal team can fix the issue on their side.

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