9 Reasons Google Adsense Ads Showing As A Blank Space – How To Fix

Why Are My Adsense Ads Showing As A Blank Space?

Why Is There a Blank Space Where a Google Adsense Advert Should Be?

How Do I Fix it?

 

Chances are if you are a member of the Google AdSense program that you have had these questions at some point! 

Google AdSense adverts are more often than not the first way people monetise their blog.

Or at least are often the first ad network they join! 

The last thing you’d be expecting is for there to be a blank space where the advert should be! 

It can happen with static ads on your site, between blog posts or within the blog posts themselves.

No matter your experience as a blogger, a lot of bloggers have Google Adverts on their blogs as a source of income.

The adverts are designed to show on your website at all times.

If there is no advert, there is no money coming from it.

No matter how small, income is income and no one wants to lose that due to a blank space!

Plus it doesn’t look great having a random blank space in the middle of your blog/blog post.

But what causes these Google Adsense Ads to be showing as a blank space and how do we fix it?

If you do usually see Google Adsense Ads on your website, these simple tricks should fix the issue!

 

Brand New Ad Unit

If you have very recently placed a new ad unit on your blog it can take a bit of time for anything to show up.

(By “a bit of time” I mean around 30 mins. If it’s been a couple of hours and still nothing then you may need to try one of the following tips.)

Google places relevant ads where possible.

This means that sometimes it can take time for Google to analyse your blog/content to match with a relevant advert. 

If this is the very first Ad you’ve placed on your website, it may just be Google needing time to analyse, but also may be worth checking the points below also in case there is another reason you are seeing a blank space instead of an Ad.

 

Google Can’t Find Related Ads

The ideal ads are ones that are relevant/related to your readers.

This is done by Google collecting information from not only previous searches but your current website. 

Google likes content that is easily recognisable to them.

This is why things like optimised blog post titles and posts are key, along with good use of tags and categories.

If Google can’t find a relevant, related ad then it may show up as a blank space.

This isn’t as likely as most blogs especially have enough information on them for Google to understand what they are about.

Even just to some degree.

If your website is mostly images or videos – making sure the Alt text is filled in properly can help here!

 

The Ad Size Is Too Big For The Space

Google Adsense (along with nearly every other ad network) offers varying sizes of adverts/banners for you to display on your website. 

This helps you choose the size and styles to best fit your blog, making sure the reader has the best user experience!

If you accidentally choose a banner that is too wide for example, it will show up as a blank space.

This happens as it physically won’t fit on the page/in the space you have chosen to put it.

For your website itself you can choose auto/responsive ads which will automatically fit in the spaces provided.

These are a great option if you want Google to do the work for you or you aren’t as confident with HTML.

If you are trying to place an Adsense ad manually, e.g. within the post itself, you need to be aware of size limits.

If you feel that a large ad is causing the issue, try swapping it out for a smaller ad to see if this fixes the issue.

Instead of a wide banner ad you could try a half size banner or more of a square ad as these may fit your website better.

 

The Page Contains Illegal or Disallowed Content

Google ads are not allowed on any website that has/promotes any illegal or disallowed content. 

This includes content relating to or inclusive of adult content, gambling, illegal activities, hacking etc.

If you have this sort of content – or similar – on your website, you will not be able to show Google ads and it will just show blank spaces instead.

If your content is nothing related to these sorts of categories, this isn’t something to worry about!

 

 

The Ad Code Hasn’t Been Placed Correctly

When placing Adsense ad code (or any ad code), you need to make sure the Ad code has been placed correctly.

One of the most common reasons as to why your Google AdSense ads are showing as a blank space where the advert should be, is that the code isn’t correct.

When presented with the ad code to insert into your website, it’s important you copy the code exactly.

If you need to centralise the image then you can add this code around it but for the advert itself, to make it show as the advert and not just a blank space, the code needs to be copied in exactly.

There is often a button or link that says “copy code” so you can copy all of the code in one go without fear of missing a character. I would advise using this function where possible to avoid any errors in copying the code over.

If you are worried about this or think this may be the issue as to why your advert isn’t showing, you can go back and re-copy the code and swap it for the code with potential errors in.

The other thing that can stop Google Ads showing is if there has been any modification done to the code.

If this is the case I would recommend going back to get the original code and swapping the modified code out for the original ad code.

 

You’ve Updated a Page or Post

Sometimes when a post is updated it causes the Ad to disappear and a blank space to appear!

It’s not uncommon for an advert to suddenly end up as a blank space after updating something within a blog post.

The reasons this can happen are unclear but to solve this you would need to take the code out, save the page, and then reinsert the code back in. You can use the same code in the same place, and the advert should reappear straight away.

If the code doesn’t reappear at this point, even after re-inserting the correct code, leave it for 30 mins and check again.

Sometimes there occasionally will be a short delay in when adverts show up, but it wouldn’t take more than 30 mins.

 

Check A Different Internet Browser

As with anything internet related, it’s always worth double checking on a different browser where possible.

Using the incognito browser function can also work.

This is to double check if the issue is actually with your browser rather than the advert itself. 

If your adverts are showing a blank space on one browser but are showing on a different browser (or incognito window), try clearing your cookies and cache and reloading the browser as this should fix this issue.

 

Remove or Turn Off Ad Blocker

Following on from the point above, if you have an ad blocker this may be the cause as to why certain ads are showing a blank space rather than the advert you expected to see.

Try turning any/all ad blockers off and reload your page to see if this fixes the issue.

 

Your Adsense Account Could Be Under Review Or Suspended

If none of the above options solve the issue at all, your account may be under review or suspended. 

You would be best checking through your emails to make sure you haven’t had an email regarding account suspension or being under review.

If you have or are still having issues with blank spaces instead of adverts showing, you would need to contact Google for assistance and to see what they advise.

These are the simplest ways to fix the main reasons as to what could be causing the Google Adsense Ads to show a blank space where your advert should be.

 

 

What if none of these tips fix the issue?

If none of the above work for you, you would be best getting in touch with Google directly.

Hopefully these have helped you fix the blank space issue and your adverts are all showing as they should!

 

Speak soon! 

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