AdSense Rollout Checklist

Use this checklist before turning on ads for production posts.

Current Implementation

• Global config: _config.yml
• Script include: _includes/head/custom.html
• Article ad controller: _includes/ad-content.html
• Ad unit markup: _includes/ad-inarticle.html
• Post layout hook: _layouts/single.html
• Styles: _sass/minimal-mistakes/_page.scss

Ads are disabled by default:

adsense:
  enabled: false
  client: "ca-pub-2983974324971673"
  auto_ads: false
  in_article_slot:
  post_bottom_slot:
  min_words_for_ads: 700

With this default configuration, ad markup is wired into every post layout but no live ad is rendered yet. Ads start rendering only after enabled: true and both manual slot IDs are set.

Automatic post eligibility:

• The page must be a Jekyll post with page.id.
• The page must not set ads: false.
• The body must meet adsense.min_words_for_ads.
• The first in-article unit is inserted after the first h2.
• The bottom unit is inserted after the post content.

Activation Steps

1. Create a responsive in-article ad unit in AdSense.
2. Put the slot ID in adsense.in_article_slot.
3. Create a second responsive display or in-article unit for post bottom placement.
4. Put the slot ID in adsense.post_bottom_slot.
5. Keep adsense.auto_ads: false for the first rollout unless testing Auto ads intentionally.
6. Set adsense.enabled: true.
7. Run npm run validate:content-plan.
8. Confirm the validator does not report empty ad slot errors.
9. Run bundle exec jekyll build --trace when Ruby/Bundler is available.
10. Inspect at least five representative posts on desktop and mobile.

Expected inactive-mode validator warning:

WARN AdSense is disabled or slot IDs are empty; ads will not render on posts until enabled and slots are configured

This warning is acceptable before AdSense slots are created. After activation, the warning should disappear.

Page-Level Controls

Use this front matter to suppress ads on a specific page or post:

ads: false

Use ads: false for:

• Very short posts
• Search pages
• Category and tag pages
• Legal or policy pages
• Pages where an ad would appear near a download link, navigation link, or code-copy control

Manual QA

Check each item before enabling ads broadly:

• No ad appears before the reader reaches the actual content.
• The first ad appears only after the first h2.
• Ads do not appear on archive, category, tag, or search pages.
• Ads are visually labeled as Advertisements.
• Ads do not look like navigation, download buttons, or related-post links.
• Mobile layout does not shift heavily when the ad loads.
• Code blocks and copy buttons remain usable.
• Comments and related posts remain visible and not crowded.

Auto Ads Policy

Start with manual ads. Test Auto ads only after manual placements are stable.

Recommended first Auto ads test:

• Auto ads: on
• In-page formats: low density
• Anchor ads: mobile only after manual review
• Vignette ads: off at first
• Side rail ads: desktop only, if it does not cover reading

Stop or reduce Auto ads if:

• Mobile reading becomes cluttered
• Anchor ads cover content
• Pages feel slower or jumpy
• Search Console engagement drops after rollout
• AdSense reports invalid traffic warnings

Measurement

Review after 7, 14, and 30 days:

• Page RPM by category
• Impression RPM
• Ad viewability
• GA4 engaged sessions
• Search Console clicks and average position
• Top pages with revenue but poor engagement

Change only one ad variable at a time, then wait at least seven days before judging the result.