{"id":49,"date":"2005-02-13T15:05:00","date_gmt":"2005-02-13T09:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2005\/02\/13\/public-service-ads-psa-in-adsense-how-to-get-rid-of-them\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T20:20:34","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T14:50:34","slug":"public-service-ads-psa-in-adsense-how-to-get-rid-of-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2005\/02\/public-service-ads-psa-in-adsense-how-to-get-rid-of-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Service Ads (PSA) and Blank Ads in AdSense: Causes and Fixes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Seeing blank ad spaces or <strong>public service ads in AdSense<\/strong>? In the early days of AdSense, when Google could not find a matching ad for a page, it showed a public service ad (PSA) for a charity instead, and publishers earned nothing from it. Google stopped showing PSAs years ago. Today an unfilled ad slot simply stays empty or collapses. The causes and fixes are much the same, though, so here is how to deal with unfilled AdSense ads in 2026.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-60348\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/blank-ad-spaces-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"public service ads and blank ad spaces in AdSense\" width=\"760\" height=\"506\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/blank-ad-spaces-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/blank-ad-spaces-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/blank-ad-spaces-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/blank-ad-spaces-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/blank-ad-spaces.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> AdSense no longer shows public service ads. When no ad is available, the slot is left unfilled. To get more ads, publish substantial content on clear topics, make sure Google&#8217;s ad crawler can access your pages, check the Policy center for restrictions, avoid over-blocking advertisers, and hide unfilled slots with CSS so your pages never look broken.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ad6f6804f444\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ad6f6804f444\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2005\/02\/public-service-ads-psa-in-adsense-how-to-get-rid-of-them\/#What_were_public_service_ads\" >What were public service ads?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2005\/02\/public-service-ads-psa-in-adsense-how-to-get-rid-of-them\/#Why_AdSense_ad_slots_stay_empty\" >Why AdSense ad slots stay empty<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2005\/02\/public-service-ads-psa-in-adsense-how-to-get-rid-of-them\/#How_to_get_fewer_unfilled_ads\" >How to get fewer unfilled ads<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2005\/02\/public-service-ads-psa-in-adsense-how-to-get-rid-of-them\/#Hide_unfilled_ad_slots\" >Hide unfilled ad slots<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2005\/02\/public-service-ads-psa-in-adsense-how-to-get-rid-of-them\/#What_changed_since_2005\" >What changed since 2005<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2005\/02\/public-service-ads-psa-in-adsense-how-to-get-rid-of-them\/#How_to_check_fill_rate\" >How to check fill rate<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2005\/02\/public-service-ads-psa-in-adsense-how-to-get-rid-of-them\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2005\/02\/public-service-ads-psa-in-adsense-how-to-get-rid-of-them\/#Does_AdSense_still_show_public_service_ads\" >Does AdSense still show public service ads?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2005\/02\/public-service-ads-psa-in-adsense-how-to-get-rid-of-them\/#Do_I_earn_anything_from_unfilled_ad_slots\" >Do I earn anything from unfilled ad slots?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2005\/02\/public-service-ads-psa-in-adsense-how-to-get-rid-of-them\/#Why_are_ads_blank_only_on_some_pages\" >Why are ads blank only on some pages?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_were_public_service_ads\"><\/span>What were public service ads?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>PSAs were non-paying ads for charities and causes that appeared when AdSense could not match an ad to your page. They paid nothing per click and often looked out of place, such as one big text ad filling a 160&#215;600 banner. AdSense later replaced PSAs with options for alternate ads or colours, and then with today&#8217;s unfilled-ad behaviour.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_AdSense_ad_slots_stay_empty\"><\/span>Why AdSense ad slots stay empty<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>New or thin pages:<\/strong> Google needs enough text to understand a page. Very short pages may get few ads.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Crawler blocked:<\/strong> robots.txt or a login wall stops the AdSense crawler (Mediapartners-Google) from reading your pages.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Policy restrictions:<\/strong> pages with sensitive or prohibited content get limited or no ads. Check the Policy center in AdSense.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Low demand:<\/strong> some countries, topics or times of year have fewer advertisers.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Too many blocks:<\/strong> blocking many categories or advertisers in Brand safety leaves fewer ads to show.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Invalid traffic or new account checks<\/strong> can limit ad serving for a while.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_get_fewer_unfilled_ads\"><\/span>How to get fewer unfilled ads<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Write substantial, focused content.<\/strong> Clear titles, headings and well-written articles help Google match relevant ads. Keyword stuffing does not help.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Let the AdSense crawler in.<\/strong> If your robots.txt blocks bots, allow it:\n<pre><code>User-agent: Mediapartners-Google\r\nDisallow:<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Check the Policy center<\/strong> and fix any flagged pages.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Review blocking controls<\/strong> and unblock categories that are not truly harmful to your brand.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use fewer, better ad units.<\/strong> The old limit of three ad units is gone, but more slots than advertisers just means more blanks.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use responsive units and Auto ads<\/strong> so Google can pick formats that fill. See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/using-adsense-auto-ads\/\">using AdSense Auto ads<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be patient with new pages.<\/strong> Ads can take a day or two to become well targeted.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hide_unfilled_ad_slots\"><\/span>Hide unfilled ad slots<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>AdSense marks unfilled ads with <code>data-ad-status=\"unfilled\"<\/code>, so you can hide them with one line of CSS. See our full guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/03\/hide-unfilled-adsense-ad-spaces\/\">hide unfilled AdSense ad spaces<\/a>:<\/p>\n<pre><code>ins.adsbygoogle[data-ad-status=\"unfilled\"] { display: none !important; }<\/code><\/pre>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_changed_since_2005\"><\/span>What changed since 2005<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>PSAs, alternate ads and the Ad Preview Tool for Internet Explorer are gone.<\/li>\n<li>Framed page settings and session ID worries are no longer relevant for most sites.<\/li>\n<li>Responsive ads and Auto ads now handle sizing and formats automatically.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Avoid the classic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2005\/05\/15-common-mistakes-by-google-adsense-publishers\/\">AdSense mistakes<\/a>, and learn which topics attract the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2006\/03\/another-highest-paying-google-adsense-keywords-list\/\">highest paying AdSense keywords<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_check_fill_rate\"><\/span>How to check fill rate<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In your AdSense reports, compare ad requests with impressions, or look at the coverage figure, to see what share of ad requests were filled. A low fill rate on certain pages points to content or policy issues; a low rate across the whole site points to traffic quality, location or blocking settings. Track it for a few weeks after each change rather than judging from a single day.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Does_AdSense_still_show_public_service_ads\"><\/span>Does AdSense still show public service ads?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>No. Unfilled slots now stay blank or collapse instead of showing PSAs.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_I_earn_anything_from_unfilled_ad_slots\"><\/span>Do I earn anything from unfilled ad slots?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>No. Only filled ads earn revenue.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_are_ads_blank_only_on_some_pages\"><\/span>Why are ads blank only on some pages?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Those pages may be thin, recently published, or restricted by policy. Check them in the Policy center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seeing blank ad spaces or public service ads in AdSense? In the early days of AdSense, when Google could not&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":60348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[13,49],"class_list":["post-49","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advertising","tag-adsense","tag-tutorials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63543,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49\/revisions\/63543"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}