Things that you should focus on :

• DESIGN : Not that Google wants a $10,000 professionally designed website, but they also don’t want some piece of junk. Make sure to atleast have a presentable website or blog even if it is just a few tables and a solid background color. Avoid using tacky backgrounds or unprofessional color contrasts.

• CONTENT : Google believes in content. If you try to get a website/blog with just a few pages approved, I don’t think you will have any luck. You need to have at least 15-20 pages, preferably, 15-20 pages of articles/resources, a.k.a. content.

• TRAFFIC : Many experts say that Google Adsense team looks to see what kind of taffic you have and that they do not approve new sites with no traffic. My experience says that these experts are FULL of it. BUT, just to be safe, before you submit your site for approval – try to get your site some traffic.
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• Get content from article directories like goarticles– just put those articles in your site, getting 15-20 is easy.

• Before you submit your site for approval, post at some forums with your website’s link in the signature file – this will help you get some immediate traffic.

• Make a very simple website with 15-20 articles, a contact us page, a privacy policy and the typical disclaimer.