Google's own AdSense Tips
By: Richard Richard | Posted: 01st October 2005
Google is at least as interested as you are in having your
ads perform well on your site. And they've gone to some
work to provide the information you need to optimize your
AdSense.
What's fascinating to me is that apparently not everyone
bothers to read their tips. And even some that do, fail to
apply it.
That said, you need to be aware that simply using their
tips doesn't guarantee successful ads and decent CTR (Click
Through Rate). How many times have you heard this? You
have to test. You have to try alternatives and see what
really works best for you, on your pages, with your content
and your visitors. Test, test, test some more. Track your
results, analyze them, try variations. Too many of us
don't test. We hear the mantra, but we don't do the work.
First, let's see if we can get an idea about location.
(The graphic is included in the article on my site or you
can take a look at it at the Google link included below)
Generally, above the fold, at the top center of your
content, below top navigation is the hottest location. Not
immediately below which is good but not quite as hot. In a
left sidebar, to the immediate left of primary content or
below the primary content are also good. Most other
locations are generally cooler.
Again, you need to test and you need to consider your users
behavior - and their behavior may vary on different pages
with different kinds of content. Google suggests that in
some cases, such as articles, the best location can be at
the end of the article. To quote Google, "It's almost as if
users finish reading and ask themselves, What can I do
next?" Well targeted relevant ads right there can provide
the answer.
Don't blindly assume that sticking a nice big rectangle in
the center above the fold will do it. It may, but
depending on your content, it may annoy or inconvenience
your users.
Users tend to focus on content, navigation and to a lesser
extent graphics. Positioning your ads near these elements
will often work well -- if those ads are targeted to your
visitors needs.
The top three performers among the Google ad formats are
the 336X280 large rectangle, the 300X250 inline rectangle
and the 160X600 wide skyscraper. Google reports that the
wider formats tend to do better than the taller ones. One
reason may be that these are, perhaps, easier to read
since they have fewer line breaks and require less eye
movement. But, you need to use formats that fit your pages
well. Once again, you need to test, but redoing your pages
to suit a particular ad format may not be a reasonable
alternative and you may discover that a different format
actually gets better results.
Now we come to color. Conventional wisdom says that colors
which tend to blend into your content do better. Some go
so far as to suggest that colors which make the ads look
like part of the content are best. Personally, I think
anybody really believes those ads are anything but ads, but
who knows. Google suggests that you may find that colors
that standout from your content do better - or maybe the
opposite. This is absolutely an area where you need to
test alternative color schemes. Going with the
conventional wisdom usually works fairly well, but without
testing you could be leaving a lot of money on the table.
Google allows you to have up to three ad units and one link
unit on your pages. If you have long pages with lots of
text, can only use small ad units or are in a niche with a
large ad inventory, multiple units can pay off. Keep in
mind that the way ad serving works is that the higher value
ads are delivered to the first ad unit block encountered in
your code. Always make sure that this first ad unit is
displayed in the best location (yeah - test). You want the
higher paying ads to be in the prime hot location on your
page. Weaker locations can get the lower priced ads. And
if none are available, then nothing will display unless
you've included an alternate ad URL in your Google code.
To maximize monetization you should be including alternate
ad URLs, especially if you are putting multiple units on a
page. The use of an alternate ad URL also eliminates the
possibility of being served PSAs (Public Service
Announcements). It's your real estate, maximize your
returns.
Nothing here is secret. Except for using the alternate ad
URL, all of this information is available from Google's
Optimization Tips page -
http://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/static.py?page=tip
s.html . You can buy books and courses, visit a dozen
forums and, in the end it comes down to what your visitors
do on your site. The best you can get is general guidance.
This means averaged outcomes over many sites, many types
of content. If you are serious about doing whatever you
can to really optimize your AdSense returns, there is only
one thing to do - test. Whether it's AdSense, opt-ins,
copy, headlines - anything with a measurable outcome that
you can track - then the way to improve is to test and keep
on testing.
About the Author
Occupation: eCommerce related matters
Richard writes, teaches, trains and consults on business and professional presentations and eCommerce related matters. For more information on eCommerce sites and eCommerce site building
Contact him at
http://www.building-ecommerce-websites.com
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Tags: google, relevant ads, variations, adsense, inconvenience, different kinds, rectangle, mantra, t test, content navigation