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Google's own AdSense TipsCopyright 2005 Richard KeirGoogle 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=tips.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: 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 visit http://www.building-ecommerce-websites.com- and you can find more articles at http://www.building-ecommerce-websites.com/articles. Circulated by Article Emporium Google's own AdSense Tips Copyright 2005 Richard Keir 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 ... Cicadas and Brilliance In Marketing Copyright 2004 Jack Humphrey I have found another nugget of marketing brilliance that I want to share with aspiring entrepreneurs around the world. In this example of marketing brilliance, you will see how innovation and careful planning can result in a brilliant idea and r... Choosing Affiliate Programs, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly Copyright 2005 Adrian Ryder For many people who would like to get involved with e commerce, the thought of finding a product, creating a website, organizing payment systems and marketing that website is just too much of a challenge to start with. The good news is that there ... Search Isn't All About Google Anymore By Kirk Bannerman Webmasters that stick to the old ways and focus entirely on Google are missing out on a lot of search traffic these days if they are not also well ranked by Yahoo and MSN. For the first few months after Yahoo decided to go their ow... What Are Joe Vitale's Top 3 Secrets To Instantly Writing Hypnotic Headlines? Copyright 2005 Rick Miller Without a doubt, Joe Vitale is recognized as the "World's First-Ever Hypnotic Copywriter." In a recent interview for the List Crusade program, Dr. Joe Vitale revealed secrets for creating hypnotic headlines that will compel your readers t... The Three Primary Strengths Of Network Marketing Network Marketing, 'MLM', and Multi Level Marketing are all terms that refer to the same type of business model. This industry has had more than it's share of scumbag crooks and con artists that have used and abused the concept. However, if you do your homewor... A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Internet A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Internet Tips for working in the global cyberspace By David Leonhardt "Where do you work?" "Planet Earth." Sound familiar? No? Well, it should. More and more people are working from home on the Internet, and there ar... 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Search Isn't All About Google Anymore By Kirk Bannerman Webmasters that stick to the old ways and focus entirely on Google are missing out on a lot of search traffic these days if they are not also well ranked by Yahoo and MSN. For the first few months after Yahoo decided to go their ow... 10 POWERFUL Reasons WHY 'Articles' Remain The Internets #1 Marketing Strategy Copyright 2005 The IWE, LLC. All Rights Reserved. We've all heard it... "Content IS King" and for good reason because it IS as far as the Internet is concerned. And when it comes to web surfers, they come online for two reasons, One is to check there email and reason ... 5 Ways To Lose Your Ezine Subscribers 1. Don't keep a regular publishing schedule. Pick a schedule that is right for you, and stick to it. Your subscribers will become used to hearing from you, and you'll be able to gain their trust and business. 2. Don't make your free bonus easily accessible to... 3 days to becoming super affiliate Copyright 2005 Deep Kumar A "thought" might be haunting you since you have started online - "What the heck a super affiliate does to earn thousands of dollars every month?" In this issue, I'm giving you a THREE DAY ACTION PLAN to become the next "Super Affiliate". <... THE CLICKBANK GUIDE issue 41 First, have you heard of these terms ? - distributed denial of service attack - packet loss They are just some of the reasons why ClickBank has been down recently - causing lots of unhappy posters at the forums. Which all means that when your cus...
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