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=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.
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