Google decided that publishers may not line up images and ads in a way that suggest they’re related. Obviously many developers do this because a picture is worth a thousand words. Google says,:

If your visitors believe that the images and the ads are directly associated, or that the advertiser is offering the exact item found in the neighboring image, they may click the ad expecting to find something that isn’t actually being offered. That’s not a good experience for users or advertisers.

There use to be some confusion over whether a line could be placed between the Google ad unit and the image. No! If the ad and image appear to be associated, inserting a small line will not make the ad legit.

Don’t worry… you are still allowed to place images on the same page as your Google ads. Just arrange them in a way that won’t confuse your visitors.

Well, what do unacceptable implementations look like? Here are some examples that wouldn’t comply with Google’s policies.

(more…)

I’m not telling you this to discourage you, but to remind you that it takes research and constant tweaking and testing of your AdSense ads to make money. Good content and a bit of SEO doesn’t hurt either. You can’t just throw up a blog with some ads and expect to cover your mortgage payment. Making money with AdSense really involves many different factors working together and so in this post I’ll briefly talk about ad placement and leave the rest for future posts.

Ad Size

Some common questions I get are, “How do I place my Google AdSense ads?” and, “Where do I place my ads and what size should I use?” Where you place your Google AdSense ad and the size of the ads you use will determine your CTR and positively or negatively impact the money you will generate from Google Adsense.

First it’s important to choose the right size AdSense ads for you blog. Google offers a variety of ad sizes that will fit any website or blog layout. Google reports that the most popular ad size is the large rectangle (336 x 280). Also, the 160 x 600 skyscraper is a close contender for ads with the highest click through rate. Try using a horizontal link unit for your header instead of a giant 728 x 90 Leaderboard. Remember to use space around your ads, cluttered blogs are chaotic and don’t drive the message home.

Ad Placement

Try to always place your main ads above the fold or in the most visible parts of your pages. According to Google, the left, top and middle of a blog are consistently the most clicked part of a website. Check out the Google heat map to the right to get an idea of the best performing locations for your ads. The dark areas have the highest CTR, lightest being the least clicked. As you can see by the dark orange area, the center of the blog is the most effective place to put an ad. This is why most people put the 336 x 280 ad in their content. Ads below content generally have a higher CTR as well because people need something to do when they’re done reading your article. Might as well take advantage of this opportunity and place an ad there.

Tips

• Only place 3 Google AdSense ads per page
• Try adding a 336 x 280 ad to your post or in-between the first and second posts
• Use a 160 x 600 skyscraper ad in the left navigation
• Keep space around your ads for a higher CTR