Before
you decide it must be pretty simple to just throw some
Google ads on your pages and go lay on a beach somewhere
while the money rolls in, think again. There really is
an art and a "science" to optimizing your website to
work well with the advertisements
Remember, you don't get paid unless people click, so
before you just plaster the ads in any old space, here
are some tips to consider straight from Google and other
online resources.
1)
Horizontal Display of 4 Image Ads: I found this tip
on a forum. There's been some talk that placing a
horizontal row of images right above a leaderboard ad
format works very well for drawing attention and
increasing click-thrus. For more on this read the thread
yourself at:
WebmasterWorld.com
2)
Blend: You don't want the ads to "intrude" on your
content, rather make them "blend" as if they are part of
your content.
3)
Placement: Above the fold placement is better for
maximum eye attention. Visualize the monitor as a piece
of paper and cut it in half horizontally. Try to place
your ads in the top section and to the left.
4)
Wider: Per Google, a wider footprint is better then
taller; maybe because it can hold more content and make
it easier to read without dropping down line after line.
Google claims the most effective sizes for click-thrus
are 326x280, 300x250 (inline rectangle), 160x600 (wide
skyscraper).
5)
More is Better: To generate more revenue, put ads on
every single page of your site -- if it works for your
set up. This will result in more ad views and more
chances for actual click-thrus.
6)
Multiple Ad Units: Try putting more than one ad unit
on a page. Google allows 3 ad units maximum on any one
page of your site.
7)
Colors: When choosing colors for your ad layouts,
try to pick ones that complement and go with your web
pages. If you'd like to keep it fresh, you can select up
to four rotating color palettes when generating your ad
code. This may help keep your site's frequent visitors
from "tuning out" your ads.
8)
Google Search: Google offers a "search box" function
you can add to your site, which will give you yet
another opportunity to generate income. For more on
this, see:
Google Adsense Tour
Users
can search just Google or your entire website. If they
click on any of the ads on the "search results" page
you'll earn money.
9)
Link Units: Another ad format you can add to your
site is called "link units." These are smaller text ads
ranging in six sizes from 120x90 pix to 728x15 pixels.
You can add one link unit to the already allowed 3 ad
units per page, giving you a maximum of four ad units on
a page. Again, it gives you another opportunity for
click-thrus. For more on link units, see:
Google Adsense
Support
10)
Channels: Use channels to track different ad formats
and color schemes to find out which ad units are working
best, and utilize that information to tweak and refine
your site. For more, see:
11)
Image Ads: With Adsense you can opt in to show only
text based ads or a combination of both text and image
ads. Make sure you're utilizing the image format as this
additional option opens up more advertising
opportunities for your site. Google will show image ads
when they have a higher value to you then the normal
text ad units would. For more info see:
Will I Earn More with
Image Ads
12)
Public Service Ads: When Google can't find ads for a
page on your site they show what's called "public
service ads." By replacing these ads with your own ads,
perhaps for affïliate programs you may be involved with,
you'll have more chances of earning some revenue instead
of giving it away to Google. For more, see:
Alternate Ads
Not all
of these tips will work for every website owner. You'll
want to test different ad formats, colors and placements
to find out what works best with your site. There is no
one size fits all so use this information as a general
guideline for tweaking your pages.
13)
Section Targeting: By adding special tags you're
assisting Google in knowing where the "real content" is
on your pages which results in more targeted ads and
hopefully higher click-thru rates for you. See more on
this at:
Section Targeting
or over
at Dave Taylor's site at:
AskDaveTaylor.com
14)
Adsense for Feeds: Another way to get more ad
exposure is this beta program where you can include ads
in your RSS feeds. It's limited at this time; see:
What is AdSense for
feeds?
Many
ebooks have been written on this subject. If you'd like
to investigate further, see:
1)
Growing Your Business
with Google, by Dave Taylor
2)
What Google Never Told You About Making Money with
AdSense Ebook, by Joel Comm
For
great information on using Adsense, bookmark this blog:
JenSense.com
Remember, nothing takes the place of good content.
Before placing ads on your pages, make sure that you
have a quality site with information and resources
people will want to see to ensure continual traffic. You
won't make much money if you don't have traffic to click
on the ads in the first place.
Google
makes it simple for any site owner to earn a nice income
with their Adsense program. It's up to you to get the
most out of it.
