Duncan has posted A short guide to ad sizes which really is a must read if you’re looking to use advertising on your blog. He takes a look at Ad placement, ad sizes and Chitika just to name some of what he covers:
‘Dont be afraid to experiment with your template as you would with any other aspect of your blog. First and foremost, its fun. For me getting a template to work is like painting a picture for someone else, its nearly like a piece of art that gives you a feeling of gratification once its completed (although in my case 3 months later I’m playing with it again :-) ) Take a stroll across the blogosphere and be inspired by what others are doing.’
What ad sizes and positions are your favorites?
My 468×15 google ad just below the header is kicking the pants off any of my other ad sizes/placements.
I agree, I find that horizontal link units work best compared to the other link units. They’re really easy to place at the top of the page and offer suprisingly good CTRs, oddly enough, especially when compared to vertical link units.
We use the 160-left-sidebar and rectangle-between-post-and-comments combo on the entire BizNicheMedia blog network (ex: http://www.voiplowdown.com/ )
We’ve found that it’s a great balance since it keeps the CTR really high without annoying readers (as the ads are NEAR the content, but not “in” it).
Now, if you move that 160 sidebar to the right, and put the site menu on the left, the CTR plummets. But as it is now, we get over 10% CTR, and still maintain a (relatively) clean look.
I’ve been experimenting with Adsense on blogs for three years, and can *definitively* say that our format is tough to beat if you use a three column design.
I’ve just recently started using these horizontal links on my individual entries and the the CTR has been incredible. This is a really small niche, I get 30 to 50 hits a day from search engines. Some days I’ll actually show more ad clicks than page views. Is this because people are clicking the horizontal ad and then clicking on multiple ads from the list?
Just by adding those horizontal links and changing the ad color from the default to red my CTR went up by about 300%!
We use the 160-left-sidebar and rectangle-between-post-and-comments combo on the entire BizNicheMedia blog network (ex: http://www.voiplowdown.com/ )
We’ve found that it’s a great balance since it keeps the CTR really high without annoying readers (as the ads are NEAR the content, but not “in” it).
Now, if you move that 160 sidebar to the right, and put the site menu on the left, the CTR plummets. But as it is now, we get over 10% CTR, and still maintain a (relatively) clean look.
I’ve been experimenting with Adsense on blogs for three years, and can *definitively* say that our format is tough to beat if you use a three column design.
Horizontal banners work great for many layouts, and really draws users. Next would be the square ads that fit perfectly in wide sidebars.
I agree that horizontal link units are very flexible and effective for most sites.
Hi Darren, I have been constructing my blog for months pending release and I do have a question about blogs that I hope to have your guidance in. Is there a way to manipulate the blogger template such that it’ll look just the same on Internet Explorer as it would on Mozilla? Cos I see so many stark differences (mostly the BAD ones on IE) that convinced me that, if nothing could be done to address the imbalance of display on these two web browsers, there is no meaning to blog anymore, as I also understand my readers do not entirely abide by Mozilla or the IE.
Is there any way you could help me in this? I would like them to witness the same blog whether they choose to view it on IE or Mozilla. And just to let you know, I have read your posts on the prospect of making money from blogs, I analysed and saw it was no easy task, but I thought that at the very least I could learn something from an experienced blogger such as yourself.
Hope to hear from you and thanks.
Sincerely.
Samuel
Thank you. You are so kind. As if.