AdSense remains one of the main tools that Blogger use to earn money from blogging (although as I’ve written previously numerous other ways are emerging as alternatives and secondary methods).
However despite it’s popularity, many bloggers are using it in a ways that mean it is not earning them as much as it could.
Here are some of the AdSense mistakes that I see bloggers regularly making (some of which can be applied to other types of ads also):
Poorly Positioned Ads – the placement of AdSense ads will always be a somewhat personal thing and will emerge out of a variety of factors (and I want to be careful not to impose my own preferences and ethics on others in this post) – however one of the things that I see a lot of bloggers continue to do is put their AdSense ads in positions that are hidden away from the eyes of their readers. Two positions come to mind particularly:
Darren,
Salient points and, thanks to your insightful suggestions, I’ve found template tweaks to my AdSense placement has modestly increased revenue.
It’s a good post, however I don’t agree with the sidebar..
I am tracking two of my blogs with channels, and the sidebar is performing better than everything else.
It depends on the niche and your blog template too. Anyway, I learned a ot from your blog.
Thanks.
With blogs, I agree that ad units within the actual content perform better than in the sidebar (in my own experience anyway). But Franck S is right, I think it really depends on quite a few different factors including site design and the topic.
On one of my websites though, I find that adsense ads at the end of an article perform really well, especially when you place them right underneath related graphics. Of course, the article has to be good enough that it will be read in its entirety or no one would ever see them!
I have noticed that the ad link works good if placed just at the top of a article or post.
[…] There are quite a few ways to increase your revenues using Google Adsense ads, and we’re going to focus on one in particular. First, I wanted to mention two articles by Darren at Problogger, How to Position AdSense Ads and How to Design Your AdSense Ads. Both articles look at place and layout of your site in relation to your ads. They cover past and present trends, and should be helpful to anyone who is just learning about positioning. […]
I know mine aren’t positioned well. They are at the very end. I just hate to break up the flow of my page with ads. But I guess if I want to get any clicks at all I should move them up.
Thanks for the tips.
Mine are at the very end, because I’m sure my readers will shun me if I get more aggressive.
[…] -How to Design Your AdSense Ads -My 50 favorite blogging resources -Free Icons: Web 2.0 Logos by Utom -How to Position AdSense Ads -Successful Blogging Tips from The Blog Gurus -Google Adds Skype To Google Pack […]
The Ad position that work best for me is the one below my post title and above content. Also use Large Rectangle (336×280), it’s the best performer :)
Below the title and above the content works really well for me too. Sidebar 160×600 works well too. I tried inserting adverts into content but the number of clicks was very disappointing.
Darren,
This is something i have been experimenting with and researching for a while now and i’m just curious if you recommend any software that tracks what your users click on the most or if you have just run ‘tests’ trial and error type of thing yourself. I changed to gmail now, feel free to email me. Thanks!
[…] I have noticed that my AdSense earnings are not doing well at the side bars. And after some researching I have installed AdSense Deluxe plugin for WordPress. It enables to easily insert miscellaneous AdSense blocks in the posts and blemd them directly into the content. […]
[…] There is nothing more frustrating than getting your AdSense ads well positioned and designed and then having ads served up that have nothing to do with the topic that you’re writing about. […]
Ads above the fold are definitely the best money maker. Same, in SERPS ranking. I noticed that the traditional 250×250 ad block works the least, and I think because most people are naturally ad blind.
I have noticed as well that the ads works well if placed at the bottom of a website ( article )