Ad Sense Secrets Exposed
March 30, 2009 by Julie Roze
Filed under Website Design
Chances are you’ve heard the hype about making hundreds from Ad Sense. Is it a myth or reality? Mostly, it is possible, however, few achieve it. This is because people are putting the code on their site with barely any thought and expecting to make hundreds from it.
There are many ways to customize your Ad Sense ads. First, you want to think about location. Where is the best place to put your ads? Top? Middle? Bottom? Locations is one of the most important factors in Ad Sense. The best locations are just below the header, the upper left hand sidebar (if you have one), and directly in the center of the visible page (the user doesn’t have to scroll). Also, another great place is directly at the bottom in the center, this gives your users a place to go.
Let’s move on to the style of your Ad Sense ads. Borders are a big no-no when it comes to Ad Sense ads, yet I still see them around. When you have a border it provides a visual stopping point between your text and the ad. Make your border the same color as your background on your site so that it becomes invisible. Also, the background of the ad itself should be the same as your site.
The title link should be the same color as all other title links in your site/area you are working with. This will draw the surfer’s eyes to it as a clickable link. The text should be the same color as the text you are working with. Also, the little URL at the bottom should be the same color as the text.
Here’s another trick, don’t treat your ads as ads and your customers won’t either. Pretend your ads are links to relevant content, which they are, and give them the same look and feel of your site. Web Surfer’s have developed something called banner blindness, which means they don’t even see ads anymore, particularly image ads. Their brain simply blacks out that area of your site.
A few more tips, I would avoid image ads when it comes to Ad Sense. Unless your site has mostly images that you can click on. Also, maximize your Ad Sense. Currently, you are allowed 3 text ads, 3 Ad link units; and so on these are the two I use. Make sure you use them all.
Ad links work the best when placed in navigational areas. The border and background color should be the same as the background in the areas that the link unit is to be placed. The title color should be the same as the rest of the navigation links. Horizontal units can be placed just below the header or just above the footer. Vertical units can be placed in the middle, above, or below vertical navigational areas.
If you have larger font on your site, create link units with only 4 links. If you have smaller font, create link units with 5 links. You may want to also consider changing the font on your site to be more inline with the ads.
