Strategic ad positions for Google AdSense
If a visitor to your blog doesn’t see something – will they click it? No! If you’re monetising your blog by selling advertising space, make sure the space is visible – it gives value to your visitors, and value to the advertisers bidding for space on your site.
Scared that people won’t click the ads if you put them in a visible spot? Don’t be. Here’s some myths I’d like to dispel:
- “PEOPLE WON’T CLICK MY ADS BECAUSE THEY KNOW IT EARNS ME MONEY!”
Ok, perhaps this one is true for some really stubborn asses out there. But for the majority of the internet population, clicking an ad has nothing to do with you – it is all about what they want. If there was an ad with ‘CLAIM YOUR $1000 HERE’, chances are people would click it out of curiousity. On the same principal but with less extremity, if an advertisement has what the reader wants – the reader might click. - “ADVERTISEMENTS MAKE MY BLOG LOOK UGLY!”
Yes, they do – if you’re entering your blog as an art piece. Otherwise, they are a part of life that people generally accept. If people really don’t want to see them, there are tools they can use to block them. - “THE ONLY WAY TO GET CLICKS ON ADS IS TO MAKE MY CONTENT USELESS!”
Yes, it’ll get you clicks. But no, it’s not the only way. Advertisement should compliment your content, they shouldn’t be your content.
With that said and done, positioning your advertisements strategically is easy. Here’s a list of good positions for ads:
- At the very top of the page, right beneath the browser’s toolbars. If a visitor plans on leaving your site, there’s a good chance they’ll come across the ad as a last glance.
- Placing a floating square advertisement inside your content is widely accepted as a good earner. When people start reading, the advertisement is visible as they scroll down the page and is in the perfect location in regards to what they’re focusing on – your content!
- An advertisement at the very end of your post gives the reader an opportunity to click while deciding what they’re going to do next.
- A skyscraper on the side menu is visible as a reader scrolls your content.
- A link unit above your content, but below the header works well.
- Try to place link units wherever the reader’s focus will go.
Following on from point 6: Eyetrack III. See what readers see when they look at your blog. Understanding a reader’s movements can help you catch them at the right time.
Tune in tomorrow for some more tips.