Tips for Optimizing Your AdSense

Google has kicked off a series of videos for AdSense tips at the Inside AdSense blog. This is an effort to help publishers get the most out of their AdSense accounts. After all, the better publishers make out from the program, the better the program will continue to perform for Google right?




The first video looks at ad sizes, and Google recommends them big. They suggest using the following sizes:

• 300x250 medium rectangle
• 728x90 leaderboard
• 160x600 skyscraper
  

Mel Ann Chan of the AdSense Australia Optimisation Team writes:

These ad units have proven in the past to deliver better results for both publishers and advertisers. Advertisers favour these formats, and if you've receiving all ad types, you'll find that advertisers will specifically target your sites more often. If you position your ad units well, users will be more likely to see these ad formats and find an ad that they're interested in.

When you're considering how to design your site, our testing has shown that displaying at least one of these ad formats on your page can increase your AdSense earnings potential. So remember, sometimes bigger is better!

Chan makes a good point with respect to design. I've seen many sites trying to make a buck off AdSense, and I have to wonder if they are finding any success whatsoever, because they are designed so poorly. Ad placement is an art rather than a science. I think that's where a lot of these sites have trouble. If there were a way to just insert ads for maximum clicks, everybody would be doing it, but there isn't. It takes some creativity and quite possibly experimentation.

I can see why Google would recommend the large sizes, because they will be more likely to catch the eye, but if they are placed poorly within the site's design, I doubt that the size will make much of a difference.

Posted by Welly at Tuesday, December 02, 2008