Ad Sense Foul Ups – Where Did I Go Wrong

Putting Ad Sense on your site is not as easy as it seems. There is a common myth out there that it is. Chances are you have put the code on your site and didn’t make a dime. Alright, maybe you made fifty cents. The problem is, many people create the ads and don’t put any thought into the appearance or position.

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.

Now, let’s think about style. Borders should be avoided since they provide a visual barrier between your text and the ads. To make the border invisible, make it the same color as your web page background. Also, the ad background should be the same color. If you are placing ads in different areas of your web page with different background, make sure you mimic this in your ads settings. Yes, you could be creating different ads for the same page. This is why templates or dynamics pages are important.

Next, we have the title color. It should be the same color as the active links on your site, the area that you are placing the ads in. This will allow the users to know that they can click on it. The URL and text color should be the same as the main text color in your site for the area that you are placing the ad in.

Making your Ad Sense ads blend in is probably as important as location. As you have noticed, this whole article is about blending. You don’t want your ads standing out, you want them to appear as part of your site; as if it was valid content links (which it is), except your getting paid for it. People are sick of seeing ads and sick of advertising, the last thing they want to see is an ad.

Here are a few more tips that may help you along the way. Avoid image ads, opt for the text only version. Make sure that you maximize your ads. At the time this article was written you are allowed 3 text ads, and 3 ad link units, these are the two I use. Be sure that you use them all on your pages.

The Ad link units are best placed in navigational areas. Again, make sure the background and border are the same as what your are using in the area they are to be placed. Also, don’t forget the link color should be the same as the other links. If you have vertical navigation, place the Ad Sense below, above or between the other links. If you have horizontal navigation, you can place it above or below.

When deciding on links per unit, take the font into consideration. If your font is larger, try 4 links per unit. If your font is smaller, try five links per unit. Also, you may want to underline your links so that they match better with the ad links.