image beside ads (not allowed anymore?)

[adbie]

Are you still using the good old technique of placing image(s) beside the ads to boost CTR? Remember this thread?: http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=17104

Well, recently, in DP and in other established forums, there have been discussions about the AdSense team getting stricter regarding this technique.

I too have benefited from from this technique, but out of paranoia (of being banned), I recently asked AdSense about putting images beside the ads, and they said NO! Even when there are borders around my images and I even had an extra line between the image and the ads.

Being an obedient (and paranoid) publisher, I took down the images. And my CTR plummeted to shameful levels.

I'm now doing some experiments with TOS-compliant ad placements, and still trying hard to get over the income loss...

Having images next to ads really made a big difference for me... sigh... :(

Any similar experience?

[alexdale]

really? i thought its alright all this time. tsk tsk. Can someone tell me if this ad placement is against G's TOS? www.enchantedglitters.com & www.piczomyspace.com

Hope someone can confirm... :(

[DirtyDog]

I've used images next to ads for about a year and thought I was fine. Google just informed me that I need to remove them.

[darkbreed]

strange, i just asked google to check my site and see if the way i had placed images next to the ads were ok, and they said it was fine. I have the ads within frames and the images placed outside

[adbie]

I think having image next to ads is treading on water...

See http://www.thecyanpepper.com/2006/11/20/googles-double-standards/ (not my blog)

I’ve been using thumbnail images next to my ads for some time now. This is a common practice... I’ve literally seen hundreds of other sites doing the same thing, I thought I’d be fine.

Then one day, someone reported my site for a policy violation and a few days later, i got the following email from Google.

...Publishers may not implement Google ads in a manner that disguises the ads in any way, for instance, by formatting neighboring content to look similar to the ads, or by making ads look like games or forum threads. Additionally, publishers may not attempt to associate specific images with the individual ads appearing on their sites. Such an implementation may confuse users who assume that the image is directly related to the advertiser’s offerings....


I got an email with the exact same paragraph as quoted above.

And I believe people will start reporting sites that violate the TOS... (not me, I'm too busy getting over my income loss and tweaking my ads placement :) )

[alexdale]

I think having image next to ads is treading on water...

See http://www.thecyanpepper.com/2006/11/20/googles-double-standards/ (not my blog)



I got an email with the exact same paragraph as quoted above.

And I believe people will start reporting sites that violate the TOS... (not me, I'm too busy getting over my income loss and tweaking my ads placement :) )


were u banned? :eek:

[adbie]

were u banned? :eek:

Nope. Never got into any trouble.

[alexdale]

Nope. Never got into any trouble.


nice to hear that ;)