If you're new to Google AdSense, it's important to first realize how the program works and why it works so well. All AdSense ads are targeted to your website's niche. For example, if a new computer site has AdSense ads on its pages, the ads will have something to do with computers and will be targeted to the information about computers contained on the page. Targeting ads toward a visitor's interest raises the chance that they will click through the ad. After all, not many visitors looking for a new computer are going to care if an ad is offering free poker chips. You are paid per click, which means for each ad on your site that is clicked through by a visitor, you will be paid a specified amount. The more clicks, the more money youb make. All of this is why AdSense is the most successful advertising program on the Internet today. Websites that place AdSense ads on their site enjoy revenue in the thousands of dollars and higher per month. But, again, simply signing up for the program and placing those ads on your site will not guarantee success As said before, click through rates with any ad program, especially AdSense, depend on the number of visitors you have to your site. The more visitors you have, the higher the number of visitors who are going to click through an ad. How much traffic does your site receive per month? How many are unique visitors and how many are returning? What keywords are you using? How high does your site rank in the search engines? Being successful with AdSense goes hand in hand with website success. The better your site is organized and the higher you're ranked, the more visitors you have. The more professional of a job you do, the more you're going to see success with AdSense. There are ways to construct your site and things you can do to bring more visitors and keep those same ones returning. Also, there are things you can do to make more visitors click through your AdSense ads Where to Place the Ad Of course, results will differ for different sites. Generally, wrapping blocks of AdSense ads in between blocks of quality content works well or placing them toward the top of the page works well and boosts CTR. Another suggestion is if you have links provided on the page, try placing your AdSense ads on top of them. Since attention is automatically drawn to links, having your ads above links will help to increase your CTR. Vertical Ads Place vertical ads on the right side of the page. Most surfers tend to use their mouse to scroll down on the right side of the page; so placing your tower (or vertical) ads on the right gives it a higher chance of grabbing the visitor's attention Small Ads Studies say that the upper right hand corner is the first spot on your site that someone sees. Try placing your small ads at the top right hand corner. Grab the visitor's attention when they first come to your site with your AdSense ads. If an ad interests them, they're still going to browse through your site, but they will come back to click through that ad Ad Format Wider ads appeal to more visitors because they're easier to read. If something is easy to read, someone is more likely to take the time to read everything rather than just glancing at the first few words. However, it's important to balance your ads and the content on your pages. You'll discover that the way you think the ads should be for optimal CTR aren't always where they need to be. Monitor your ad placement versus CTR and you'll find the place and format that works best on each page. Size of Ads Again, you'll have to experiment on your site, but AdSense webmasters and insiders all seem to agree that the following ad sizes result in the higher CTR: 336 x 280 Large Rectangle 160 x 600 Wide Skyscraper 120 x 600 Skyscraper These formats are easy to read and attract attention. Color of Ads Remember it's very important for the ads to blend into your site. Use the same background color for your ads that you use on your site. However, don't forget to change the color of the links to match as well. This helps blend them even more Amount of Ads Too many ads on a site are the equivalent of spam in email. If your page has too many ads, it makes every ad you have less credible. Instantly, your customers do not feel like you are trustworthy, and they'll probably leave your site immediately for fear of adware being installed on their computer. Your site should be about the content, not about ads. Type of Ads If you're going to display other ads in addition to AdSense ads, be sure those ads are just as credible because, again, people have to trust you to some degree to click through. If you're advertising free adult shows on your homemade jewelry site, nobody is going to trust any of the ads you're displaying. AdSense targeted ads help build confidence and trust. Don't discredit yourself by placing any ad that you can find on your site. It will only cost you a high CTR. If you want to put other ads on your site and on a page with AdSense ads, make sure it's not against Google's TOS before doing so Ads on Multiple Pages Having AdSense ads on more than one page can increase your CTR, but also adds more interesting information to your site and offers more selection. Ads can be placed on forum pages, article pages, and even merchandise pages if placed correctly. Having different AdSense ads on different pages offers your visitors more options. Of course, they are all targeted ads, so you are providing them a service while increasing your revenue. Search Box Put a Google search box on your site. You'll be doing a service for your customers by allowing them to search from your site, but you'll also be paid for every ad they click through on the results page. This is an excellent way to let your visitors find the ad that they want to click through. How much easier can it get? They're searching for something that they're determined to find; you provide the vehicle for them to find it and be paid for helping them. Go to Google and check out their AdSense for Search program Ads that don't look like Ads Take away the border and background colors of your AdSense ads. These make them stand out as ads rather than information your visitors will be interested in. As said earlier, your ads should blend into the page. By making them appear as information you're providing, you're giving them another point of interest rather than an ad that many people might shy away from. This screen shot below is a good example. The ads are framed in a column as the rest of the page's information is. It is not made to stand out. They blend in and become part of the content. Treat AdSense Like a Business Your AdSense ads are not just ads you are displaying on your age in hopes of making a few extra cents. Many webmasters enjoy thousands of dollars a month and more in revenue from AdSense. Those webmasters, however, treat it like a business of its own. They monitor traffic and where it comes from, key phrases that draw in more traffic. Don't just track your site's content, product, or service success. Track AdSense as well and make it work for you.
I disagree on this. Visitors are used to ad blocks being on the right side of the page, therefore, they'll skip it and not even pay attention to it. But if you put it on the left side, where there's usually navigation...