Any suggestions or advice on my use of Adsense or my choice of these two areas for a small niche website are appreciated.
i have found that top adsense placement converts very good. That means you will want to put your ads right after the header. These way the visitors will find your ads right after they land on your website and if they click on it and then leave your website at least you have earned from that ad.
yeah... provide the link first... because there are various ad placing strategies but it would be helpful if you provide the link