AdSense: Advert Placement

In this article, we go through some options with regard the placement of your Google AdSense adverts.

One of the great things about AdSense is the flexibility. Because it is your website, you choose where you place the adverts on the page.

Many people have spent a great deal of time researching the best places on their site to place the AdSense adverts. Here we look at a few options:

Usability research has indicated that different areas of the webpage are more likely to catch the eye than others. These attractive areas of the page are referred to as hotspots.

Some of the hottest spots of the webpage are the top navigation bar, and the top left of the page. This is why many sites will have their menu bar on the left of the page - it tends to receive more attention than the rest of the page.

And, in the same manner the top left gets more attention, the bottom right gets less attention. This stands to reason - the bottom of the page is often 'below the fold' and hence some users won't see this content at all. Also the eye reads from left to right, and hence the right receives less attention, or less immediate attention.

So how can you apply this knowledge to your adverts? Well, the key thing you can take from this is that adverts towards the top and left of the screen are more likely to receive the attention of your visitors than those placed towards the bottom and the right of your site.

The key is to ensure that your adverts are placed prominently on your site so that users notice them and can avail themselves of any links they find useful, without being too intrusive. At no stage do you want adverts to detract from your site content - and you must never obscure site content with adverts - this is against the rules of the program.

Exercise common sense therefore with ad placement - prominent you want, but not to the detriment of site content. Therefore a sensible placement might be one advert towards the top left of the page, and perhaps one further down the page.

Read about the different size adverts you can display >>