Another One Of Those Adsense Optimization Tips
Posted in Optimize And Monetize, WebMaster on March 10th, 2008 by DB
Google Adsense, people either love it or hate it. Every webmaster at some point or the other would have experimented with Google Adsense with mixed success. Those with persistence will constantly fine tune with Ad types, design and placement until they see a jump in conversions and as a result, revenue. In many cases optimization must be done to the page and content itself before you can expect PPC ads to drive up your profits. Optimizing your website for Adsense is key to increasing your revenue.
There are many many articles out there detailing numerous tips and tricks to either blend Adsense ads into your webpage or improve content to help increase your CTR (Click Through Rate). With the recent changes rolled out by Google with respect to the clickable area around the ad, optimizing your website for Adsense just became even more important.
I have pasted a screenshot of a site that I came across recently. What struck me immediately was the clever use of the bright coloring in the page. While I’m not a fan of bright colored pages, this one definitely deserves a mention. Look closely at the screenshot, you have Adsense generated PPC ads on the right, the article itself in the middle and a bright navigation pane on the left. The Adsense ads are all the same color and font as the rest of the page. Perfect, which is what you would expect from an experienced webmaster but what you don’t normally see is the bright coloring.
We all know most people don’t read an article, they simply scan. The goal is to quickly determine if there is information of interest on the page. With a design like the one above, the mind is unconsciously drawn to the bright colored navigation pane while the user scans the article. It’s a very subtle thing but it makes all the difference.
Remember a user
- Does not read, he scans a page.
- By diverting his attention (albeit unconsciously) you are increasing the chances of him clicking on a PPC ad.
The clever use of color in the above design is brilliant. I don’t have a clue if this was done on purpose or if this was just a happy coincidence but I’m gonna assume it’s the former and give credit to the designer.
The use of bright colors on a page is a tricky exercise. It has to be done just right, remember you are trying to divert the attention of the user, so the bright color must be in the same visual area as the content. Having bright colors in the header and footer is not going to help if the bulk of the content and the ads are in the middle of the page. If done right you are more than likely to see an improved performance and returns from the PPC ads on your website. On the other hand if done crudely or excessively you come across as an amateur and you will lose any clicks that you might have otherwise generated.
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