| Optimize Google Ads to Achieve Greater Success First things first. Before talking about how to optimize Google ads, let's make sure you know how to get started with the Google AdSense program. If you have been thinking about incorporating Google ads into your monetization plan, but haven't done so yet, then you need to go to www.google.com/adsense, sign up for an account, submit your site for approval, and wait a day or two to receive confirmation. Once you are approved, just follow the steps to activate your account and get your codes for image ads, text ads, and text links. If you are rejected, try to find out why and make the necessary corrections, then submit your site again. If you already have an account and have been placing Google ads on your site, you may want to be aware of a few optimization strategies to help improve the success of your ads and get more clicks.
The first thing to consider when trying to optimize Google ads is determining what type of ad you would like to use. There are image ads, text ads, link unit ads, and video ads. Once you determine the type of ad you would like to use, you will need to select the size and color palette. Image ads, video ads, and text ads come in many different sizes to accomodate the space you have available on the page. The horizonatal format options include the: 728x90 Leaderboard, 468x60 Banner, and 234x60 Half Banner. The vertical format options include the: 120x600 skyscraper, 160x600 wide skyscraper, and 120x240 vertical banner. The square format options include the: 180x150 small rectangle, 200x200 small square, 250x250 square, 300x250 medium rectangle, 336x280 large rectangle, and 125x125 button. Text link unit ads can be created in a variety of sizes as well and each size can be made with 4 or 5 ad links. The vertical options come in sizes: 120x90, 160x90, 180x90, 200x90. The horizontal options come in sizes: 468x15 728x15. Google finds that wider formats are more successful, particularly the 336x280 Large Rectangle, the 300x250 Medium Rectangle, and the 160x600 Wide Skyscraper, and, if positioned well, can significantly increase your earnings. After you have selected the most appropriate size, you will want to focus on choosing the right colors of your ad unit to further optimize Google ads. You can choose to select colors that will blend with the colors on your site, complement the colors on your site, or contrast with the colors on your site. If you choose to blend, you will want to use colors that match your background and borders. If you choose to complement, you will want to choose colors that do not match your background and borders, but match other colors on your site. If you choose to contrast, use colors that stand out against your background especially if you have a dark background. Google suggests that you add variety and freshness to your ads by rotating between several color palettes. To do this, choose the Use multiple palettes option when generating your ad code during the Choose Ad Format and Colors step in the ad code setup, then hold down the control or command key and select up for 4 color palettes. To determine the effectiveness of ad placement, format, or color, create channels to track your success and find out if you have. Channels will track the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of a particular ad unit whether it is an image, text, link unit, or video. Be sure to give your channel a detailed name so that it is easily identifiable. Once your channel is created, use the reports that are generated to test the success of your ad, a new color, or a change in format. This is the best way to test how to optimize Google ads on your site on different pages. Where should I place the Google ads on my site? That is the million dollar question! To optimize Google ads, consider the page layout and content. Put yourself in the position of the user and look at the page as though you are looking at it through the user's eyes. You will want to place ads in a location that is visible to your user and in a space that is not too cluttered with other ads or information. You also don't want ads to get into the user's way. If you have a page with an article, you may want to place the ad towards the bottom of the article. The user's eye will see it as an extension of the article. Ads placed at the top (below the navigation bar), bottom, and left side tend to outperform ads placed on the right or top (above the navigation bar). To optimize your Google ads, consider all of the above strategies. Focus on type of ad, size of ad, color of the ad, and placement of the ad. To test the effectiveness of an ad, create channels, then track the success. Don't forget about other ways to generate revenue from googles such as AdSense for Search, AdSense for Feeds, and AdSense for Mobile Content. |