Perhaps you’ve been using Google AdSense on your website for a while now and you’ve been making a few bucks here and there. If you are like me, you just threw up a bunch of banners here and there and hoped for the best. You’ve looked at other websites and thought “Ok I’m gonna put a 468×60 ad at the top and also one at the bottom. Let’s also put some 120×600 skyscraper ads on the side. That’s what I see everywhere so it must work!”. Wrong!
You see, over time people have become blinded to those banner formats. They simply scream “Don’t click me! Don’t click me!”. This is why it’s important to use the right banner formats in order to get the most click (and revenues of course).
Recommended Formats
For me, the formats that performed best are :
- 336×280
- 728×90
- 250×250
- 160×600
I think it’s safe to say that for most people, these are the format that will perform better as well but not necessarily in that order. That is why it’s important to use Google AdSense channels.
Google AdSense Channels
When you’re getting a new AdSense ad code, you can create a channel through which you will be able to track clicks from your visitors. A channel can be anything from a banner format to a zone on your web page. A single ad can be part of multiple channels at the same time.
For my part, I create a channel for :
- each banner format (336×280, 250×250, etc.)
- each section of my website (Homepage, articles, links, etc.)
- each zone (Top right, right column, bottom, etc.)
A zone is a place on a web page where a banner is displayed.
When I create a new ad, I always place it in 3 channels (format, section and zone). This allows me to know what performs best because a certain format may get a good CTR (clickthrough rate) in some sections of my site while they may not get a single click in other sections.
Also when I place a new ad, I wait about 3 to 4 weeks before tweaking it. Don’t slaughter your website if an ad is not performing well after only a couple of days.
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