3 Optimize the Ads for Higher CTR

Strategic placement is important but there are other aspects you need to take into account when you optimize your pages for high CTR (Click Thru Rate). Here are some more tips how to fine-tune your ad units in order to attract more clicks:

Choose the right ad size

Adsense offers numerous sizes in the form of rectangles, squares, buttons, and bars but the truth is that only some of them convert well. Generally the sizes Google recommends are 300 x 250, 338 x 280, 728 x 90, 160 x 600, and 320 x 50 (for mobile banners). The first two are suitable for intext use, the third is suitable to put under the site header, and the 160 x 60 one works best under the menu, if you use left/right menu navigation. Of course, you can also experiment with the other available sizes and see if they work better for you.

Choose multiple ad units

You are allowed to run up to 3 ad units, 3 link units, and 2 search boxes per page. This means for ad units and link units you need to choose multiple units, preferably in different sizes. For instance, you can choose one 728 x 90 or 160 x 600 unit for under the header/the side menu and two more, i. e. 300 x 250 and 338 x 280 for inside the text. As for the type of ads, the choice is between text, text and image, and image only ads. Usually plain text ads work better because images are too obtrusive to attract clicks but you should try for yourself and see what makes you more clicks.

Use link units

A common mistake many people make is not to use link units. Link units can outperform normal ads because they are less obtrusive and if you blend them with your menu, people will click there. You can put one 728 x 15 link unit under the header and one 160 x 90 under the side menu. You can make the link color the same as the color of the items in menu but don't use the same font type and font size because this could be considered a form of format mimicking and could get you penalized.

Choose the right color

Link units aren't the only ones that can benefit from the right color. However, with them it is easier ‐ just use the same colors as you do in the menu and you are done. With normal ad units, this isn't that straightforward. Basically, the options here are to blend the unit (i. e. make the links and text in the same color and size as your text), use a contrast scheme (i. e. if your site is in green, use red for the ads) so that the ads stand out from the rest, or stick with Google default. Which one is best? Nobody knows! What works for one site (i. e. blending) will not work for another. So the only thing you can do here is to use the trial and error approach and see which of the three works for you. Or, if you want a more scientific approach, try AB tests.

AB tests sound very complex but in reality their concept is brilliantly simple. The idea is that you test which of two similar units performs better. For the purpose, you test 2 similar units (i. e. two 338 x 280 ads) that have one differing feature (i. e. font color). Both units must be placed on the same spot. On every even page visit you serve unit number 1 and on every odd page visit you serve unit number 2. Go to your Adsense account, create the two units, create a separate channel for each of them (don't forget this because if you do, you won't be able to perform the test), and put the following code:

<script type="text/javascript">