The #1 question when it comes to AdSense is “What is the best placement and size for the highest click through rate (CTR)?”
I have been doing some testing on one of my AdSense sites for the last couple of months and trying to determine what achieved the best CTR.
Well, the results are in. Below you will find the results of my testing. I was actually quite surprised by the results.
Test #1: 336 X 280 – Set to the left of the text = 12% CTR
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Test #2: 300 X 250 – Set to the left of the text = 14% CTR
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Test 3: 300 X 250 – Set above the text = 20% CTR
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So as you can see the best results were the 300 X 250 ad unit which was set above the text instead of put within the text.
I was surprised by the results because I would have thought that putting the AdSense unit inside the text would have achieved the highest click through rate.
That is why you test. I have almost doubled my income from this site by simply doing a little testing. I went from a 12% CTR all the way up to 20%.
Please understand that the point to take away here is not that you should use the format that I just showed had the highest CTR. Instead you should take away the importance of testing different ad units and different placement.
No two sites are the same and therefore every site will have a different optimal AdSense placement and format. But the only way to find that out is to TEST, TEST and then TEST some more. It is the quickest and easiest way to increase your AdSense income immediately.
You can easily do testing within your Google AdSense account by using the Ad Channels. Set up a different ad channel for each new ad unit and placement and test to see which has the best CTR. Then try another and see if you can beat the last result. Keep doing this until you reach the highest CTR.
Make sure to always test similar ads. For example, do not test a 336 X 280 ad unit at the top of a page against a 250 X 250 ad unit at the bottom of the page. The ad at the top of the page with get a better CTR than an ad at the bottom of the page because of its placement not because of the ad unit size. You need to compare apples to apples to get true results.
Go Start Testing!
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Good stuff! Good stuff! Well, I guess it all boils down to testing then! Thanks!
Thank you for sharing your test result Kurt.
I wonder if it may be better if you use 336×280 above the text? since you have no more texts beside the ads.
Bobby, I will be testing the 336 X 280 soon. Stay tuned for the results.
Thanks buddy, you insights probably just made me a #&!load of money.
My ctr is 10 percent or less if I am lucky. Does the ctr count all adds on page? if so maybe this is my problem.
just wanna say thanks for this post! =)
Thanks – I’ll go check my sites now!
Interestingly I have one site that uses a 300×250 ad in the right column, and another that uses a 160×600 ad in the right column. Both show a similar CTR.
However, I’ll change the setup to allow more testing!
Interesting.. i will try your adsense placement testing soon. Hopefully it can boost my ctr.
hey, great article–I agree completely. It’s smart to test many different approaches and just stick with whatever is working best. Although testing may consume time, we have to consider what it will cost us if we DON’T test our sites, and figure out the optimal placements of ads. I think the hardest part of testing is asking the right questions. If we don’t ask the right questions, we wont be finding the right answers.
just read about your best adsense placement it was helpful thanks but i have a question the 336×280 or 300×250 are those ads are allowed to be put under headings tags such as , etc… ?
sorry for making another comment the first one did not go through did not fully go through, i meant H1,H2 tags ….
hello,
I use the 300X250 inside text and I get average of 26% ctr..
it was the best fro me but the problem is the traffic ..it is very low.
great info i was just in the middle of my own test and needed to see other’s results… your site was on top! Lizzie thanks
Thanks for the post. Useful information and I agree with the advice to test. I found it useful to insert ads after the first paragraph in the article with no indent. It looks less ’spammy’ and allows visitors to get a feel of the content before clicking and ad and being redirected. The moment I set the same ad to the left or right, my CTR dropped.
Testing the ad theory – I recently went form $30 a day, to almost nothing – not sure why, but I have been running more add units thinking that would do better.. trying a 300 and 336 rotating on top of the activity feed on my World of Warcraft Social site.
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