AdSense annoyances
When Adsense was first unveiled, it was a bit of a revolution. Unlike banner ads, they were unobtrusive. However, lately I've been seeing a worrying trend. Now that Google have changed their T&C to allow you to place up to 3 ad blocks, far too many sites have gone ahead and done so.
I try to help out from time to time on various forums, as a way of giving back to the community but I'm increasingly finding that quite a few blogs (which I'll leave unnamed) that are just starting out are filling up their sites with ads. Here, there, everywhere until it gets to the point that I have to try hard to look beyond to see the content itself.
What is going wrong?
I'm not adverse to well implemented ads. However, I wonder if people know what they're doing.
Having more than one adsense block per page will not increase your click through success rate
In fact, in my case, it'll do exactly the opposite. If I see that a site is polluted with ads, I will make a point of *not* clicking any ads. Why?
If I can't see the content beneath the ads, why should I care about site? I'm just going to move on. More importantly however, is that this sort of stuff annoys the crap out of me. Pissing off your potential readers is not a good long term strategy.
Having more than one adsense block per page will not increase the successful targetting of the ads
Now if one ad block isn't providing the appropriate information, what makes you think that adding two more will do the job? If anything, it'll have a negative effect. In one distinct ad section, I can see if there are any appropriate exits. Add multiple sections and I'll mentally blank them out.
Having more than one AdSense block per page will not result in regular visitors
Before you start putting up adsense, have a thought to what you're doing with your blog. Is this a personal venture or are you doing this for financial gain?
If it's a personal venture, think on this. Would you be prepared to be distracted by marketeers when you're having a night out? Would you be prepared to wear adverts on your clothes if it gave you a discount? And would you be prepared to have a few adverts in your phone call if it meant cheaper calls?
Many of us would like people to read what we write. Many of us enjoy writing. Don't annoy your readers. Remember why you're doing this.
What about you? Aren't you using AdSense
If this post is still on the front page, then chances are that there are no adsense blocks at all on this page. And there will not be any adblocks at all on the front page. My aim is not to annoy any regular readers; this was never about any financial gain. This site is here because I enjoy web publishing.
So back to the adsense. What I've done is only display ads after they've been alive for at least 2 weeks (14 days). This will mean that regular visitors will not see any ads at all. Only people who arrive after the 2 week period will see the ads and as the usual manner that occurs is via search engines, the ads will hopefully be more appropriate (by providing alternative exits).
To do this, add the following piece of code in your index.php:
<?php$u_time = get_the_time('U');if ((time() - 1209600) >= $u_time){//60*60*24*14 = 1209600?><!-- Place your adsense code here --><?php } ?>
This retrieves the post timestamp and compares it to the current time minus 14 days. Only then will it display the ads.
Does this work?
The code obviously works but what has it done for my earnings? To be fair, I don't care at all. I'd be happy to take off the ads completely, especially if they were annoying. Anyways, I've had adsense on this site for about half a year now and I've made, well nothing. I haven't hit the first pay cheque limit yet.
In six months I made 60 dollars worth of clicks. At 10 dollars a month, that doesn't even pay for my internet connection. The only reason I'm carrying on is that I want to hit $100 so that Google will send me a cheque. After I get the cheque, it's going straight on my wall. Yep, I'm not even going to bank it.
So after reading this section, you've probably come to the conclusion that I'm the last person to go to if you want to make it big with adsense. If however, you want some common sense advice about using ads without annoying your readership, I hope some of what I said made sense.
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Well, there’s a good “trick” to lower the intrusion of ads. My own experience: I always used a 2-column layout for my blog, and, at first, I had the Adsense code at the very beginning of the sidebar, appearing wherever on the blog the user was. That was undoubtly annoying, and it didn’t bring me much revenue.
I then exchanged it to the present location: only on single post pages, between the post and the comment form. Less annoying, but still “stumbleable” — but hey, hosting costs money; I don’t want to profit from ads, but they are sure a good way to help with the costs of delivering stuff for others to read. Oh, and revenue is now at an average level that covers more or lesss exactly my hosting costs.
The way you’ve implemented ads, Joao, is a good example of how adsense should be used. I’d have no qualms with the layout or the manner in which they’ve been used on your site.
I also agree with you that hosting costs money; However, the way I view it is that for me, this site is a leisure activity. I don’t smoke or go clubbing. The amount I pay for hosting is easily manageable and budgetable so I get back more than what I put in.
It’s a cost but in the same vein that watching a movie is something that I can afford to do every once in a while, I don’t worry too much about recouping value when it comes to hosting.
Nice article. Oh, and the code can even be shortened a bit:
<?php if ((time() - 1209600) >= get_the_time('U')) { ?><!-- Place your AdSense code here --><?php } ?>Oh well, I’m too geeky right.I agree with you on the multiple ad blocks thing, but reading towards the end of your post, I noticed you seem to totally hate AdSense with a vengeance. There’s no need to. As long as ads are implemented in an unobtrusive way (as you described in the beginning of this entry), there’s no problem IMHO.
I think it all depends on how the ads are displayed. At my personal site I show one block with two ads at the bottom of my sidebar at all times. Then on a single post page I put a ad in between the post and the comment for and another at the bottom of the post.
I don’t have anything at the top of pages/posts or anything that comes right in the middle of content. I think I’ve been averaging about $4/day this month for that site which is a pretty big increase over the past. I’m not quite sure why the big jump though.
I do a better with Adsense at another site, but that’s because the content is focused to one topic and the ads are something that actually attract clicks.
For the most part I’d agree that Ads don’t do a whole lot of good on a personal blog. If a blog is focused or gets a fair amount of traffic it could do well though. If someone is going to give me $100 a month for doing nothing I’m not one to turn them down.
“I think it all depends on how the ads are displayed.”
Exactly. Your site is an excellent example in that I never consciously noticed that you had 2 ad blocks.
This is partly because each block only has 2 ads; partly because the front page only has 1 block in the sidebar; but mainly because the content to ad ratio is just right.
The sites that I’m thinking of are those with 3 blocks of 4 ads on the main page (on the sidebar, top and inline.
There’s simply too much noise to signal in such works.
“If someone is going to give me $100 a month for doing nothing I’m not one to turn them down.”
Can’t disagree:-)
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Ad senses
Spurred on by Phu’s thoughts, I’ve adjusted the ‘forces Google adsense implem […]
Well this is exactly why I use Firefox, simply so it is impossible for me to be annoyed by any ads. I can block anything and everything either by using adblock (if the content is loaded into the page such as images or java script) or CSS (if the content is writen in line such as text ads that don’t require JS).
Filterset G for Adblock
Gozer for CSS
Nice article. Too many blogs smother their content with Adsense blocks (i may have been guilty myself in the past). I believe that a personal blog will almost never target good ads because the content is too varied for Adsense to work with….although some people sensibly only put the code on individual entries.
Me? Can’t be bothered anymore ;)
“I noticed you seem to totally hate AdSense with a vengeance.”
Sorry I gave that impression. I like AdSense and believe that it’s definitely provided net benefit to the web. I was more lamenting the fact that it’s not easy to make money unless you’re going to go the full hog
“I can block anything and everything either by using adblock”
Ahhh, but I don’t mind adsense:-)
I don’t know if you’re aware (I wasn’t until I reread the agreement) but if you send Google a notice of cancelation they will send you a check for what you’ve earned so far, as long as that is over $10. Not as pretty as a $100 check, but you’d have something on your wall a lot sooner…
Anyway, very nice post… I’m thinking of implementing code like this on my site - but in the reverse, to cause the ads to disappear after a period of time. Why? Because if anyone in the future uses my site as a reference (once I build up content) then they’ll be rewarded with a lack of ads. I need to think on it some more, but that’s what I’m thinking now after reading your post.
i instantly close pages having loads of adsense. most of the times i dont even care for content in those pages.
phu, with your pagerank you can earn much more than that.
if you place the ads more in the heat map and integrate them with the same colors your ctr will multiply.
experienced visitors will be blind for the adsense so there should not be a problem.
and your fans will probably have no problem to let you earn some bucks with this.
(I see you do sell text link ads, good for you)