What Is the Best AdSense Ad Format?

AdSense Ad Format

What is the best performing AdSense ad format for you?

For me, no matter which blog it’s on, the best format seems to be the Large Rectangle, size 336×280.

I put it at the beginning of the post, just under the title. It works best if there is room on one side for the post to wrap around the ad.

If your columns are too narrow for this, the Medium Rectangle, 300×250, works well too.

I have put a sample of it in this post (not a real ad – just a screen shot ).

Here’s the code that I use to make the text wrap around the ad:

<div style=”float:left;margin-right:10px;”>
<!– Put Your AdSense Code Here –>
</div>

Actually, now that I’m looking at how the ad looks on this blog, I would probably use the 300×250 size on this blog. The 336×280 is a little large. See how the text next to the ad looks so skinny? You want your blog to still look good with the AdSense on it.

Formatting Tips

A couple more tips:

• The “Title” color (red in this example) should be the same color as the links on your blog. Also, for best effect, the links on your blog should be underlined. Then the AdSense ad will blend in better – both the AdSense ad and your other text will have the same color links, and they will both be underlined.

  Is this “tricking” the reader into clicking the ads? I don’t think so. Most people know what a Google ad is by now. It just gives your blog a more consistent look and feel, instead of the ads sticking out and looking ugly.

• The “URL” color should be black (or the same color as the rest of the text). Often people put this in a different color. I think it looks better to have all the text the same color, except for the links.
• Many people advise that your link color (in your blog and in your ads) should always be blue. I disagree with this. I have tested blue links, and if the blue color doesn’t go with your template, it does not work as well. It is better to use a color that goes with your template.

  However, I definitely would advise using a link color that stands out from your text. Don’t use one shade of blue for your text and another shade of blue for your links, for example. That is not enough of a contrast.

Of course, these tips are just my opinion, but I have tested many different things and keep coming back to the same one in the end.

Inserting the Ad Code Into Your Template

For those of you who have trouble figuring out how to change your WordPress template to put in the AdSense ads, here are some tips to help you:

• Go to your Theme Editor and look for “Main Index Template”. The file name will be “index.php”. This is the one you need to edit. Remember to make a copy first, in case you mess it up!

  You also might have a separate template for a single post. If so, it will be called “Single Post” or something similar and the file name will be “single.php”. If you have this, you need to change this one too.

• Look for a line that says:

  <?php the_content(); ?>

  There might be some extra stuff inside the parentheses – don’t worry about that.

  Just insert the AdSense code right before this. If you use the div code I gave you above, this should cause the content to wrap around your ad.

Don’t be afraid to play around with your template. As long as you make a copy first, if you mess things up, just put your original copy back, and things should be back to normal.