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What’s Your Best-Performing AdSense Unit?

Filed Under: AdSense/CPC 99 Comments

How well an AdSense unit performs on a site depends on several different factors…

1) The page the unit is on
2) Ad relevancy
3) Amount and quality of traffic to the site/page
4) Placement of unit

So I am by no means about to suggest that one size fits all in regards to the units. However, I would like to open up a discussion on what you’ve learned about placement.

I recently tweeted that I am having great success using the 300×250 Medium Rectangle unit alongside my YouTube videos. On certain pages, my click-thru rate has quadrupled.

I actually got this idea from Google. One of their optimization experts suggested this on my site over a year ago.  Not sure what took me so long, but I am now implementing this on more pages and the results have been fab.

Let’s talk about what you’ve learned about placement and/or color experimentation.  Done anything different to give your earnings a boost?  Please share!

Comments

  1. Oscar says

    April 9, 2013 at 1:46 am

    Great initiative, well the 336 X 280 works great for me below the post. While the small rectangle works well under post title.

    Reply
    • abhi says

      January 28, 2014 at 2:57 pm

      300 x 600 unit is best

      Reply
  2. Sid says

    March 31, 2013 at 10:50 pm

    How do below post ad perform? I need to know whether it performs well.

    Reply
    • Penn says

      July 5, 2013 at 10:27 am

      You’re really only know how well these units perform on your website until you do some testing. I used to believe that units placed between content and heading perform the best. Whereas I occasionally get some superhigh clicks, these are not in my opinion the best performing ads on my website. However, you may be talking about posts placed on a forum. I have three 728 banners on my forearm. The best performing by far is placed in the header position, just below the forum menu. I believe this is my second highest earning ad units over the years I have been using AdSense. As for banner units placed below posts, I found that the best decisions are believed low the first and second post, these can also do very well. I have also now made sure that all units are text and image, rather than one or the other.

      Reply
  3. Sid says

    March 31, 2013 at 10:49 pm

    How do header bar ad perform? Anyone here know? I’m going to insert it.

    Reply
  4. Pankaj says

    March 4, 2013 at 9:39 am

    i have adsense approved domain and i am using it. but still i am not getting ads in my post. which plugin i need to use for this?

    Reply
  5. Saurabh says

    February 3, 2013 at 1:41 pm

    Hello There!
    Can someone suggest me anything regarding link units ? I am going to implement it on my site but don’t know which link unit should I use which is having much high CPC. :-/

    Reply
  6. hussein says

    January 12, 2013 at 9:31 am

    hello everybody , iam using adsense in my blogger blog which about newspaper jobs ads but i don’t get more clicks and my ctr was low , i need any help for best adsense unit size and placement cause my blog posts usually long and contains alot of images . thanks alot

    Reply
  7. Jamie says

    July 16, 2012 at 9:20 pm

    Lisa

    agree with a few posters here re the 300×250 block. Seems to be the best option for most pages.

    As a fellow SBI’er, I like your site and concept!!

    Best
    Jamie

    Reply
  8. StatsProfessor says

    May 29, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    Still trying out all the different types so not enough to data to say which one is the best performing so far but I’ll give the medium rectangle a shot, heard good results from a number of people about it.

    Thanks for the AdSense tips.

    Reply
  9. Danijela says

    May 28, 2012 at 4:35 am

    Hello, Lisa. Thanks for all the advices about Adsence. I am currently trying to find the best way to use them on my blog, since I have never used them before. I love this idea! Thanks. Have a nice day! 🙂

    Reply
  10. Mike says

    April 21, 2012 at 11:59 am

    Great Info Lisa, thanks for all the tips.

    Reply
  11. Tim says

    March 1, 2012 at 4:59 am

    For sure google adsense is one of the most genuine way to earn cash online.keep it up.

    Reply
  12. Payabo says

    February 11, 2012 at 6:51 am

    I’m impressed. I read a lot of your article and I think, you’re smart… I wanna learn more about Google AdSense…. I think, this post provides the best tutorial of Google AdSense…

    Reply
  13. Panzerkumar@SEOcontentwriter says

    February 6, 2012 at 6:34 am

    hi mate..
    All i can say is Blog writers and Article writers rock. Text rules the world of online other graphics gets the last ranking.. I am Good @ writing as well, but your success story and frank share made me consider getting Google adwords for my website(which is under development now)

    Reply
  14. Steve says

    January 22, 2012 at 8:58 pm

    This is my 2 cents for different ad placements, I have implemented this for about 2 months now and it does seem to be adding clicks.
    I place 2 – 250 square ads side by side between the 3rd and 4th paragraphs of each posted article’s page. The placement is automatic once the article is posted with a few lines of code in the custom_functions.php file of Thesis.
    I will still monitor this setup, but for now it seems to work.

    Reply
    • lisa says

      January 22, 2012 at 9:04 pm

      Interesting Steve! Never tried this one before. I may have to give it a go.

      Reply
  15. passi says

    December 29, 2011 at 8:44 pm

    You mean we should always use 300*250 rectangle not any other ad unit

    Reply
    • Dev marketing tools says

      December 29, 2011 at 11:50 pm

      I also use 300*250, and it works best for me though.

      I think that one ad per page can get the highest pay rate, because Advertisers will have to bid more to get a higher ranking position…and it’s more money for you:)

      Very interested topic…keep posting the results guys.

      Regards,
      Dev

      Reply
  16. dieFlaneuse says

    November 21, 2011 at 4:09 pm

    Hi Lisa,
    i really like your site. It help me so much. I tried to become a small inocome over adsense and … it didn`t work so good. Out of reading your articles i become more sensitive in how i`m using the adsense banners.
    best blogging and …please don`t stop!
    Regards from germany

    Reply
  17. Chibuzo says

    October 30, 2011 at 5:05 pm

    I really,really appreciate all I’ve read about on your website.They’re really chunks of food for thought.I’ve heard of blogs and adsense since 2008,created one but I lost track of it.Currently I’ve created two blogs but it’s really hard to maintain mostly due to financial constraint.Was it that difficult for you at your start?
    Also based on my blog names and the purpose for creating them, I find difficult ‘cos I really need to be up to date all the time.I really love blogging, but it’s also worthwhile that I earn for time usually spent.
    It’s not easy but I know it’s possible.I appreciate your effort and desire assistance.

    Reply
  18. Benjamin Hubbert says

    September 30, 2011 at 2:49 am

    Lisa-

    Can you run AdSense on websites with a .org extension. I have a website that generates a lot of traffic and have heard that you can’t. Thanks for your help.

    Reply
    • lisa says

      September 30, 2011 at 9:19 am

      I’ve never heard this. I believe you can.

      Reply
    • Arunkumar Nagappan says

      April 7, 2013 at 8:23 am

      You can run AdSense ads in .org websites. Example : world most famous technology blog labnol.org running based on Adsence revenue . You can put your Adsence ads in any kind of websites which have quality and original contents . But your blog must running based on Adsence policies .

      Reply
  19. Minesota Government Shutdown says

    July 10, 2011 at 1:49 pm

    I always use the 300×250 as it performs the best. However i’ve recently been using the 160×600 on the right side and it seems to have increased my revenue overall.

    Reply
  20. Yudi Yunior says

    July 5, 2011 at 8:21 am

    Excusme. I most like the 234×60 text mounted on the bottom post. This is most effective for low traffic blogs. I put on some of my blog, and most often got clicks.

    Reply
  21. @online career says

    April 27, 2011 at 9:49 pm

    my best ad so far is the 300 x 250 text ad, however i do not think that i am making enough out of google adsense..so i am here trying to test different ads and sizes on various parts of my website…please take a look and tell me what you think, if there are any suggestions i will be keen to take note…

    also i have been trying lately to get the biggest adsense unit, don’t know what size it is, but i have seen it on several sites, does any one knows how to get it?

    Reply
  22. Portrait painting says

    April 12, 2011 at 9:14 pm

    300×250 is good, but i think AdSense can’t make many money, Put one text link Ad is better to get money.

    Reply
  23. Genie says

    March 10, 2011 at 10:40 pm

    Don’t know what it is with the 300×250 ad unit but it is the best performing ad unit for me too, followed by the leaderboard. I have it placed at the top of some pages and in the middle, and it seems like it does not matter where it is – it is loved by surfers. I guess it’s a little more conspicuous and also easier to blend in.

    http://www.healthylivingnow.org
    “If we all treat each other like we treat ourselves – what a wonderful place earth would be.”

    Reply
  24. Tech Crates says

    March 9, 2011 at 2:11 am

    The adsense unit that worked best for me IMO is 300×250 and 728×90

    Reply
  25. Paras says

    January 10, 2011 at 12:01 pm

    Same for me Rectangle (300×250) and large rectangle (336×280). But it depends also on the ad placement. Just below the article title they perform best.

    Reply
  26. Art Lewis says

    May 17, 2010 at 10:58 am

    Hi Lisa,
    I stumbled upon your very informative website. i have a business website with over 600 pages. I have two 160 by 600 ad blocks running downt the left hand side. While I earn good consulting income from my site, I am very disappointed with my Google ad performance. From what I read here it seems that a 300 by 250 or 336 by 280 ad under the page title might produce better results. My website is http://www.askartsolutions.com. I would appreciate any feedback on improving my adsense income.
    Art

    Reply
  27. Chris Huntley says

    May 14, 2010 at 2:22 pm

    Hey everyone,
    I’m a bit new to AdSense adds and wonder if anyone would know the answer to a problem I have. I have an insurance blog where I write about various topics. One page that has generated a lot of interest (about 100 hits per day) was about whether or not life insurance pays out if you commit suicide. For some reason, that page gets more traffic than any other on my site, but no one who goes there is actually looking for insurance… they already have it, so I thought adding AdSense link to some suicide prevention page would be a good converter there, however, when I put in the ad, google automatically threw in life insurance ads there, since most my site is about insurance, I guess.
    The question is, can I specifically tell google I want the add to be related to suicide and not insurance???
    Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
    .-= Chris Huntley´s last blog … Return of Premium Life Insurance =-.

    Reply
    • lisa says

      May 14, 2010 at 5:17 pm

      You can’t really control what shows, but you can block certain domains through your AdSense account if there are specific ads you don’t want to show. The reason you aren’t seeing a lot of suicide ads is because there probably aren’t a lot of suicide ads in the AdWords database. With AdSense, you are at the mercy of what ads are available to show.

      But be careful. If you block too many domains, Google may start showing PSA’s or the ads may become even more unrelated.

      Reply
      • Chris says

        May 14, 2010 at 5:30 pm

        Thanks

        Reply
    • Ben @ Make Easy Money says

      June 22, 2010 at 10:30 pm

      Yep that’s true, you have no control over what Google serves to your website, and there’s probably not enough Adword Advertisers for the page that you’re getting the clicks from.

      But one thing you can do though is try to go with Affiliate Marketing for that page.

      You can sign up with clickbank, shareasale, etc… it’s free, the commission is up to 75% depends on the Company, the choice is yours!

      Reply
  28. innocriss says

    May 10, 2010 at 1:47 am

    hey Lis,
    i just came across this post, which is inspiring as most of your other post on adsense.
    For me i believe picture ads before my content works best.
    Yet i will try other alternatives in order to make the right judgement.
    .-= innocriss´s last blog … Parental Guidance and Leadership – Which of These 6 Styles Best Describes You? =-.

    Reply
  29. Mark McKnight says

    April 28, 2010 at 2:30 pm

    I use a google search bar right under my heading and then a 336 x 280 just below that. This converts well for me. I also use a 468 x 60 under any videos I use on my websites.
    .-= Mark McKnight´s last blog … Bunton Lawn Mowers =-.

    Reply
  30. Jackie from Money Blogging says

    April 7, 2010 at 6:22 am

    I had been searching for this kind of site because it really helps me a lot especially about adsense and how to make money online.Finding this kind of blog is so usefull for me.i got lots of idea reading the articles and comments.It really works.Thanks!Goodluck!
    .-= Jackie from Money Blogging´s last blog … How To Avoid Getting Your Adsense Account Terminated =-.

    Reply
  31. Webmaster says

    March 3, 2010 at 9:01 am

    Rectangle (300×250) and large rectangle (336×280). But it depends also on the ad placement. Just below the article title they perform best.

    Reply
  32. Altai says

    February 27, 2010 at 10:34 am

    My best performer is the 336×280, near the top of the page and in the center. I’ve tried all kinds of positions and coloring, and for my target age group (college students) the CTRs are never high, but this has produced the best results. With text and images enabled, and a generic blue color for the links and plain black for the text and url address.

    Reply
  33. Michelle says

    February 24, 2010 at 9:15 pm

    I don’t have adsense on Taming Time at the moment. But for my other site a big block centered above the fold gets me a good click through rate of 3 – 5 % (is that ok to say?)
    .-= Michelle´s last blog … Feb 24, Why Do People Procrastinate? Steps to Overcoming Procrastination =-.

    Reply
  34. Michele Cohen says

    February 24, 2010 at 6:22 pm

    Indeed, the 300×250 ad unit has increased my clicks overnight. I’ve been stunned and amazed to see these results after only commencing with this size ad unit last week. I have to wonder what it is psychologically that draws a reader into wanting to click the ads on this semi square unit?
    .-= Michele Cohen´s last blog … Organic Foods Delivered without Stress =-.

    Reply
  35. building lasting relationships says

    February 24, 2010 at 6:17 pm

    definately the 300×250. i used to always place the 468X60 at the bottom of the page but now i’m also trying the 300X250 at the bottom of some pages to see how that works out. I’m not making huge money with adsense yet but this has been my biggest month so far so something is working.
    .-= building lasting relationships´s last blog … Stick By Eachother Through Difficult Times. =-.

    Reply
  36. Make Money At Home says

    February 24, 2010 at 7:42 am

    The single 300 x 250 works best for me, right under the title of the post (and a short intro paragraph).

    A link unit across the top, just under the site title/header does well too.
    .-= Make Money At Home´s last blog … Trent Brownrigg Interview – The $48,000 Site Flip =-.

    Reply
    • Jacky says

      August 3, 2012 at 11:31 am

      hello

      What are the other alternative for revenue earning

      Reply
  37. Kiesha says

    February 23, 2010 at 9:20 am

    I’ve actually recently removed all but one Adsense unit from my blogs. I’ve left only one, the 5 link unit that I post at the bottom of each posts.
    Yes, my adsense revenue has declined, but people are staying on my site longer, clicking through to more related articles and commenting more.
    I made this decision maybe a month ago when I decided I want people to read my content, not run off to some other site to read theirs. In my mind, all the hard work I put into my writing just isn’t worth the few cents to a few dollars worth in clicks. My goal right now is to continue to increase my readership. Maybe once I’ve reached the goals I’ve set in those areas I’ll return to using more prominent Adsense units.
    .-= Kiesha @ WeBlogBetter´s last blog … Original blog content vs. original ideas =-.

    Reply
  38. Daniel says

    February 23, 2010 at 7:53 am

    Hi Lisa,
    Our team have learnt many ‘tricks of the (AdSense) trade’ since first visiting your site, and visiting the websites of the people who post on this forum. I’m pleased to report nearly 3 times higher revenue as a result!
    Horizontal skyscraper works best for us, no borders, ad bg colour same as page bg colour, links and title same colour as page links.
    Daniel

    Reply
  39. Paul Pela says

    February 23, 2010 at 7:31 am

    My best performing ads are the biggest ones. I’ve changed my site template recently and also put bigger ads. There are only two of them: 728×90 at the top and a 336×280 between the content and comments. They work 1.5x better than the old ones (mostly 468×60).

    Reply
  40. Andy says

    February 23, 2010 at 6:48 am

    For me it is currently the 728×90 banner ad which runs above the main content on every page (not the homepage), it gets me 3 times as more clicks than others. But that may change as last week I implemented a 336×280 box ad to appear half way down the content, justified left with the second image on the page to appear directly below it, drawing attention to it. So far in just that week I have noticed a steady amount of clicks coming from it and hopefully it will surpass the 728×90 banner.

    As for colours the one thing I have found is that the title of the ads needs to be a prominent colour so it attracts the eye.

    But the big thing for me was that link ads never really got any decent traffic for me, so tend to avoid them.

    Reply
  41. PowerPoint Templates says

    February 23, 2010 at 6:19 am

    This is a Google heat map – the darker colors supposedly represent the most clicked spaces on a web page http://www.small-business-software.net/heat-map.htm
    .-= PowerPoint Templates´s last blog … Tarantula Spider PowerPoint Template =-.

    Reply
  42. Chris says

    February 22, 2010 at 9:31 pm

    I use several sizes of adsense units on my sites, but the one that earns the most is the 336 x 280 unit. I use the same link and text colors as the rest of the site and I usually have this ad unit floated to the right of the text. I usually place this unit below the fold because I don’t want my site to seem like there is little content and just a bunch of ads. My second best adsense unit is the 160 x 600 and I usually place this on the left side of the page underneath the navigation menu and so this unit is below the fold. I also use the 468 x 60 link unit but it doesn’t perform as well as the two above mentioned ad units, despite that several of my sites have the link units placed above the fold. I’ve never had much luck with the 468 x 60 text ads in any position on my pages.
    I sometimes use image ads but these don’t seem to generate many clicks, although I kind of like the looks of the image ads and sometimes use them anyway.

    Reply
  43. Avraham Saltoun says

    February 22, 2010 at 8:10 pm

    after a lot of practice, 350 x 200 and by the way. only ONE ad per page, to ensure that I will get the advertiser that has the highest bid.
    .-= Avraham Saltoun´s last blog … Every Dream Has a Message =-.

    Reply
  44. Dubai City Information says

    February 22, 2010 at 2:05 pm

    One practice that has boosted profitability from Adsense is as such:

    One of my sites had 3 ad units per page. The second unit (toward the middle but still above fold) had the highest CTR. So i took the top most unit out. Since Adwords is a bidding system, the highest bidders often appear on the first blocks of ad on your page. Thus, I essentially moved the higher paying vendors to the ad block getting the highest CTR. Boosted earnings over 30%…

    Big square ad blocks a paragraph into the content (above fold) do best for most our websites…

    Big square blocks on ad do very well for me on all my websites when placed next to a video (just as you guys have been saying)

    Yes – Lisa, please do post a summary of results. Would be very interesting for the community to see…

    Melva, perhaps the reason why you are not making much from your website is the fact that visitors are leaving upon hitting the first page (since you have an Adsense ad on it) ? Just a thought …
    .-= Dubai City Information´s last blog … duty free in Dubai =-.

    Reply
  45. Kali Lilla says

    February 22, 2010 at 1:04 pm

    Changing from link unit to ad unit at the top of each blog post helped alot! Also moving my skyscraper higher in my sidebar has yielded better results. I haven’t been able to get adsense to show up in my feed though. 🙁

    Lisa where is your 300×250 Medium Rectangle unit alongside your YouTube videos? ON this blog or your YT site?
    .-= Kali Lilla´s last blog … Vote for Slow Food for Kids =-.

    Reply
    • lisa says

      February 22, 2010 at 6:23 pm

      It’s on my static site on various places. For example http://www.2createawebsite.com/prebuild/quick-website-overview.html Haven’t put any on my blog yet due to the spacing.

      I haven’t had any luck with those link units. I don’t like them. They look nice because they fit into small spaces but people have to click twice before you earn any money since they have to click the category first.

      Reply
      • Kali Lilla says

        February 22, 2010 at 6:52 pm

        Oh i see it now. That looks good! I might have to try that. Thanks for the tip and the great info you provide!
        .-= Kali Lilla´s last blog … Vitamix vs Blendtec Showdown! =-.

        Reply
  46. Brad says

    February 22, 2010 at 8:12 am

    Mine is the 336 x 280 square after each page’s content. Gets 5x the clicks any other location I’ve tested. Colours do best on mine when the links and text are the same as the site text colour.

    p.s. Lisa, make sure you post the results! Very curious what positions and sizes everyone does best with.
    .-= Brad´s last blog … A Visit to Sailor Mars’ Hikawa Jinja =-.

    Reply
  47. PauseStopRewind says

    February 22, 2010 at 7:59 am

    The 300×250 image/video ad at the top right corner of my website does amazingly well. Ever since placing that ad over the feature video spot I’ve noticed a sudden increase in clicks. However, most of my clicks come from my YouTube videos since I’m a YouTube partner and often get my video featured.

    Reply
    • PauseStopRewind says

      February 22, 2010 at 8:01 am

      I stand corrected, I believe it’s the 250×250.
      .-= PauseStopRewind´s last blog … YouTubers versus false copyright claims =-.

      Reply
  48. Melva says

    February 22, 2010 at 7:36 am

    My highest performing Adsense ad is on my home page. It is placed a the bottom of the content. It is an AdSense unit: 468×60. It is my home page and is my most visited page. The ad is relevant to my site concept.
    I do not make a lot of money with Adsense , but it is my most reliable money maker at this point.I had been tweeting lately and my traffic is up and so is my Adsense earnings.

    I do not change the colors, when I changed them to make them stand out or so I thought, my clicks went down so I went back to the default colors.
    .-= Melva´s last blog … Profitable Home Business Ideas for Writers =-.

    Reply
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