Adsense Tips and Tricks

Many websites out there are informative and attractive, but the only (and ofcourse the biggest) concern for webmasters is “how to make money with my website”. There are many publisher programs, but the following piece of text will focus on making money with Google Adsense program.
Steps to Increase Google CTR which means more money:
[a]. Strictly adhere to the google Polices and TOS. If you are not aware, here it is
https://www.google.com/adsense/policies?hl=en_US
[b]. Do not alter the Google Adsense code
[c]. Do not ask your friends or visitors to click on your Google ads. Do not offer incentives for users to click on google ads. Don’t label the Google ads with text other than “Sponsored Links” or “Advertisements”
[d]. Do not click on your own ads. Google can find it out easily and if it does, your account will be banned and all your money earned is gone. Do not reload your pages excessively. If you are testing your website layout with Google Adsense, you can try the google adsense preview tool. Google does not account any clicks made in the ads displayed in the preview tool.
[e]. Do not place google ads in pop-up windows, error pages or even empty pages.
[f]. Don’t start a website merely for making money from accidental clicks like “mesothelioma attorney” or “asbestos crisis”. You will never make money out these “made-for-adsense-only” websites. Instead, write on topics what you are passionate about. Don’t waste your money on high-paying adsense keywords lists.
[g]. For short content/articles, CTR(click through rate) is best when ads are placed just above the content
[h]. For long articles, CTR improves if ads are placed somewhere in middle of the content, as visitors read the long content and then they are looking for more resources.
[i]. Use Text Ads instead of Image Ads as users get more options. If you still want to display image ads, consider ad formats that support image ads. Statistics say that the 336×280, 300×250 medium rectangle or the 160×600 wide skyscraper works excellent, if you display multiple ad units on a page.
[j]. Reports tell that the following ad format/attributes works best,
border color = background color of your web site
background color = background color of your web site
link color = blue, color of your links
url color = black, #999999
text color = black, #333333, color of your main content
[k]. Always put ads above the main fold. Just have the following heatmap as a reference before placing your ads on your pages.
http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/internet/google-heatmap-2.htm
[l]. Placing images next to ads or above ads does help in attracting user attention, But google does not recommend.
[m]. Blend AdLinks with other navigation links or place horizontal adlinks at the top of your webpage. AdSense publishers are permitted to click on link unit topics on their web pages, provided that they do not click on any Google ads on the resulting page.
[n]. Request your friends or colleagues to navigate your website, watch their activity, it will provide vital clues about which regions on your website draw more user attention. Try putting ads near those areas.
[o]. You can put upto 3 adsense units on a page. Try putting a large skyscraper on the right navigation sidebar of your website. That area is close to the browser scrollbar. You can also add 2 AdSense for search boxes, 1 adlink unit and 1 referral button per product (i.e., 1 AdSense referral button and 1 Firefox plus Google Toolbar referral button).
[p]. The first few lines of your content are an important factor for determining what Ads are served on your webpage. That’s the right place to put keywords in bold (strong or <b> tags) or header tags (h1, h2, etc).
[q]. Always select the setting to open Google Adsense search box results in a new browser window, so you won’t lose your visitors. Click the Open search results in a new browser window checkbox and this add target=”google_window” to your form tag.
[r]. Maximum people think the search box is on the top right corner. So you know where to put it.
[s]. Don’t syndicate full content in your RSS. If people can read everything from the newsreader window itself, why would they visit your website where your ads are.
[t]. Use URL channels to determine performance of individual pages. I track my most popular pages with Google Analytics, Statcounter and create a channel for each of the URL. You can even track Adsense Clicks with Analytics
[u]. For low CTR pages, try changing titles or adding more content to get better focused ads
[v]. Block low paying advertisers with Filters. Why to loose a visitor for 0.01 cents. Use Overture or Google Adwords Keywords tool to discover keywords that are less popular with advertisers.
[w]. The AdSense for search Top Queries report shows you what your users are looking for, by listing the 25 most common searches conducted through your AdSense for search boxes. Use this report to identify additional topics to add to your site, or to keep track of your most sought-after information. Focus and improve that content.
[x]. Not everyone has an RSS reader. Use RSS to Email services like FeedBlitz, Bloglet or Rmail to let users subscribe to your blog by email.
[y]. Try experimenting until you get highest CTR. Placement of ads depends from site to site. What is good for Yahoo is not best for google. So, try try until you find a good CTR
[z]. Use a Tracking website like Google Analytics or Sitemeter to track your visitors and see what keywords they have been searching and use it to your advantage :)