Google AdSense Tips and Tricks

Google AdSense Tips and Tricks

The Google AdSense solution is used by millions of web masters around the world. Some of them have great success and good income, while others get only a few dollars.

Here we will share some basic tips which are known to help increase the revenue generated through Google AdSense.

First, you should choose the advertisement block format which best suits your web site visual style. The experience shows that the 336x280 Large Rectangle, the 300x250 Medium Rectangle, and the 160x600 Wide Skyscraper are the most effective shapes. Still, you should mind the visual appearance of your web pages when you insert the AdSense code. If you have a little space for ads, the best solution will be the link unit format.

Additionally, you should pick the most suitable color palette for your ads block. If you have a light background on your web site, it is better to use a similar light palette for the AdSense box. The contrast choice for an ads box palette is good only for web sites with dark background. Still, it is better to pick a color which already exists in your web site.

It is better to create an ads unit which includes both text and images. In this way both will be displayed and this will increase the chance to get a click on an advertisement by a web site visitor.

Next, you should consider the location of the ads on your web pages.

Probably the best position of the advertisements is in the top / header of your site. However, this can break the consistency of your content, so you should be careful using such a solution. Other good locations are just below the navigation bar, above the footer and in the left menu area. You should always put yourself in the visitors' shoes and look to the web site from their point of view. If the ads block makes you feel uncomfortable while browsing the web site, you should consider a different position or formatting.

Additionally, you should define the number of the advertisement units per page. There are some restrictions about it. You are allowed to have up to three advertisement units per page (in addition to three link units and three referral units). If you have a web site with a lot of content, which requires the visitors to scroll down the pages or you manage a forum or a blog, it is wise to put more AdSense blocks. However, always make sure that the main unit which will generate the major part of the revenue is loaded first in the web site source code. In case you wonder, if you place more than 3 ads units on a page only the first 3 will appear.

Detailed instructions on how to improve the efficiency of your AdSense blocks can be found in the Google AdSense resources section:

https://www.google.com/adsense/adsense-resources

How to Integrate Google AdSense

Google AdSense Integration

In order to start using Google AdSense you need to create an account first. This can be done at:

https://www.google.com/adsense/

Click on the Sign Up button to proceed. Fill in all required details and be sure to read the Google AdSense policy before completing the sign-up procedure.

Once the sign-up procedure is completed, you will get a welcome e-mail with instructions on how to use the Google AdSense tool.

Log in the Google AdSense panel and using the included wizard generate the Google AdSense code according to your preferences.

It will be similar to the following one:

<script type="text/javascript">
<!-- google_ad_client = "pub-UNIQUE_NUMBER";
/* 300x250, created 29/03/10 */
google_ad_slot = "11111111";
google_ad_width = 300;
google_ad_height = 250;
//-->
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.
com/pagead/show_ads.js">
</script>

Instead of the "UNIQUE_NUMBER" string you will see a number which is generated by Google and is unique for your account.

In the Google AdSense panel you can check the reports regarding the Google AdSense activity on your web sites. Also, from there you can generate code for advertisement blocks with different shapes and formatting and tune your AdSense setup.

Once you have the Google AdSense unit code you should include it in your web site.

If you have an HTML web site, you can include it directly in the source code.

If you wonder which is the best position for your Google Adsense advertisements, you can check this article:

https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=17954

Basically, the way to include the code depends on your web site technology and personal preferences.

Most of the popular php scripts come with additional extensions which allow you to insert the Google AdSense code without editing your files.

Here we will show different ways to include the code in open-source PHP projects.

We will start with Joomla 1.5, which is probably the most popular open source CMS.

You can find comprehensive instructions on how to install and use the software in our tutorial:

http://www.siteground.com/tutorials/joomla15

There are many different approaches for integrating the Google AdSense code. We recommend that you use a Joomla extension for this purpose.

Using such an extension allows even people who know nothing about programming to enable Google AdSense for their accounts.

You can choose the preferred extension from the following resource:

http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/ads-a-affiliates/google-ads

Then you must follow our Joomla 1.5 tutorial in order to complete the extension installation:

http://www.siteground.com/tutorials/joomla15/joomla_extensions.htm

Some extensions allow IP blocking. This way you can block yours and prevent a violation of the Google AdSense Terms of Use while performing tests.

Another widespread open-source script is WordPress. This application is one of the most popular free blogging solutions.

You can find detailed information on how to install and use it at:

http://www.siteground.com/tutorials/wordpress/

Since inserting the Google AdSense code directly in the WordPress theme's source code requires some programming knowledge, we will use a Google AdSense plugin.

You can choose the one which best covers your needs at:

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/search.php?q=adsense

Detailed instructions on how to install plugins can be found in our WordPress tutorial:

http://www.siteground.com/tutorials/wordpress/wordpress_plugins.htm

Also, every plugin has an Installation tab and the specific installation instructions are published there.

Once you install and activate the plugin, you should enter the specific code generated through the Google AdSense wizard.

Most of the other scripts have similar solutions for adding the Google AdSense code. You can either use an external extension or you can insert it directly in the source code of your web site.