Top Three Google AdSense Ad Unit Sizes
I do a lot of experimenting with another website of mine that I manage, so I have learned through trial and error what works and what does not. One of the easiest ways to increase your click-thru rate (CTR) is to choose the right ad unit sizes for your website.
I used to think that the Leaderboard (728×90), Banner (468×60), and the Wide Skyscraper (160×600) ad units were the best ones to use, but after doing some research and looking at my own results, the opposite is true.
And just in case my word isn’t enough to convince you, Phoebe Ho of the AdSense Optimization Team had this to say during a Google AdSense webinar:
“The next optimization tip that I’d like to focus on is ad format. You see our best performing ad format. It’s the large rectangle, 336×280. So the wider ad formats are doing better than the other ones and the reason is they actually take up fewer lines. And so with every additional line, you have a chance of losing that interested user.
So the wider formats do best so specifically, the top three formats are the 336×280 that you see on the page; the 300×250 medium rectangle, and the 160×600 wide skyscraper.”
The announcement basically backs up the stats I have for my websites, but if you really think about it, this shouldn’t come as a suprise. Google ad units are, for the most part, going to be text ads. People find it easier to read an ad when it’s in a format that looks most like the way you would naturally read something. People don’t naturally read 728 pixels across and 90 pixels down, they read wide and short, especially on the web where scanning is used more than reading.
Looking over my stats, and without giving any exact numbers, I went from a CTR of 1-3% to 5-6 percent. Those are numbers anyone would be happy about. And if increasing your CTR is important, which I’m sure it is, then you might want to consider adding those little icons next to your AdSense ad units.
So just to recap, the top three AdSense ad unit sizes are as follows:
- Large Rectangle (336×280)
- Medium Rectangle (300×250)
- Wide Skyscraper (160×600)
I actually don’t use the second or third ad unit sizes, as the Large Rectangle performs so well that I don’t even bother. I do use a second ad size, which is the Square (250×250) since it fits the layout of my site, which is a fixed, three-column layout.
It is also worth mentioning that you cannot simply plop these on your website and expect an increase in your CTR numbers. Your layout has to accomodate these ad sizes, and they need to be positioned and camaflouged as well, meaning there should be little distinction on your site as to what is actual content and what is an advertisement.
November 27th, 2006 at 02:55 pm
[…] Original post by Kyle and software by Elliott Back Filed under adsense, Google, Advertising by searchmb Permalink • Print • Email • Comment […]
November 29th, 2006 at 04:48 pm
Thanks for that buddy.