Best Paying Adsense Ad Formats

[Nacho]

Please take the poll and report your #1 best paying ad format. Feel welcome to discuss any comments below.

Note: Unfortunately I had to leave one out of the poll because of maximum allowed is 10. I chose the Small Rectangle (180x150), but if this is yours please comment below that's your choice of best paying ad format.

NOTE: The poll is private. Meaning that other members will NOT be able to see your vote or any one elses vote.

[Jenstar]

Get voting ;)

The one thing with ad units is that the best performing ad unit size may not be the best for another site - one size doesn't fit all when it comes to maximizing your AdSense revenues.

I might have one site with a 30% CTR with a particular ad unit, but that same layout and indentical ad unit on another site I have might only pull off a 5% CTR. That is why I am such an advocate of testing, testing and more testing.

[gemini]

Should I vote for the best paying add format, or for the highest CTR or CPC ad format? Because most of my $$$ come from one add format, but the highest CTR and CPC on another one... and I'm pretty sure if I could raise traffic on those pages they would be the best paying. Or can I vote twice?

[I, Brian]

The key issue is surely ad visibility, with ad format as a consideration here?

Place the same ad format on two different sites, within completely different contexts, and you will surely have two very different sets of results.

[Adam C]

The key issue is surely ad visibility, with ad format as a consideration here?

Place the same ad format on two different sites, within completely different contexts, and you will surely have two very different sets of results.

Even placing the same ad format on different sites with the same template and structure but different subject matter can have radically different results, as Jenstart alluded to above.

Some demographics are simply less likely to click ads than others.

[Nacho]

Should I vote for the best paying add format, or for the highest CTR or CPC ad format? Because most of my $$$ come from one add format, but the highest CTR and CPC on another one... and I'm pretty sure if I could raise traffic on those pages they would be the best paying. Or can I vote twice?
best paying add format

[Nacho]

19 voters so far. Let's get some more Members to vote. Please contact as many friends as you like and ask them to participate. Thanks :)

[I, Brian]

Hm, you seme to be getting pretty desperate for responses here, Nacho - if you would like help and advice on monetising your AdSense publishing, then I'm sure there are plenty of people here who would be happy to provide tips, information, and personal suggestions - but you will need to ask more direct questions. :)

Asking "#1 best paying ad format" is like asking "which is the best size webpage". In which case the answer is going to depend on context and targeting.

As before, the keys to monetising AdSense are about making the ads visible, but also seamlessly integrating the ads into a site so as to appear to be a natural part of it. And if you haven't done so already, then check out the various eye tracking reports on the internet, which which where surfers tend to pay most attention.

In which instances, the best ad format is that which integrates most visibly and most seamlessly into your targeted webpages - and as this context is very variable, so will the preferred best options for those targeted pages.

Hope that helps a little.

[krisval]

Best Performing for Me: Formatted to look like it is part of your site, not an ad. I would love to hear from someone who has success when they use a completely different color. Always willing to test something new.

I vary my ads based on page content. I Primarily use a combo of leaderboard, skyscraper, and rectangle. Haven't had much success with the smaller units. Ad size depends on the content of the page. I may use rectangle for an article, leaderboard or skyscraper for ordered/unordered lists.

I mostly use 1 ad unit per page. On longer pages where the user will need to scroll down to view all content, I may place a second ad unit.

[Nacho]

Hm, you seme to be getting pretty desperate for responses here, Nacho - if you would like help and advice on monetising your AdSense publishing, then I'm sure there are plenty of people here who would be happy to provide tips, information, and personal suggestions - but you will need to ask more direct questions. :)
Not at all Brian, far from it. I'm doing this for our forum community to benefit. Otherwise, I would have simply just gone to Jenstar for a professional consultation. However, if you would like a little more explanation then I'm happy to oblige.

Some of the most important factors when designing statistical analysis is the sample size of the study or survey. In fact, it's critical to produce meaningful results. In other words, a larger sample size might lead to parameter estimates with smaller variances, giving the study or survey a greater ability to detect a significant difference.

Does this make more sense to you now?

[Dominic]

In terms of placement, my CTR went up on this site: schoolies.org.au when I moved the skyscraper from the right colum to the left column (now the menu is on the right).

I've found on this site life-coach.org.au that skyscrapers weren't successful at all and the banner was much more successful, but placed amongst the content, not just top of page.

If you are considering experimenting, be scientific about your observations:
- Record current performance
- Make distinct changes
- Monitor for a set time frame
- Compare performance
*repeat*

[mhhfive]

Isn't Google going to let publishers chose a custom format (http://google.blognewschannel.com/index.php/archives/2005/04/14/google-testing-new-ad-formats/) at some point?

[Nacho]

Isn't Google going to let publishers chose a custom format at some point?
Excellent point. I strongly believe in that. However, that will require lots of dollars to be invested into the ceation of new banner ads, which will be great for our Internet industry.

Keep in mind that when Google and Overture first came on strong back in the early days and the attention turned to text ads (aka "search" PPC) so many banner ad designers lost their jobs from the dot-com boom. Can this turn things around? Perhaps. I'm positive that those designers that start getting their jobs back will turn their love-hate relationship back to a good stand.

I will love to see this happen! :)

[Jenstar]

Isn't Google going to let publishers chose a custom format at some point?

Those are perks for premium publishers. You need 5 million searches or 20 million content impressions (slightly lower for non-English sites). Regular publishers still have the standard units (except for possibly a few beta testers AdSense tests from time to time).

Otherwise, I would have simply just gone to Jenstar for a professional consultation.

Aw, Nacho, you know how to make a girl blush :p

As for the results, I am a little bit surprised that the banner size (468x60) is in second place. But it is a useful ad unit size for publishers swapping out other banner ads for AdSense.

[eJojo]

More important than the ad format is the position of the ad. For me the highest paying ad is a large rectangle with a position in the center of the site. And then of course in colors to hide the ad. That´s not the best way to make your visitors happier, but for me it is the best paying ad.

[I, Brian]

Here you go, Nacho:
https://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/static.py?page=tips.html

[Nacho]

Here you go, Nacho:
https://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/static.py?page=tips.html
Yes, I'm very familiar with that page but thanks for pointing it out to other Members. Here Google says:
The formats we've found to be the most effective are the 336x280 large rectangle , the 300x250 inline rectangle , and the 160x600 wide skyscraper.
I still find more interesting to hear it directly from the front line. Don't you?

[I, Brian]

Yes, I'm very familiar with that page but thanks for pointing it out to other Members. Here Google says:

I still find more interesting to hear it directly from the front line. Don't you?

As a lot of people have tried to point out in this thread, it's not the ad format that is most important, but what you do with it - and that context is everything. That's from the front lines.