Adsense--Google wants me to use more ads...

[Sweet Tooth #3]

A few days ago I got this message in my Adsense inbox..."At least 97 of the pages on xxxxx.com are running less than three ad units. Adding any of our top performing units (336x280, 300x250, 728x90 or 160x600) to prominent sections of your pages will substantially increase your ad impressions and overall revenue".

OK..I was running less ad units because I thought Google would like that. I also like my pages to look nice. I have been running 2 ad units, 1 link unit, and 1 search box per page. My articles range between 500 and 1000 words, so I do have room for another ad unit I guess.

I have read numerous threads on the # of Adsense blocks you should run. Some say do as many as possible, others say that you'll get a lower CPC. So WTF! What are some experiences of members on this forum? Do you pack in the max # of ads or no? Did you do better or make less?

Should I minimize my ads or just whore it up?

I spend the vast majority of my day trying to appease Google...So if they want me to put up more ads, maybe I should listen to them.

[deepsand]

Bear in mind that Big G could care less about your success and longevity; their only interest here is their own short term one. They'll try to get you to turn as many tricks a day as possible, and then dump you when you falter.

[Tubby]

I received a similar message some months ago.

I am in full agreement with Sweet Tooth #3 when he questions "Should I minimize my ads or just whore it up?"

My decision was to keep my pages as is.

My view is that Google needs to woo advertisers to fill the excellent placements many of adsense publishers provide with sensible and clickable adverts. Attempting to turn the better publishers into 'whores' (I like the way Sweet Tooth #3 used that term) Is just another example of Google loosing the plot.

It has always been the quality of the advert that pays adsense publishers - not the quantity.

Bear in mind that Big G could care less about your success and longevity; their only interest here is their own short term one. They'll try to get you to turn as many tricks a day as possible, and then dump you when you falter.

It might well be that Webmaster are dumping Google as it falters

[Sweet Tooth #3]

I am in full agreement with Sweet Tooth #3 when he questions "Should I minimize my ads or just whore it up?"

Lol...thanks Tubby. I know it's not exactly Shakespearean, but it's how I really feel. My sites exist for 2 reasons, to help people, and to make money. Sometimes it's hard to find a balance.

Last night I decided to try the skyscraper in the sidebar again, this time with my site set to a narrower width. I also added a horizontal link unit under the header. So far so good. They've taken some click away from my top leaderboard ad, but so far it's a net gain. It looks really nice too...gives my sites some life. But I'm sure this wouldn't work for some site layouts/ad units.

I just hate it when I land on a page and the only above the fold content is 2 honkin' 336x280's staring me in the face. I also hate it when that large rec ad takes up 80% of the main column width.

One other thing I noticed while browsing my pages on my brothers computer is that for the 2 ad units that are in close vicinity to each other, Google always displays 1 ad as text, and one as image. I don't know if this is by design or just luck, but it doesn't make the page look "loaded." And the link unit under the header just looks like a menu.

I'll post back in a week or so with a more definitive answer.

[Glen Lawrence]

That's interesting. This is the first time I've heard of Google complaining about the lack of ads. But then again, you DO have 97 pages with very little amount of ads. I guess Google simply wants to capitalize on that and make tons of money for both of you.

[deepsand]

This is the first time I've heard of Google complaining about the lack of ads.

Google is not only losing search market share, but hemorrhaging ad revenues.

[Glen Lawrence]

Google is not only losing search market share, but hemorrhaging ad revenues.

Mind posting a link to an article saying this? I know Bing wants a bigger slice of the pie, but I'm not sure how it will achieve that goal.

[deepsand]

Mind posting a link to an article saying this? I know Bing wants a bigger slice of the pie, but I'm not sure how it will achieve that goal.

No single article, but an aggregation of various reports over several months covering several different matters which have cut into it's revenues and increased its expenses; e.g., the effects of the general global economic climate on advertising spending, of Panda on MFA sites, of Bing/Yahoo's growing share of search market, of mobile device manufacturers declining to accept Android licensing terms, of YouTube's failure to cover its own costs, of declining click-through-rates on AdWords listings, etc..

This is not to say that Google's revenues are declining in terms of absolute dollars, but that its rate of growth has been diminished relative to what it otherwise would be in the absence of such effects.

[deepsand]

Google shot itself in the foot with Panda, by way of killing many of the MFA sites that were running with AdSense.

[trade-show-oracle]

I don't think google is saying you MUST run three ads per page, just that you are allowed to and you may make more money.
I say run the number of ads that doesn't interfere with the user experience and quality. If it is a huge long page, then you could run three ads, but if it is short, you may only want one ad.