Placing The First Ads On Your Web Site

It's always a challenge to figure out where those first ad blocks should be placed. There are two types of new ad publishers; the type that places one or two small ads down at the very bottom of their site and the type the completely litters their site with ads so it overpowers the content of the site.

Both end up wondering why they are getting no traffic or getting no clicks.

There are a few things to consider when first publishing ads. One is, what type of system are you using, a context sensitive system, one that assigns a single generic topic to each site or a general, stupid ad system that doesn't care what you site is about and will always show the same generic ads.

The only ad systems I will personally use are context sensitive or topically related. I never want gambling, dating or "you've won, click here" ads on any of my site, ever.

Context Sensitive

If you are working with a context sensitive system such as Google AdSense, be aware it sometimes takes a few days for the system to view your site and extract relevant keywords to start showing related ads. In this case, the first few days I usually only place a small ad somewhere out of the way to get that initial analysis done. Then, after good related ads are showing, further expanding the footprint.

Topically Related

This type of system requires less of a "break in" period. Though even so, many off topic ads may appear at the beginning because the system is, at first, selling your space pretty cheaply until they get a feel of what advertisers are willing to pay for ads on your site. So like context sensitivity, proceed slowly.

Getting Started

I usually set up my first ads with care. Find currently wasted space in your site's template. Space that is usually "whitespace", find an approriate size ad for and fill it. At first don't shuffle a lot of content around yet, as, odds are there is currently very good space not in use right now.

This wasted space is often time in the site's header. Prime real estate of a web site, first fold of the site, right at the top, is often the most wasted. Look at the design of your header, is you logo twice as tall as the text title of your site? Good, then move the text up and put an ad underneath it to fill that header.

Do you have a horizontal navigation? If so, place a long skinny ad right underneath it, or above it. Do you have a vertical navigation? Place and ad block right below it.

Text flows (typically) from left to right, do you have wasted space in the upper right corner or your site, or, along the right side? If so, put an ad block, or a tall, narrow skyscraper to the right.

All of these spaces can be very effective locations for ads, and can also often be added without disrupting the current layout much, if at all. It's a great way to break you site visitors in to the idea of ads on your web site.

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