The Google AdSense programme has been operating for 3 and half years and only now have the rules about image placement been clarified. It’s announcements like these that make me feel pity for those people who have built large numbers of websites primarily for AdSense and spent endless hours fine tuning ad placement etc. It also makes me glad that I’m no longer worrying about what Google is going to change next about the AdSense programme.
To sum it up, placing images next to AdSense ads was always a bit of a grey area because they would tend to attract the attention of the website visitor and therefore increase the chances of an ad-click. At one point, images next to ads was considered acceptable practice as long as there was some form of visual separation between the image the ad.
This is no longer the case…
Can I place small images next to my Google ads?
We ask that publishers not line up images and ads in a way that suggests a relationship between the images and the ads. If your visitors believe that the images and the ads are directly associated, or that the advertiser is offering the exact item found in the neighboring image, they may click the ad expecting to find something that isn’t actually being offered. That’s not a good experience for users or advertisers.
Whilst Google may have clarified their position on the placement of images next to ads (even showing some examples of what not to do), what they’ve not clarified is whether or not images can be used as backgrounds for ads e.g. someone was recently offering background images that made AdSense ads appear as though they were enscriptions on unfurled parchment scrolls.
Whereas AdSense income used to make up for well over 75% of my online earnings, it now only accounts for a couple of hundred dollars a month. Take away the hassles of managing hundreds of domains, websites and the crappy Dollar/Sterling exchange rate and you’ve got someone who has more time to focus on creating real relationships with customers than toeing Google’s ever-moving line.
Technorati Tags: Google AdSense, Moving Goal Posts
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