The idea of placing additional AdSense ad units on a client’s website can be quite tempting and often has a big impact on the site’s overall ROI. However, many marketers and publishers find it difficult to decide on a proper balance – the tipping point when extra ad units make sense or becomes overkill that could alienate visitors.
Ultimately, as we have discussed in this space many times, it is great content that will help your site stand out and engage users. Google recommends websites only place ad units on pages that are rich in original content, and to definitely keep the user experience in mind as you think about where you place these ads.
Below are some best practices guidelines to consider when integrating AdSense ads with quality content. (Part II of this post next week will cover both technical and quality guidelines).
Take a look at the Google video below before diving in to The ROI Factor’s design and content guidelines.
Design and Content Guidelines
Show them the way. Providing a sitemap is extremely beneficial to users and will make sure important sections of your website are visited.
Consider breaking the sitemap into multiple pages if it has a large number of links.
Know who the boss is. Of course, a site with a clear hierarchy and text links is important. Make sure each page is reachable from at least one static text link.
Maintain order! Don’t put too many links on one page. It becomes unruly and will inhibit overall functionality.
Think like the user. Try to image what words users would type to find your pages and then use them in those words on specific pages.
Be useful and prosper. Design a useful, information-rich site that clearly and accurately describes your content.
I feel like a broken record, here. Continually check for broken links and correct HTML.
Save the photos, give them words. Pictures are great, but use text instead of images to display important names, content or links. The all-important Google crawler won’t recognize text contained in images. Hint: If you have your heart set on using an image for textual content, consider using the “ALT” attribute to include a few words of descriptive text.
Top titles. <title> elements and ALT attributes MUST be descriptive and accurate.
Dynamic isn’t always so dynamic. If you decide to use dynamic pages, be aware that not every search engine spider crawls dynamic pages as well as static pages. It helps to keep the parameters short and the number of them few.
