DrDoc - 11:13 pm on Feb 21, 2006 (gmt 0)

Personally, I have not experienced any drawbacks between accessible sites and the ability to make money. Quite contrary, since accessibility is just a matter of ensuring that more diverse groups of people can access your site. And, with usability there haven't been any drawbacks either. Usability itself only ensures that your site is easy to navigate and find your ways around. But it does not limit your ability to highlight certain portions more than others.

Just make sure that the ads retain the main focus. Don't put the search box in a too prominent spot. Come up with a few different possibilities, look at them side by side, and choose the one which is most accessible while also retaining as much focus as possible on your ads.