tedster - 5:36 pm on Jan 25, 2012 (gmt 0)

Thanks for that link, netmeg. Here's an excerpt, which I did find clarifying to a degree:

...it's not a numbers game. Google hasn't written their algorithm to punish sites with, say, 20 ads above the fold, as opposed to the site owner who only has 19 showing. No, from the Cutts/Google perspective, the algorithm alteration inspects pages to see how the space, especially above the fold, is being used. In fact, Google isn't concerned about the number of ads at all. Instead, they just don't want these ads — however many are appearing above the fold — taking up too much space.

According to the article, this information came from a video chat, and the video itself is being reviewed for QA and if it passes may be posted online.