336x250 only showing two ads?

[maxgoldie]

For the first time I see only two ads in my 336x250, where there normally should be four. Plus the fonts are almost twice as big as normal.

It looks terrible. Any ideas how to get it to show four ads?

(I have opted out of CPM and "advertise on this site".)

[Atomic]

I went to 250x250 and have had some decent results. But you never know why things improve since Google might have thrown a search-related switch and sent me better traffic or an advertiser entered the market or the mighty hand of God reached down and clicked some tasty ads for me.

[ltedesco]

It really looks horrible only 2 ads, bigger letters and the white space in between. Do you guys think it will stay like this? Should I pick another format? I want to my site look good and professional.

[Shadoze]

our technology has determined that showing fewer ads on a particular site represents a greater revenue benefit for you.

This is one of the funnier PR comments I've heard in quite a while..

When a business tells you they are doing something for YOUR benefit.. well, if you believe that, I've got some ocean front property in Oklahoma to sell you.

[pgrote]

Has anyone seen an increased click through or earnings with the new format?

This is the frustrating part in dealing with Google. I love their services, I do. But when something like this happens there is no dialog whatsoever. There was mention about the change before it occurred either.

I haven't received a personal response to the email I sent, the Adsense Adviser hasn't been back to address questions, and you cannot leave comments on the Adsense blog.

I was hoping there would be a change back to the old format before I had to look at alternate ad layouts, but it looks like that might be the only option at this point.

[skunker]

I like how some of you get mad at people for creating MFA sites and yet the same critics are here getting angry at Google for making you change your site to better reflect the ads. Some of you are also talking about redoing the entire layout around the new adsense format.

Well, that's okay. I do it too. Just don't be a hypocrite.

On a side note, I am experiencing the same problems with the "2 ads" showing on a large rectangle block and it's getting me stressed out.

Google, please put it back to where you had it! Your new ad implementation is not helping me one bit!

I'm being forced to do the "4 image trick" on this until Google reverts to the original format.

[edited by: skunker at 4:46 am (utc) on Jan. 6, 2006]

[maxgoldie]

I dont know if stacking different adblocks on top of one another will help, as the second and third adblocks might not pay as much as the second or third ad would have in the large rectangle/square.

[pgrote]

"I like how some of you get mad at people for creating MFA sites and yet the same critics are here getting angry at Google for making you change your site to better reflect the ads."

I have no idea what MFA means. And the ads aren't better reflected.

"Just don't be a hypocrite."

Can you explain this? What is hypocritical about wanting your vendor to explain changes before they happen, and then help you deal with the aftermath?

[pgrote]

"not pay as much as the second or third ad would have in the large rectangle/square. "

Good point. Can you image how much worse it would look to have the bottom unpopulated?

[thegreatpretender]

Well, I shouldn't worry to much earlier. The income is back to normal, even though only 2 ads are still showing so a bit lower ctr, the epc is gaining ground and the income is back. I hope it continues this way with my site.

I have only one ad unit (large rectangle) on every pages of my sites. When google made changes of showing only 2 ads on rectangles, my ctr dropped significantly, the epc didn't catch up right away so the income was way lower than normal. What I did was putting one skyscrapper at the right side of the pages in addition to the rectangle. The result was dismal. Though the ctr from two units combined were up, for some reasons, the epc dropped further. So I decided to removed the second unit and forget the whole thing and just hoped for the best. Few days later, the income is back. I think the system is still figuring out which ads is best for individual sites, eventually it will catch up and gives us higher income. So let's give it more time.

[david_uk]

Yes, they look horrid.

In my case the ctr is up, and the epc down so no gain or loss. No problems with ad targetting.

I'd like the choice to have them or not. We know our sites, and visitors a lot better than Google ever will - we should be the ones to choose, as we are in a much better position to make that decision than Google will ever be.

Offer the choice, and provide webmasters better reporting in able to make the choice.

Google "technology" *IS* flawed much more often than they care to admit. I've emailed them a couple of times with various questions. Each time I get the usual canned response from the fortune cookie generator department saying that the technology couldn't possibly be faulty, and each time there has been a silent correction in short order.

Google - I hope you are reading this thread.

What we need is:-

1. Some form of reporting on CPM ads.

2. Some form of reporting on how the expanded ads work in comparison to non-expanded ads.

3. The ability to turn both cpm and expanded ads on or off to suit look of site / better income based on our analysis of data unique to our sites.

What we don't need is:-

The "We know best" attitude problem that Google have. Please drop the attitude and start treating us as the partners we are. No websites = no search engines = no Google. You should remember that without us webmasters, nearly all of your management would be asking "Do you want fries with that?" 4000 times a day, as opposed to wearing a shiny suit and driving a company BMW.

Constant reassurance that the technology works, or offers an increase in revenue when as we see here is clearly does neither. I agree that each site is different, and what works for one webmaster is going to work against another. Therefore GIVE US THE CHOICE TO DECIDE OURSELVES - your technology clearly isn't capable of making that decision.