Graphics in Google AdSense Banners

It seems Google just added graphics with Google in them in the backgrounds

[rustybrick]

Take a look at your AdSense, if you need to, refresh a few times. You might see a Google image in the background.http://www.jenstar.ca/adsensebg/index.html

[bateman_ap]

Out of interest, why so cool? Google is just getting loads and loads of free branding and giving you nothing in return?

[Chndru]

It's cool.

>free branding
Well, they pay for the space.

[xbase234]

It is pretty cool. Imagine the future when they have the capability to deliver *image* based contextual ads.

[freitasm]

Well, they pay for the space.

They pay for the click. You provide the space.

[bateman_ap]

Well, they pay for the space

No they don't, their advertisers pay for any clicks generated and if you have no clicks you provide the space for free.

Google are using paid for advertising space to increase awareness for their brand for free by using advertisers. Not a good thing.

[Chndru]

Remember related links fiasco? That time we had this argument hashed over.

[digitalpoint]

I think the graphics attract the attention of the user though... so I'm guessing the CTR will go up. As a site that runs AdSense, I would *want* the graphics on there if I had a choice.

- Shawn

[Jenstar]

I've been testing and I just got them on my site too. I believe it is a beta test for AdSense set at the default colors (without any custom colors set up in the AdSense code).

[xbase234]

Google is one of the world's best brands. In my opinion, it lends additional credibility to the advertisers.

[conroy]

I'm not seeing it. What size ads are you guys seeing this on?

[peterdaly]

Can someone provide a screen shot? (Can we bend the Posting Guidelines?)

[bateman_ap]

I think the graphics attract the attention of the user though... so I'm guessing the CTR will go up

I would disagree. I would say that a successful adsense site integrates the ads into its normal layout, in a way making the user feel that they aren't clicking on an ad, rather a related link on the site.

By adding the graphic behind, apart from my concerns of free branding, the banner or skyscraper returns to the illusiuton of a normal ad which will have a negative impact on a users williness to click on the ad driving down the CTR.

[bateman_ap]

Google is one of the world's best brands. In my opinion, it lends additional credibility to the advertisers.

If you paid money for a full page newspaper advert in the Times would you be happy for your media agency to run an advert for their services in the background without contributing a penny to the cost? Thought not, whats the difference?

[icedowl]

I'm not seeing them either (and hope I never do).

[worker]

I haven't seen this yet, but I don't know why people are complaining yet. Why not wait a few days and see if it is a benefit, a negative, or a non-issue.
Must everyone immediately stake out a position and try to argue everyone else into agreeing with it?

[digitalpoint]

What would be really cool is to make them optional... Sort of like how they work the PSA ads now. You can specify your own ads if they have nothing but PSA for you.

Where you could set your own background image for the ads would be nice... and allow even better integration into a sites look/feel.

- Shawn

[Visi]

What will make this exciting is Yahoo's reaction when you bring up a cached copy and google logo appears on the ad background for PSA's.

Let the search engine games begin.

[edited by: Visi at 1:20 am (utc) on Mar. 18, 2004]

[mlemos]

I think the graphics attract the attention of the user though... so I'm guessing the CTR will go up. As a site that runs AdSense, I would *want* the graphics on there if I had a choice.

In my experience, graphical banners are not as efficient as text ads because they do look to much like ads. Most users are so used to graphical ads that they avoid looking at them automatically because often they are no more than visual spam.

Text ads that integrate well in the site design do not look so much like ads and users end up noticing them more. If what is advertised is interesting, they will click on them.

Moving to graphical is like going back to Internet advertising stone age. It would be bad for publishers because they only get paid per click. Since most users would ignore them they would not even click them at all and the publishers would be wasting impressions on banners that would not pay.

Graphical ads are good for branding advertisers products which would not require clicking. Unless they would be paying in CPM basis, publishers would be loosing money . So, pay per click graphical banners is a bad idea in general.

[Jenstar]

I got the A-OK from an admin to post some of my screenshots of the new background style ads.

[jenstar.ca...]

They seem to be limited to those two ad sizes at the moment, and those are all the various backgrounds I have seen. I have only seen them on AdSense that was left with the default colors, I haven't seen it on anything that is customized.

If anyone notices more, let me know and I will try and get a screenshot.

[danny]

That's ugly as anything: if Google starts doing that on my sites I'll be most peeved.

By the way, all the 468x60 banners I've seen have the "Ads by Google" on the bottom right, not the bottom left. Am I missing something?

[yoyo8]

This is awful. My site has almost no graphics; This will cheapen its image IMO. I hope this will be made optional.

[Jenstar]

>>By the way, all the 468x60 banners I've seen have the "Ads by Google" on the bottom right, not the bottom left.

Yes, the non-background-image version of the AdSense ad unit has Ads by Google on the bottom right.

[TheDave]

no sir, I don't like it

[freitasm]

You see, I finally blended the colours with my site, and noticed a few % increase in CTR. But with the position I have the ads in my site, and sharing the same background colours, any graphic image would be out of context.

I rather have the option to have this on or off depending on my use.

[ken_b]

I'm not seeing this.

[Jenstar]

I've got all the ad the styles (I think!) posted now - there are 4 different background versions for the banner size, and then the same in the leaderboard size.

[donstar]

Thanks Jenstar, i like them...... :)

[freeflight2]

OK, it's getting pretty obvious now what google tries to do: to make the whole internet to a billboard for their big IPO - IMHO to show these logos is a really bad move - it only will dilute their brand in the long run.
Most internet users are already aware of "Google" - there is definitely no need to bother them with it 24x7 on thousands of different sites... people will start hating google's logo-ads as much as all the other banners out there, then they will start hating google for "chasing" them all day long.
It then will be easy for third parties to distribute browser add ons to "block these annoying google ads" or MS / MSN might even be able to add that as a feature into IE since these logos really don't have any value.
Google, in your very own interest, please stop this nonsense.
Also, what happened to the promise to only show targeted text links?

[edited by: freeflight2 at 5:37 am (utc) on Mar. 18, 2004]

[annej]

The important thing to me is that Google make this an option. On a lighthearted colorful webpage they could be kind of fun. On others they would stick out like a sore thumb.