Adsense & content almost blend together aesthetically

Is this allowed?

[notredamekid]

Hi all,

I have some questions about displaying adsense.

1) Is it allowed to display the ads on a white background (with a white border) on a white page?

2) Under my Adsense, I have a javascript displaying news headlines from an rss feed. i designed the feed to look for or less like the adsense (the links are the same color & it's the same font size). I did this for aesthetic reasons, but then I realized that the headlines and adsense might be 'blending' in to each other, i.e., besides the heading that says "Ads by Google" for adsense and "Headlines" for the feed users could possibly confuse one for the other. Is this against the ToS for content next to adsense to look reasonably similar to the adsense ads?

[zulufox]

I would almost certainly email the all knowing adsense team and ask them yourself.

[oldskool79]

My adsense ads look almost exactly like the content on the rest of my page.

The adsense team did email me and ask me to add the words 'sponsored results' above my ads. I did this and they looked at it again and said everything is fine.

The whole reason Google gives you the option to change the look of your ads is so you can blend it with your site.

Make it look as much like your site as possible and you'll see your CTR skyrocket.

[flyer727]

>Make it look as much like your site as possible and you'll see your CTR skyrocket.

Wouldn't it work better to use contrasting colors so the ads would catch the reader's eye?

[bnhall]

I have very good CTRs on pages where the background and border colors of Adsense is the same as the bgcolor of the page the ads are served on. I have poorer CTR on sites/pages were the ads stand out a bit more

[flyer727]

Interesting. Doesn't it seem logical that if the ad colors contrasted the page colors, the ads would be more easily noticed & thus more likely to be clicked on? I know advertisers have been using bright colors to attract attention for decades. This is why McDonald's uses bright yellow and so many use red, for example.

What format are you using? Maybe that makes a difference.

This is my standard page layout: all the body content is in a rectangle with black text on white. Around the outside of this (inch or two on the sides and maybe half inch top and bottom) is currently light blue, although I can easily change that quickly thanks to use of includes.

So the most logical format for me seemed to be the skyscraper, which I have to the right of that large box. I picked one of the standard color schemes that is black text on light yellow. That stands out and contrasts with the blue without looking too garish.

I used to have a mailing list signup form right above the ad box (same width), but about a week ago I swapped their positions so the ads are flush with the top of the box the site content is in... and so far it has doubled the CTR (which was pretty poor before). I doubt a week is long enough to tell if that change worked, so I want to leave it alone for a couple more weeks before making more changes.

So from what I've described, does it sound like I should try making the ads' background color blue to match the site's, or white to match the body background? I realize it might be hard to visualize, but try anyway. :)

[nuevojefe]

The reasoning is that most internet users avoid ads. So the brighter and more standoutish they are the less they are clicked on. Users find a site and hope that they can stay on it while finding what they are looking for.

If the ads seem to be part of your site less consideration goes into deciding whether they should click the ad or not.

[flyer727]

So is the theory that some people think the ads aren't ads, even though it clearly says "ads by google"?

I guess you can never underestimate the public.

[Clark]

Did you mean you can never overestimate the public?

What's being said here is borne out from what I've seen too.

So by that token, it's probably worth only enabling text ads since the images are sure to look like an ad. Has anyone done a statistical comparison?

[howiejs]

There was a banner blindness thread the other day that addressed why the CTR on banner ads dropped ever year in the late 90's --- when they were new everyone clicked on them - them people realize they are ads and ignore them

I think over time the CTR from adsense will drop - and continue to drop each year -- as people will develop adsense blindness

[europeforvisitors]

There was a banner blindness thread the other day that addressed why the CTR on banner ads dropped ever year in the late 90's --- when they were new everyone clicked on them - them people realize they are ads and ignore them

Most people don't click on banners for two reasons:

1) The banners aren't targeted, and/or...

2) The banners don't offer a compelling reason to click.

When I'm reading the Washingtonpost.com, why would anyone expect me to click on an ad for a bank, credit card, automobile, or whatever kind of banner might be running at the top of the page? If I were reading the POST's print edition, I wouldn't be calling 800 numbers of banks, credit-card companies, or car dealers while reading about the war in Iraq or the U.S. elections, either.

BUT...If I'm planning a cruise in the Arctic Sea and I run across an ad that says "Arctic Cruise Discounts" at arties-arctic-cruising.com, I'll probably notice the ad and there's a good chance that I'll click on it--regardless of whether it's a text ad or a banner. Why? Because the ad is targeted to my interests and needs, and it offers something (discounts) that whet my interest.

On a special-interest site, properly targeted banners can generate very acceptable clickthrough rates. (I say that from personal experience.)