Smart-pricing and number of ad units per page

[fuzzybunny]

I've noticed if I reduce the number of add unites per page from 3 to 1 it affects my cpc for the remaining ad in a postive way. has anyone experienced the same thing?

[europeforvisitors]

That isn't because of smart pricing, it's because you aren't displaying as many lower-paying ads.

Also, total earnings are more important than EPC. Are you earning more or less money since you reduced the number of ad units?

Of course, earnings aren't everything (just as EPC isn't everything): A site with three AdSense units may not make a positive impression on users, on Webmasters who might consider linking to your site, the press, etc., especially if the ads overwhelm the content. Only you can decide whether that should be a factor in determining the number of ad units on each page.

[potentialgeek]

I started with three ad units on one home page, two above the fold, one at the footer. I removed the footer, because it didn't perform well, and didn't help the look of the page.

Then I removed one ad unit from above the fold, leaving just the one. The total earnings for the page remained about the same. So I just reverted back to two ad units, because it helped the page look (symmetry).

YMMV.

p/g