Highest paying ad is below the fold ?

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

I used to assume that the highest paying adsense text ad was displayed in the best adsense unit on a given page, front and center so to speak, but that's not the case is it?

When I display one ad unit, above the fold and inside the content, I see a particular coupon ad prominently. That same coupon ad is #1 on search results pages, I happen to know they are paying a lot for attention right now. When I add a second text unit to my page, say to the sidebar which is above the fold that ad jumps to the sidebar. When I add a 3rd unit at the bottom of an article, which is well below the fold, that same ad jumps to the 3rd unit where nobody can see it unless they look over the entire article or, you know, read it.

Does this confirm that the highest paying ad isn't necessarily being given the most prominent positions on any given publisher page as it does in search results?

[Broadway]

I'm sure you already know this, so it's not a factor in your case, but supposedly the best ads get placed in the ad units whose code if found highest in your html.

[farmboy]

(1) As someone mentioned, what is above the fold? Is that above the fold on a netbook or above the fold on a 24" monitor?

(2) What is "highest paying ad"?

For example, suppose there is an ad that is appropriate for my site that will pay $10 per click and there is another ad that will pay $1 per click. Over the course of an average day the $10 ad will get one click and the $1 ad will get 20 clicks. Which is the highest paying ad? I'd rather have the $1 ad on my site.

FarmBoy

[zarathustra2011]

I generally have the same ads on my website from day to day, and I notice their position will randomly change. I can't imagine the highest paying ad is constantly changing.
I always assumed the top slot to be that which came first in your code.

[ken_b]

opps

[nomis5]

More opinions please!

I also assumed that Adsense would take the ad that appeared first in the code to be top of the page.

It's easy to alter the code to turn that view on it's head but I always assumed Adsense was not clever enough to detect that. Right / wrong?

[centipede]

Some ideas:
- If you use targetable channels, ad buyers might be targeting the below-the-fold ad.
- If AdSense sees that the lower ad is performing well, I think it's smart enough to put the ads that work there in that position.
- The ad chosen for the each spot can depend on the size of the ads. For instance, a particular image ad might only be available as a medium rectangle, not as a large rectangle.
- And as mentioned, AdSense assumes that the first AdSense code it sees is closest to the top, so make sure that your code makes sense - that the footer and sidebar aren't rendered before the main content area, for instance.

So yes, the highest paying ad isn't necessarily being given the most prominent position. Relax and let AdSense do its magic. Its job is to maximize your revenue, which may not always mean putting the best-paying ad on top.

[DaStarBuG]

I am seeing the same things on my websites.
The first ad unit does not bring in the most money.

I wrote about it a while back:
[webmasterworld.com...]