Which AdSense strategy do YOU feel works best for you?

[avalon37]

Do you feel designing your page to make the ads blend in works best for you? Or do you feel that designing your pages so that it's about as clear as possible that AdSense ads are just that - paid ads?

On the one hand, design choice #2 COULD be best. Having excellent content and then ads related to the product/service you sell could result in clicks as kind of a discount/coupon on said product/service.

But on the other hand, my guess is that most people who click on AdSense ads don't know they are separate ads really. I think most just think they are "natural" promos links and hence likely the higher CTR on this first design choice.

[netmeg]

My ads are blended as far as styling, but I do add "Sponsored" above them, and I don't place them in the actual content; they're all in the sidebars or under the header. So I guess that's kind of mixed.

[IanCP]

Or do you feel that designing your pages so that it's about as clear as possible that AdSense ads are just that - paid ads?

Yes. From the very beginning, I never wanted anything which could confuse my visitors as to what was content versus Affiliate links or AdSense.

I utterly detest sites, notably download sites, which make it almost impossible to differentiate between the download you are seeking, and otherwise just plain garbage.

In extreme cases, I have no compunction in reporting and complaining to both Google Search and Google AdSense [with screen shots]. What they do then is entirely up to them and their judgement.

[Broadway]

I like the idea of creating the best experience possible for both the website visitor and the advertiser (that's how I would want to be treated if I was either). I want clicks to be on purpose, not by accident or out of confusion.

[hannamyluv]

best experience possible for both the website visitor and the advertiser

I'll second that one. I view both my visitors and the advertisers as customers. On one hand, I do have ads in the content, though below the fold, because it is a good place for an ad to be seen. But, there is good spacing and if advertisers get too aggressive (looking at you stupid can't get rid of it pop-ups), I have no problem putting a kibosh on that.

I think of my site like a magazine when it comes to ads. The ads are kinda blended in that they feel natural to the flow and the look and feel of the site, but not so much that you would mistake them for anything but ads.

[atladsenser]

I have one ad at the top of my site's main content (just below the first paragraph) and then another at the bottom. Also one in the sidebar. I feel like that's blended enough with the content to ensure the ads are where the users' attention is focused, but not so much that it disrupts the reading experience. And of course the sidebar ad isn't disruptive at all. So I use a 300x600 there -- even though it's the last ad served on my site's pages, it gets the best CPC due to the ad size, I guess.