Pro-SEO

Do Adsense image adverts pay more than text ads? A question most webmasters have asked at some point, even if it was to themselves. There is no official line from google (who like to keep quiet about what Adsense ads pay) about whether image ads pay more than text ads, or visa versa. Though Google do say this;

While we can't make any guarantees about the earnings potential of image or text ads, we believe that image ads will prove to be a high-performing option for publishers looking to monetise their pages. In fact, we show image ads when they have a higher value to you than the corresponding set of text ads that might otherwise run in the same slot.

So it looks like the Google position on it is that Adsense image ads should pay more than text ads but they can't guarentee anything. To me it makes sense that image ads should pay more than text ads, and heres why. If an image ad is displayed it means no other adverts will be displayed in that adblock, So Adsense should select the highest paying advert to display in that block.

Personally i prefer adsense image ads, as a publisher and as an advertiser.
As a publisher i want my Adsense adverts too be interesting and eye catching, Image ads do this. Advertisers work hard on creating an image that makes people want to click it, which in turn benifits me.
I like to place the adverts in places people look, Like at the top of my page and also in places where people will be looking for something new to do, Like underneath my articles or content. The theory is that someone will read the page then think "what can i do now?", so if thhere is an eye catching interesting image right infront of them they will be likely to click it.

As an advertiser i like Adsense image ads because, Like they say, An picture says a thousand words. You can easily get accross what type of company you are by designing your image ads well. You can also imprint your logo into the minds of people, And this wont cost you a penny. I'm sure most of you have seen the adverts for the "SEO Book", You all know what it is and you all know the logo, But how many of you have ever clicked the advert or even been to the site? Not many i would bet. Yet the idea and the imagery have been imprinted in your minds and it hasn't cost them a penny.

So my advice would be use text adverts where you have to, and image adverts at all other times. Because even if image adverts don't physically pay more per click (though they should) they will increase your CTR because they are eye catching.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 23, 2006 at 7/23/2006. You can skip to the end and leave a response.