New adsense units

[Michael]

Has anyone seen the new vertical adsense units that are in beta?

http://www.jensense.com/archives/google_adsense/index.html

They include an image at the top of the unit. Views?

[Indy]

I can see this being nothing but trouble for publishers. For the same reason YPN stopped people putting images next to ads.

It will generate a lot of 'accidental' clicks, from people that didn't bother to read the text - Just saw the image and clicked.

[Michael]

It is interesting that google discouraged publishers from putting related images beside ad units but then they do it themselves?

[Tyler]

That site doesn't say if publishers will be paid if the image is clicked on, or just the text. I'd like to know about that.

It's an interesting idea. However, what I'd really like to see is AdSense completely change the look of how they present their text ads. AdSense is a few years old now and has taken over the web - people have become blinded to it IMHO and ignore blocks of text like that now, regardless of if they may be interested in it or not..

[Submerge]

It is interesting that google discouraged publishers from putting related images beside ad units but then they do it themselves?
Isn't that something? Talk about Adsense not being for the Publishers or advertisers, strictly for themselves.

[Tyler]

I'm sure they aren't doing this with personal intentions in mind; their whole unofficial slogan is "Don't be Evil".

I believe that by having Google put images along with the text units, it's more of a stablizing function - the publisher nor the advertiser is allowed to manipulate this, and thus the ads will always comply with AdSense's policy.

Also, AdSense isn't tricking the web surfer here. The picture would simply be an image related to the ads to help draw attention there and give it more of a personalized feel. When people put images next to AdSense ads, it is blatantly meant to trick the user into clicking the ads.

[Thien]

Eh, they're so ugly. Google's never been good with images.

[Idle Play]

Google want clicks. The image is just a way to encourage that. It's the same with them sneaky link blocks they introduced. They're written to appear like your navigation.

[*infin8]

I'm more interested in the "unbranded" ads that are in beta

"Ads by Gooogle" is a dead give away

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/1092/unbrandedadsensebf3.th.jpg (http://img224.imageshack.us/my.php?image=unbrandedadsensebf3.jpg)

[kaizan]

This should work for some sites of mine. Not sure about others as it will kill the visual flow- depending on the image that shows up.

Will be a tough choice.

[Gareth]

I don't really like this idea of using images, esecially seens as they probably won't fit in with your site. I think quite a lot of publishers will be unhappy with this change also.

[aloksingh]

I think that adwords advertisers must have put pressure on google to stop images next to ads. It is slightly good for publishers, but I think that in the long run, it does not benefit them. So, overall I think that it is good for everybody.

[Submerge]

Yeah, can't say I liked the image idea. The images next to ads got advertisers angry so Google is trying to fix this a little bit. But whenever they are a default scheme, I wouldn't use it.

[charley]

I think that adwords advertisers must have put pressure on google to stop images next to ads.

I read on one of the Google blogs, that this is being rectified.

There were many comments like this on the blog too. Hopefully someday, Google will clear that.

[Submerge]

From what I know, it has been cleared. You can no longer put images next to ad units.

[charley]

From what I know, it has been cleared. You can no longer put images next to ad units.

When did this happen. I was of the notion that it still persists.

Do you have a LINk to it ?

[Submerge]

Straight from the Google Adsense Blog, posted 12/18/2006 10:43:00 AM

http://adsense.blogspot.com/2006/12/ad-and-image-placement-policy.html#links

Ad and image placement: a policy clarification
We've recently received a number of emails from publishers asking how we feel about the placement of images near Google ad units. There's been some confusion on this issue, and so we turned to our policy team to set the record straight.

Can I place small images next to my Google ads?

We ask that publishers not line up images and ads in a way that suggests a relationship between the images and the ads. If your visitors believe that the images and the ads are directly associated, or that the advertiser is offering the exact item found in the neighboring image, they may click the ad expecting to find something that isn't actually being offered. That's not a good experience for users or advertisers.

Publishers should also be careful to avoid similar implementations that people could find misleading. For instance, if your site contains a directory of Flash games, you should not format the ads to mimic the game descriptions.

What if I place a space or a line between my images and my ads? Would that work?

No. If the ads and the images appear to be associated, inserting a small space or a line between the images and ads will not make the implementation compliant.

Does this mean I can't place ads on pages with images?

You can definitely place Google ads on pages containing images -- just make sure that the ads and images are not arranged in a way that could easily mislead or confuse your visitors. For example, if you run a stock photography site with a catalog of thumbnail images, don't line the ads up with the thumbnails in a way that could be misleading. Consider using a full border around your ads or changing your ad colors, for example.

What do unacceptable implementations look like?

Here are some examples that wouldn't comply with our policies.

http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/1366/1469/1600/874354/FruitImages.png

http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/1366/1469/1600/11051/GameImages.png

[charley]

Nice link.

Now I am assured. Will keep this in mind.