Location, location, location . . .
Ad placement tips
“It really depends on what you’re trying to do,” says Margaret Holland, when asked about optimal ad placement. A senior account manager here at Yahoo! Publisher Network, Margaret helps publishers get the most out of the Network. “From a click-through standpoint, most publishers get the best results when they place a ‘leaderboard’ above the fold between the top nav and their rich content.”
But not everyone wants to be that up-front with their advertising. Some prefer to place their ads in less-obvious but still eye-catching places. Eye tracking studies (like the ones cited here and here) have shown that people tend to look at the top-center or top-left of a site first, then track to the right and down the right side, slanting back up across the page to just below the upper-left corner and down the left side – all in an instant.
In general, Margaret has a found that the second most active placement in terms of click-throughs tends to be the right-hand rail or margin. “Skyscrapers” and vertical banners do well when placed next to the content in the main body.
Square and rectangle ads placed within the center column also do well, provided they are placed in context to the content. Ads placed below the fold tend to perform least well, although that isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. If you have some useful functionality or eye-catching media near the footer, that may be a good place to put an extra ad unit. Bear in mind, however, that when pairing ads with media or images, it must be apparent to the user that the media is not a part of the ad. Placing images next to ad units can be construed at an “inducement to click,” and goes against Yahoo! Publisher Network’s Terms and Conditions.
“Each site is different, and each publisher has different goals,” Margaret notes. “Publishers should experiment with different placement, layouts, Reporting Categories and Ad Targeting combinations to achieve the best outcome.”
– Michael Mattis, Blog Editor
| Post Comment | categories:: How-to's, Optimization
May 10th, 2006 at 10:40 am
[…] Yahoo has posted a blog entry about positioning ads for the best click-through rates. It is interesting to compare this with Google’s Heat Map. […]
May 10th, 2006 at 6:52 pm
Excellent points made. The eye tracking studies pointed out here actually just influenced my most recent layout on one of my sites. I am now conducting an experiment of my own to see how my audience will react to the new ad positions.
As far as the “Images next to ad units”, could you explain a bit more what is against policies. There is a discussion going on over at digitalpoint about this right now, and I have stated my thoughts on it, but would love to get some official answers.
As I know from personal experience, small icons near ad units can be confused for being a part of the ad, and therefore click incentive. Others have said that they have had similar techniques approved however so long as the icons are site related (which is not true in my experience).
I understand both sides of the argument, but what must be done to distinguish the image from the ad? I have conducted experiments in the past that clearly show that images draw attention far better than text, which would mean that images near an ad would mean optimal preformance. My guess is that the image would have to be something very… generic, and not seem to fit directly with an individual ad.
*on another note*
I have been very happy with some of the recent How-To’s and Publisher Tips. I have decided to start a site for Yahoo Publishers with tips on how to help monetize their website ethically, and inside the policies established by YPN. It would be great to get some official word about this topic since it seems to be a pretty popular one in the community!
May 11th, 2006 at 1:35 am
[…] Now the Yahoo Publisher Network blog gives some tips for best ad placement. “From a click-through standpoint, most publishers get the best results when they place a ‘leaderboard’ above the fold between the top nav and their rich content.” […]
May 11th, 2006 at 3:47 am
[…] Yahoo Publisher Network blog gives some tips for best ad placement. […]
May 11th, 2006 at 6:59 am
[…] Los puntos calientes de una web para poner publicidad según Yahoo! Publisher Network, vía Outbox, Publicidad, Web Dos Cero, Web […]
May 11th, 2006 at 9:23 am
[…] Much like how Google publishes their Adsense heat map over at their Help Center, Yahoo! has decided do come up with some YPN ad placement advice over at their blog. […]
May 11th, 2006 at 9:41 am
[…] Yahoo Publisher Network has come out with a diagram showing eye movements when people scan a blog. Thanks to Darren Rowse from problogger.net for finding this first. The diagram is a little bit different from what Google has come up with in the past. […]
May 11th, 2006 at 10:22 am
Well, my site’s a work-in-progress so it doesn’t have a great deal of traffic yet, but I’m glad to see I’m doing something right. =)
May 11th, 2006 at 10:25 am
[…] Interesting post on the YPN Blog. In the post, Yahoo suggests that the best placement of ads are: […]
May 12th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
[…] In a recent post at the Yahoo Publisher Network Blog, Michael Mattis points out that eyetracking research suggest most viewers will view a website in a similar sequence. […]
May 13th, 2006 at 5:50 am
Pētijums: kurām vietām blogos lasītāji pievērš uzmanību…
Yahoo Publisher Network ir nopublicējuši diagrammu, kurā redzami pētījumu rezultāti tam, kā blogus lasa to apmeklētāji, un kādā secībā tie apskata blogu daļas….
May 14th, 2006 at 9:03 am
[…] por Redacción el 12 de Mayo de 2006 19:03 · Noticias de: Yahoo! Publisher Network Hace algún tiempo Adsense nos comentaba donde poner anuncios en foros. Ahora es Yahoo! quien nos invita a poner sus anuncios en el mejor lugar… […]
May 14th, 2006 at 6:12 pm
[…] I like visual heatmaps. Rather useful things to have at hand when you’re considering ad placement. Yahoo! Publisher have a few recommendations for ad placement: ““From a click-through standpoint, most publishers get the best results when they place a ‘leaderboard’ above the fold between the top nav and their rich content” […]
May 14th, 2006 at 10:22 pm
[…] This is what Yahoo! Publisher Network suggests – […]
May 18th, 2006 at 5:23 am
[…] Ad placement podle YPN […]
June 27th, 2006 at 7:48 am
[…] How-to’s How to use and get the most out of Yahoo! Publisher Network features, Yahoo! products and services, and third-party offerings […]
July 5th, 2006 at 8:22 am
[…] Yahoo Ads placement tips - suggestions to place Yahoo publisher network ads. Apply the same idea to adsense ads. […]
July 13th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
[…] Good points, Gary. We’re always looking for ways to help you earn more money. Sometimes that’s straight-up optimization tips like ad placement and color matching. Other times it’s helping you build better experiences for your users and offering techniques for driving traffic. We will explore a lot more of these strategies in detail in the months ahead. Frank asks: Concerning announcements: What about something like a rollout-plan for other countries then US? […]
July 24th, 2006 at 7:46 pm
[…] Yahoo Ads placement tips - ayuda para encontrar los mejores lugares para poner los anuncios, en Yahoo ads, pero es lo mismo para adsense. […]
September 15th, 2006 at 10:16 am
[…] Yahoo Ads placement tips - suggestions to place Yahoo publisher network ads. Apply the same idea to adsense ads. […]
September 15th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
[…] Yahoo Ads placement tips - suggestions to place Yahoo publisher network ads. Apply the same idea to adsense ads. […]
October 4th, 2006 at 2:52 pm
[…] Yahoo Ads placement tips - suggestions to place Yahoo publisher network ads. Apply the same idea to adsense ads. […]
October 5th, 2006 at 1:20 am
[…] Yahoo Ads placement tips - suggestions to place Yahoo publisher network ads. Apply the same idea to adsense ads. […]
December 18th, 2006 at 12:38 am
[…] Yahoo Ads placement tips - suggestions to place Yahoo publisher network ads. Apply the same idea to adsense ads. […]
December 19th, 2006 at 2:03 pm
[…] For further insights into improving performance, Jennifer Slegg, a guest blogger back in May, had some good thoughts on optimization, as did our own Margaret Holland. […]
February 14th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
[…] Yahoo Ads placement tips - suggestions to place Yahoo publisher network ads. Apply the same idea to adsense ads. […]
February 22nd, 2007 at 1:03 am
[…] Yahoo Ads placement tips - suggestions to place Yahoo publisher network ads. Apply the same idea to adsense ads. […]
March 21st, 2007 at 4:52 pm
[…] “The second most active placement in terms of click-throughs tends to be the right-hand rail or margin”. “Skyscrapers” and vertical banners do well when placed next to the content in the main body. Square and rectangle ads placed within the center column also do well, provided they are placed in context to the content. Ads placed below the fold tend to perform least well, although that isn’t a hard-and-fast rule.” [Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location…] […]
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:56 am
[…] “The second most active placement in terms of click-throughs tends to be the right-hand rail or margin”. “Skyscrapers” and vertical banners do well when placed next to the content in the main body. Square and rectangle ads placed within the center column also do well, provided they are placed in context to the content. Ads placed below the fold tend to perform least well, although that isn’t a hard-and-fast rule.” [Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location…] […]
March 26th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
[…] “根据点进率算出来的第二个有效的广告放置点是右边的隔栏或空白”。 紧靠着内容主体的”摩天大楼”和竖着放置的 banner 有也很好的效果。中栏放置的，与内容混排的正方形和矩形广告效果同样不错。放置在分隔点下面的广告不太有用，尽管这不是一个一成不变的规律。” [Yahoo! Publisher Network: 位置，位置，位置……] […]
April 13th, 2007 at 2:41 am
[…] “The second most active placement in terms of click-throughs tends to be the right-hand rail or margin”. “Skyscrapers” and vertical banners do well when placed next to the content in the main body. Square and rectangle ads placed within the center column also do well, provided they are placed in context to the content. Ads placed below the fold tend to perform least well, although that isn’t a hard-and-fast rule.” [Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location…] […]
April 13th, 2007 at 8:42 am
[…] “The second most active placement in terms of click-throughs tends to be the right-hand rail or margin”. “Skyscrapers” and vertical banners do well when placed next to the content in the main body. Square and rectangle ads placed within the center column also do well, provided they are placed in context to the content. Ads placed below the fold tend to perform least well, although that isn’t a hard-and-fast rule.” [Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location…] […]
April 18th, 2007 at 8:25 am
[…] Optimization Tips like your ad display preferences, choosing clickable colors and ad placement tips. […]
June 30th, 2007 at 1:20 am
[…] “根据点进率算出来的第二个有效的广告放置点是右边的隔栏或空白”。 紧靠着内容主体的”摩天大楼”和竖着放置的 banner 有也很好的效果。中栏放置的，与内容混排的正方形和矩形广告效果同样不错。放置在分隔点下面的广告不太有用，尽管这不是一个一成不变的规律。” [ Yahoo! Publisher Network: 位置，位置，位置……] […]
July 4th, 2007 at 2:45 am
[…] Yahoo Ads placement tips - suggestions to place Yahoo publisher network ads. Apply the same idea to adsense ads. […]
August 24th, 2007 at 5:07 am
[…] gayet iyi çalışırlar. Kırılma yerinin altında kalan bannerlar en az çalışanlardır. [ Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location… […]
August 24th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
[…] gayet iyi çalışırlar. Kırılma yerinin altında kalan bannerlar en az çalışanlardır. [ Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location… […]
August 24th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
[…] gayet iyi çalışırlar. Kırılma yerinin altında kalan bannerlar en az çalışanlardır. [ Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location… […]
August 29th, 2007 at 3:06 am
[…] “The second most active placement in terms of click-throughs tends to be the right-hand rail or margin”. “Skyscrapers” and vertical banners do well when placed next to the content in the main body. Square and rectangle ads placed within the center column also do well, provided they are placed in context to the content. Ads placed below the fold tend to perform least well, although that isn’t a hard-and-fast rule.” [Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location…] […]
September 4th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
[…] “The second most active placement in terms of click-throughs tends to be the right-hand rail or margin”. “Skyscrapers” and vertical banners do well when placed next to the content in the main body. Square and rectangle ads placed within the center column also do well, provided they are placed in context to the content. Ads placed below the fold tend to perform least well, although that isn’t a hard-and-fast rule.” [Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location…] […]
September 4th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
[…] “The second most active placement in terms of click-throughs tends to be the right-hand rail or margin”. “Skyscrapers” and vertical banners do well when placed next to the content in the main body. Square and rectangle ads placed within the center column also do well, provided they are placed in context to the content. Ads placed below the fold tend to perform least well, although that isn’t a hard-and-fast rule.” Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location… […]
September 16th, 2007 at 12:37 am
[…] Yahoo Ads placement tips - suggestions to place Yahoo publisher network ads. Apply the same idea to adsense ads. […]
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:15 am
[…] discussed ad placement and color strategies in general terms before. This post offers tips on ad placement and color based […]
October 3rd, 2007 at 2:55 pm
[…] discussed ad placement and color strategies in general terms before. This post offers tips on ad placement and color based […]
October 10th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
[…] “The second most active placement in terms of click-throughs tends to be the right-hand rail or margin”. “Skyscrapers” and vertical banners do well when placed next to the content in the main body. Square and rectangle ads placed within the center column also do well, provided they are placed in context to the content. Ads placed below the fold tend to perform least well, although that isn’t a hard-and-fast rule.” [Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location…] […]
October 11th, 2007 at 9:05 am
[…] gayet iyi çalışırlar. Kırılma yerinin altında kalan bannerlar en az çalışanlardır. [ Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location… […]
October 26th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
[…] ’Em Moving Another way to keep your users on their toes is to alter your ad placement. As noted above, people get used to ads when they’re always in the same place, even if the […]
November 2nd, 2007 at 3:41 pm
[…] an interesting article on the Yahoo Publisher Network Blog related to an eye-tracking study located here. Essentially, they found that users had a particular visual trail when viewing a webpage. Here is […]
November 19th, 2007 at 9:14 am
[…] Yahoo Ads placement tips - suggestions to place Yahoo publisher network ads. Apply the same idea to adsense ads. […]
November 20th, 2007 at 3:21 am
[…] “根据点进率算出来的第二个有效的广告放置点是右边的隔栏或空白”。 紧靠着内容主体的”摩天大楼”和竖着放置的 banner 有也很好的效果。中栏放置的，与内容混排的正方形和矩形广告效果同样不错。放置在分隔点下面的广告不太有用，尽管这不是一个一成不变的规律。”[Yahoo! Publisher Network: 位置，位置，位置……] […]
March 25th, 2008 at 8:05 am
[…] gayet iyi çalışırlar. Kırılma yerinin altında kalan bannerlar en az çalışanlardır. [ Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location… […]
March 27th, 2008 at 11:16 am
[…] gayet iyi çalışırlar. Kırılma yerinin altında kalan bannerlar en az çalışanlardır. [ Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location… […]
April 7th, 2008 at 3:10 am
[…] “The second most active placement in terms of click-throughs tends to be the right-hand rail or margin”. “Skyscrapers” and vertical banners do well when placed next to the content in the main body. Square and rectangle ads placed within the center column also do well, provided they are placed in context to the content. Ads placed below the fold tend to perform least well, although that isn’t a hard-and-fast rule.” [Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location…] […]
April 8th, 2008 at 1:34 am
[…] gayet iyi çalışırlar. Kırılma yerinin altında kalan bannerlar en az çalışanlardır. [ Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location… […]
April 21st, 2008 at 2:57 pm
[…] gayet iyi çalışırlar. Kırılma yerinin altında kalan bannerlar en az çalışanlardır. [ Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location… […]
August 1st, 2008 at 12:03 am
[…] “The second most active placement in terms of click-throughs tends to be the right-hand rail or margin”. “Skyscrapers” and vertical banners do well when placed next to the content in the main body. Square and rectangle ads placed within the center column also do well, provided they are placed in context to the content. Ads placed below the fold tend to perform least well, although that isn’t a hard-and-fast rule.” [Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location…] […]
August 17th, 2008 at 5:52 am
[…] The second most active placement in terms of click-throughs tends to be the right-hand rail or margin. Skyscrapers and vertical banners do well when placed next to the content in the main body. Square and rectangle ads placed within the center column also do well, provided they are placed in context to the content. Ads placed below the fold tend to perform least well, although that isnt a hard-and-fast rule. [Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location] […]
August 19th, 2008 at 5:21 am
[…] The second most active placement in terms of click-throughs tends to be the right-hand rail or margin. Skyscrapers and vertical banners do well when placed next to the content in the main body. Square and rectangle ads placed within the center column also do well, provided they are placed in context to the content. Ads placed below the fold tend to perform least well, although that isnt a hard-and-fast rule. [Yahoo! Publisher Network: Location, location, location] […]