Marketing Pilgrim

I must admit, I’ve been tempted to experiment with adding images next to Google AdSense ads. I have seen other bloggers use them and heard them gush over how they can help increase click-thru-rates. Unfortunately, Google has just decided that they are not fair to the users (and the advertiser) and have banned images alongside AdSense.

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.

And don’t think you can get away with a line or space to separate the images a little, Google has declared that a no-no too…

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.

So, it looks like Google has left very little room for interpretation here, images next to ads are bad!

Here’s an example of what’s just been declared a no-go.

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