Integrating AdSense with your blog: Introducing "BlackBerry Developers At Work!"

Yesterday I finally unveiled a new blog I'll post to occasionally, BlackBerry Developers At Work!. It's a techie-oriented site devoted to BlackBerry programming and related topics. The first post, about the new BlackBerry Pearl smartphone, will probably interest some of you reading this. However, I'd like all of you reading this to open the site in a new window (just click here to do that) and look carefully at my use of AdSense.

When I first envisioned this blog, I knew that the posts would be long and infrequent. I wanted it to be very readable and to have enough width to include programming examples. So my first task was to look for a WordPress template that fit the bill. Luckily, I came across the Simplr theme, a minimalist theme that took the one-post-per-page approach. It was perfect for what I wanted, although it needed some minor tweaking.

Now, link units are easy to place on most pages, so it was no big deal to stick them at the top of the page. (Remember that horizontal link units generally out-perform vertical link units.) Ad units, however, are trickier to place, because readability and clickability are often at odds. I deliberately chose not to place a big ad right under the blog title — I want people to start reading the posting. Instead, I placed a large rectangle ad in the middle of the content, but between paragraphs, where it really doesn't interfere with the flow of the text. These are the kinds of decisions you have to make when you design your blog or site.

There's an ad unit integrated into the page header, too, so it shows up on every page. It's a subtle integration, I think. Notice how the two images at the top of the page draw the eye to the ad and link units.

I've placed a third ad unit on the permalink pages for each posting. See if you can find it…

It took me a few hours to play around with the theme to get the blog looking the way I like, and I'll probably continue to tweak it here and there. The point I want to make is that good AdSense integration, especially integration that doesn't interfere with the readability of your pages, takes time. Expect to have to do a bit of work, even when you buy a package of pre-made AdSense templates. Every site is different, so you should adapt your AdSense usage accordingly.

P.S.: I'm glad I wrote down those WordPress installation instructions, they sure come in handy when I forget what to do!

Eric Giguere is the contextual advertising expert who wrote Make Easy Money with Google and Uncommon AdSense. If you like this posting, why not link to his blog or bookmark it as one of your favorites?

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