Lately I’ve been noticing information and discussion regarding where the best placement is for Google Adsense to get clicks, clicks, and more clicks so publishers can earn more, more and more.

Some suggest using the entire space above the fold for adsense ads - and nothing else. Other suggestions are to make adsense look like your website’s menu or to position adsense where the most mouse movement is happening on your page (near a menu for example).

In the past I’ve come across discussions of single page websites with no links on the page other than adsense, and the back button disabled. If a visitor wants off that page - there’s only one way to go. Click an adsense link. I think disabling the back button is against the adsense publisher guidelines now, but it does show what the intent is of some publishers.

I’m wondering whether the focus for many publishers is misplaced on how to get the ‘money clicks’ rather than ‘what’s hottest for the advertiser’ and ‘what position drives the most motivated traffic’.

Google provides an adsense heat map to show positions on a web page that attracts the most viewer attention.

I wonder if Google can provide a heat map of adsense positions that provide the most converting traffic?

Does placing adsense in ‘tricky hot spots’ such as site menus really provide the advertiser hot prospects - or confused clickers? What about only adsense showing above the fold, and website content far below? Or adsense ads that are so well blended into the content they look like site content links rather than advertisements?

Are advertisers willing to pay for motivated visitors, confused visitors, or are all visitors considered equal? Do visitors get befuddled when they’re suddenly on a different website?

“Hey how come I’m on a different website now? That link I clicked was a content or menu link for within site - wasn’t it?”

I realize if a publisher is only interested in getting their visitors to click off of their websites and onto the adsense advertisers website as fast as possible, it’s all very smarty pants.

But is that the best value publishers can provide to advertisers - the guys paying the cash for all this adsense fun?

This is All-So-Very-Clicking-For-Cash stuff.

Where should I place Google ads on my pages?

How can I keep the page looking clean, uncluttered and inviting?

Makes me laugh

I wonder if lower adsense earnings has anything to do with too little value being provided to advertisers?