How to Get the Most Out of Your Ad Placement

Certain impressions are generally more effective depending where they are on the page, finds a new report [PDF] by Casale Media.

Try to, it said:

Place the ad above-the-fold. Ads displayed within the first screen of a user's browser window were almost seven times more effective at generating a click-thru than ads delivered below-the-fold.

Be first. Users are three to four times more likely to act on an ad if it is the first or second one they see during their session. After that, ad effectiveness plummets.

Be repetitive. Ads shown five times or more to a user were 12-14 times more effective than ads shown less than five times.

How to Use Google's New  "Top vs. side"  Report Segment

This new tool, introduced this month, lets user see how ads perform above and to the side of Google search results. Armed with this new information, Google says, "you can better optimize your search campaigns by more deeply examining the relationship between your ads' locations and their clicks and conversions. And brand advertisers can now get better visibility into when and where their critical brand terms are triggering ads above search results."

To segment performance data by where your ads appeared on Google and Search Partner search results pages, add the "Top vs. Side" segment to your data table by:

1. Selecting the Campaign, Ad groups, Ads or Keywords tab of the AdWords account.

2. Clicking the Segment button in the toolbar above the data table.

3. Selecting top vs. side from the drop-down. Results will appear in rows beneath each of the ads. Visit here for more tips on how to interpret the findings.