The great news is that if you’re running HeatMap Theme then you’ve got tools at your fingertips to place ads in ways that Big G will like. HeatMap Pro v5 allows you to carefully place your ads (with laser like precision) directly into your content using the HMT ADS button. Combine this with HeatMaps range of widget positions both ‘above and below the fold’ and it means you are firmly in the driving seat here.

What does this Google Algorithm update mean?

With the dawning of this new algorithm if you place your ads in a ‘Google approved’ way then your site will do better in search results. If you choose to do things in a way that Mr Google disapproves of then your site will drop down the rankings.

It seems that carefully considered ad placement is the new SEO (lets call it AD SEO for short) and should now be an integral part of your overall SEO strategy.

What exactly is good AD SEO?

Of course Mr Google isn’t giving away the exact secret sauce for his algorithm update (he never does) so we have to read between the lines.

Lets start with these quotes from the Google Page Layout Algorithm post…

“an algorithmic change that looks at the layout of a webpage and the amount of content you see on the page once you click on a result”

So from this we could infer what Mr Google is looking for is to see how much real content can be viewed as soon as a visitor lands on a page.

“Rather than scrolling down the page past a slew of ads, users want to see content right away.”

This seems to be the crux of the matter. Google does not want you to fill the ‘above the fold’ part of your site with ads, or at least not to the extent that it affects user experience.

How Many Ads Are Too Much?

Google does not draw a line in the sand to tell us exactly ‘how much is too much’. We are left to guess. Of course Google is in the ad business, so if common sense is prevailing at Google HQ then they wont be intentionally targetting well put together original content sites that include ads at the top of the page. We can be reasonably assured that ads above the fold are still okay. Its just that we now have to be mindful when Mr Google says…

“This algorithmic change does not affect sites who place ads above-the-fold to a normal degree, but affects sites that go much further to load the top of the page with ads to an excessive degree or that make it hard to find the actual original content on the page”

and…

“This new algorithmic improvement tends to impact sites where there is only a small amount of visible content above-the-fold or relevant content is persistently pushed down by large blocks of ads.”

But what exactly does ‘above-the-fold’ mean in this case? Lets see what clues they give us…

The Browser Size Tool

Notice if we scan down the post towards the end they mention the Browser Size Tool. So we could infer that if our content looks good when viewed in this way and is not ureasonably impeded by ads then we are hopefully staying on the straight and narrow.

Lets look at an example of one of my sites using the Browser Size Tool. Its worth noting that when I check the rankings of this particular site for the keywords I’m targetting I notice no loss of ranking at all since the update.

As you can see this site has plenty of ads above the fold, but 98% of visitors can see the first line of real content and 95% can see the whole first paragraph. There are still a couple of ads here above the fold though, and in my view its not excessive, no more so than most blogs which monetize using ads.

So because I’ve seen no ranking change, I’ll assume this is okay AD SEO-wise and within Google’s normal parameters.

Future AD SEO placement design considerations

Ad placement designs that I’ll be avoiding from now on are the ones in which the entire above-the-fold content is taken up with ads, and I’ll be drawing an arbitrary line in the sand of 98% in the Google Browser Size Tool for the first line of real content. I’ll also be limiting the number of ads I have above the fold to the ones that count such as a single large rectangle ad or a large banner ad. Also I’ll be thinking even more carefully about in-content below the fold ad placement. These are just my initial preferences but it would seem to me that a commonsense approach will win the day in this case, striking a balance between Search Engine ranking and Ad visibility.

Of course HeatMap Theme was designed with this kind of experimentation in mind, so if you make any discoveries of your own about this new twist in the Google update saga then let us know!

Hi CTR Niche Twin Skyscraper

Double your pleasure with this is a variation on the classic double skyscraper adsense layout. Again, this is another ultra minimal low distraction layout. There is little to distract your visitors from seeing your ads and clicking.

Embed links to your other content within the center column to keep visitors eyes ‘ping-ponging’ between the ads on either side as long as possible.

Now available for download in the Members Section of the HeatMap Insider as a Quick Setup File.

• Demo Site
• Full Size Screenshot with ads
• Download
• Read more posts in this series

The twin 160 x 600 skyscraper ads catch readers as they scan from side to side in the column.

These skyscraper ads are very visible even as your visitor reads down the column.

To keep visitors within the site and to give maximum potential for seeing your ads it might be wise to place links to other content on your site within the main content column.

Because it is embedded within the content this potentially gives the reader an extra split second to notice the ad as their eye scans back across the column to read the rest of the post (in a normal three column layout the readers eye would just drop out of the bottom of column).

The banner ad at the bottom of the page is postioned to catch readers who are looking for more information.

Hi CTR Niche Skyscraper

This is a twist on the classic ‘skyscraper ad’ adsense layout.

The ads in this layout catch the visitors eye all the way down the page, plus the skyscraper also has great above the fold visibility. There’s an extra chance to capture clicks too as visitors scan for more posts in the further reading section. Super minimal. Few distractions.

A Quick Setup file for this layout is now available for download in the HeatMap Insider Members Area.

• Demo Site
• Full Size Screenshot with ads
• Download
• More Posts in this series

The 160 x 600 ad to the left of the content sits immediately below the post title making it very hard to miss.

The ad is very visible even as your visitor reads down the column.

Because it is embedded within the content this potentially gives the reader an extra split second to notice the ad as their eye scans back across the column to read the rest of the post (in a normal three column layout the readers eye would just drop out of the bottom of column).

The HeatMap Theme Recent Posts Plus Widget on the right encourages further reading, but again is used here without thumbnail images to limit distraction.

As the visitor scans down the right column looking for navigation options the ads immediately below catch the reader. If you are worried about breaking the Adsense TOS because you feel the ads in this column blend too well, then the setup file includes a title widget to seperate the Recent Posts widget from the ad widgets.

Variations to experiment with

You can swap the right sidebar over to the left, and move the skyscraper ad over to the right of the content as a variation to try.

If you are looking for an ad layout that is about as ultra minimal as you can go, so that there are minimal distractions for your visitors, then this is a classic stripped back layout you need to try. Now available as a Quick Setup File in the members area.

Hi CTR Niche Classic

• Demo Site
• Full Size Screenshot with Ads
• Download
• More Posts in this series

The large ad at the top gives maximum ad visibility.

The ad at the bottom of each post catches visitors who actually read your content and then look for somewhere else to go next.

The HeatMap Theme Recent Posts Plus Widget on the right also encourages further reading, but is used without thumbnail images to limit distraction.

Are you obsessed with getting maximum CTR? Are you a complete and utter click junkie? If so then I’ve created a some new HeatMap Theme Pro v5 quick setup files which you will be keen try. These are available for download in the HeatMapTheme.com Members download area.

The Layouts

• Hi CTR Niche Classic
• Hi CTR Niche Skyscraper
• Hi CTR Niche Twin Skyscrapers

Note: There are some generic setup tips below too which apply to all of these setups.

Ad Placement Schools of Thought

There are a number of schools of thought when it comes to adsense and ad placement.

In one corner we have the ‘complete ad blitz’ crowd, determined that visitors should be presented with as many ‘in your face’ ads as possible. With the blitz approach often the site is so ugly that people will click just to get away from the thing (or thats the theory at least).

In the other corner we have the minimalists, determined to strip their info sites back to absolute basics, so there is almost nothing but text content and carefully placed ads, thus limiting visitor distraction and maximising the chance of ad reading and ad clicking.

Lets go Minimalist

Today we are taking a trip into the minimalist mind. You will notice that the Adsense Theme layouts above are very basic to say the least. Nothing fancy at all. Just text and ads.

Of course, if you feel the need, you can jazz them up a bit and make them look more authorative with a nice header logo, maybe even the occasional picture, but bear in mind that every fancy ‘doodad’ and ‘widget’ will distract the reader. Its all about balance.

Generic Setup Tips

• The example posts are the same ones I published on get-rid-of-ants.info. I’ve included  those in the members area as a WordPress import file so you can use them as a starting point. Enjoy!
• The Adsense Ads are mainly using the large Arial Font in my demos.
• I’ve used the Ultimate Authority Sky skin, and I’ve changed the background to black using the Appearance > Background  feature in the WordPress dashboard.
• There is also a little tweak in the HeatMap Dashboard > Head CSS option inlcuded in the Quick Setup file which turns the pages navigation bar from its usual pretty blue to black instead to match the background. Of course you can choose what ever Pro Skin you like and make the nav bar colour tweak whatever colour you like too.
• The Home page uses HeatMap Theme’s featured page option, so its a page, not a post.
• All the other content is contained in posts.
• If you decide to replace the Site Title and Tagline with a logo to make these basic layouts look a bit fancier, make sure that you pop into the HeatMap SEO options to change the H1 tag to be the featured page title.

Have fun with these new Hi CTR layouts, and let us know how you go with them in the HeatMap Insider Forum.

What it really means is that you can now embed your ads directly within your individual pages and posts exactly where you think they might be most effective. It also means that you can vary where your ads are positioned in each and every post, and therefore potentially reduce ad blindness.

The magic starts with the new HMT Ads button:

When you click it, you will see a dialogue appear which allows you to inject a WordPress shortcode directly into your post.

You can select which of your ad widgets you would like to appear in the post, and also how you would like the ad aligned.

You can then click on the Insert HMT Ad button and a shortcode will be inserted directly in your post content…

..and when you view the post it would look like this:

As you can see, an ad placed in this way is very hard to avoid, so if you don’t want your site to look like it belongs to Mr Spammy Spamster then use your new power of laser targetted ad placement wisely.

Where to Embed Your Ads?

But, that brings the next question, where is the best place in your post?

Of course above the fold positions might get the most attention, and the biggest possible ad will make the it even more visible,  but, if you have content that is engaging and interesting to readers, you don’t want to bug visitors too much, and you would like to retain an air of site quality, then placing ads lower down in the content might be more appropriate for you to experiment with.

You might also consider placing ads near to ‘often-clicked’ links, bullet pointed lists, or images that are embedded within your posts (be careful though not to b break the Google TOS though when doing that).

Tools which might help you find where visitors are clicking

To uncover where your visitor are really clicking without having to read through reams of statistics then the Click Heat Dynamo plugin is worth a look. It generates a HeatMap diagram which makes it super easy to visualise visitor behviour.

Have fun with the new HMT Ads button. If you are into being strategic and optimising your ad placment to the max you are going to absolutely love this new feature.

This version includes the new [HMT ads] button in the visual editor which is used for placing ads directly within the content of individual pages and posts.

Important information about this release can be found in the HeatMap Insider Forum.

This update adds extra functionality to the HMT Ads button in the visual editor. You can now insert ad widgets directly in your posts from the WordPress visual editor. The new [square bracket] shortcodes also make it easier for you to see exactly where you’ve inserted those ad widgets.

HeatMap Theme Pro v5.1 is available in the Members area for download and testing.

The v5 user guide is now completed so you can now hop over to the v5 members area, download version 5 and discover the cool new features.

We’re also working through the public site to update all entries and links to refer to v5 features, so bear with us and don’t trip up over any loose wires.

v5 Members Area

Its finally here. HeatMap Theme Pro v5 BETA is now available for all HeatMap Theme Members to try, and there is a link directly from the forum, so you can get access to the new HeatMap Theme v5 members area and all the extra v5 goodies.

This is the last stage before we make v5 the new official release. I’m now running this version on live sites (but of course, like any change you might make to WordPress, backup, backup, backup before installing). Your help in finding any last few gremlins will be most appreciated.

So Whats New in V5?

Here are just a few highlights…
(check the new HeatMap Insider v5 area for more specific usage details)

Laser Targetted Ad Placement

You can now place ads anywhere within individual pages or posts using the new HMT Ads button in the WordPress post HTML editor.

Ad Rotation within HeatMap Ads

By using the [ROTATE] tag within your HeatMap Ad Widget you can combine multiple ads which will change randomly everytime the page is reloaded. Using the [NOCACHE] tag you can even have rotating ads when you are running a cacheing plugin.

NEW Ultimate Authority Pro Skins

HeatMap Theme gets a whole new look with these new Pro Skins. Ultimate Authority skins look like they mean business! Your sites will command the respect they deserve

New Social Features

You can now add Facebook Like, Twitter Tweet and Google +1 buttons to your posts. Also Google Plus is now available as a social network button in your nav bar.

Affiliate Review Site Features

If you are creating review sites then you will love the new buttons that can be placed on the home page at the end of each post, and featured images that can be automatically linked to affiliate sites.

Import/Export Plugin

Made the perfect HeatMap Theme setup? Now you can export it and import it to a new blog, to make the set up an army of HeatMap sites super quick! When used in conjunction with WordPress’s own import/export function it makes reproducing sites almost like magic!

Options Page Makeover

HeatMap how has now had a usability makeover. Begone long options page! (unless you really want one). HeatMap Ad Widgets and other special HeatMap Widgets are also editable within the Widget manager. Some options switches have been automated to make things easier

SEO Features

The new SEO plugin option allows HeatMap just to get the heck out of the way if you want to use an external SEO plugin. If you choose to use HeatMaps internal SEO features then they are now even easier to use. Custom Fields begone!

Select which Categories will Show

You can now select the post categories to show on your home page, and also limit the Recent Posts Plus widget allows you to select specific featured categories.

Logo and Favicon Uploader

You can now upload your logo and favicon directly from the options page.

Page and Post Templates

All page templates are now available for posts too. There is also a new ‘Page/Post Ads Off’ template which allows you to switch off all ads and sidebars for information pages such as Privacy Statements.

Head CSS option

You can now add CSS tweaks directly to the theme without editing files.

So what are you waiting for? Try new HeatMap Theme Pro v5 Beta.