Horizontal, not Vertical ads PLEASE

1. 77

   Terri Paajanenposted 10 years ago

   I've asked this before and got no response from HQ so I'm asking again because I hate what these ads are doing to my Hubs.
   
   When an ad is inserted between 2 text capsules (usually the first and second) it's often a tall vertical ad which doesn't fit properly. It pushes the second capsule too far down and creates a big blank white space.  A horizontal banner ad is perfect for that location as it would fit with the flow of text better and not pull the article out of shape. Banners are used at the top and bottom, so I know it's possible.
   
   Yes, I know I could jam all my text into a single capsule, that that defeats the purpose of the entire formatting structure. I have various photos and Amazon capsules, which are easier to position when the text is broken up.
   
   Staff, any response?

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2. 88

   relacheposted 10 years ago

   You do realize that you are posting a question to admin on a day which is a major holiday in the US, right?

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   1. 77

      Terri Paajanenposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Are you deliberately following me around here to point out the obvious?  ;-D
      
      I'm in Canada and I always forget the whole Thanksgiving thing. Yes, you're right. Nobody is doing to read this for many a day yet.
      
      I'm going to stop posting now  :-D

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3. 84

   Whitney05posted 10 years ago

   Terri- I agree with you, making it either horizontal or text wrapable (if that makes sense).

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   SunSevenposted 10 years ago

   I second Whitney.[even on a holiday!]

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5. 75

   Mishaposted 10 years ago

   Hubpages have absolutely outstanding stats on Adsense CTR and CPM, so I would just leave it to staff to decide how ads are placed. They are among the best in the industry on that. I have Adsense experience on my other sites, and I know what I'm talking about.
   
   Those same features that you don't like bring you the maximum possible monetary reward. In other words, the trade-off is between how it looks and how it pays....

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   1. 77

      Terri Paajanenposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      They do have a good clickthrough rate, but there is also no way of knowing whether that is because of the clunky ads or in spite of them. I know that there often has to be a balance between revenue and aesthetics. I'm just not sure which side of the line we are on with this.
      
      I'd rather have a bit lower clickthrough if it meant our pages were more appealing to look at, leading to more regular readers. The extra readership will make up for the lower clicks.
      
      This is why I'm hoping staff chimes in with some reasoning.

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      1. 75

         Mishaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I'm afraid this is a misconception. To bring in more readers, you have to promote better. Changing ad format is not a promotion, so there is not going to be any extra readership...

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6. 77

   Terri Paajanenposted 10 years ago

   Oh, I know that it won't bring in more people but an attractive and well-laid out site will help keep them and have them coming back a second time. Looks are important. It's generally accepted that ads that blend into the content do better than those that stand out.

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7. 75

   Mishaposted 10 years ago

   My experience shows that "generally accepted" is wrong pretty often
   
   Only testing can give a definite answer, and this is exactly what guys here are doing when they change ad formats...

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8. 81

   darksideposted 10 years ago

   I agree, the vertical ads suck.
   
   And usually the best performing ads are ones that blend. Whitney's suggestion about the ad block with the text wrapping around it works for me. It blends in very well.

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9. 84

   Whitney05posted 10 years ago

   I think that having the text wrap around the vertical ads, may be the only way to make the vertical ads look better.
   
   I agree that using multiple capsules, makes adding amazon, eby, pictures, and link capsules easy when blending them in. Although, there are ways around the middle ebay ads, it seems more work to do so.
   
   You can add a picture above the first text capsule in order to not have the vertical ads, whether it be a line or a picture or sorts, but it seems that it has to be completely above it, not to the side.
   
   I have one hub, that I can't quite figure out, as to why it doesn't have a vertical ad, although I'm not complaining, but I have a text box with a side picture and link capsule, then another text box with a side picture and link capsule under it.
   
   I've been playing around with the capsules, but I would rather there be some links in the middle, just visually more appealing.

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    79

    pauldeedsposted 10 years ago

    The position, shape, and color of those ads are chosen by our advertising optimization engine to maximize click through rate.  It is fairly safe to say that you'd make less money without them there -- but I'll see if there is anything I can do to put more control into the author's hands.

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    1. 77

       Terri Paajanenposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       I don't need anything complicated, just have the ad look less like a formatting mistake.
       
       Using a vertical ad in the middle of the page like that is just plain odd and looks like a design error, clicks or no clicks. I don't mind ads being prominent, but the page shouldn't look distorted because of it. It pushes the text down and leaves a big weird blank in the center of the page.

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    jimmythejockposted 10 years ago

    There is an easy way to get rid of the ad altogether, just post your entire text in one text capsule and break your text up with a line through. __________________________________________________________
    that way there wont be a space to place the ad.....jimmy

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    1. 77

       Terri Paajanenposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       That's already been suggested, but that really takes away from the flexibility of the capsule system. Being able to move sections around with ease makes more sense that using one single block.
       
       It's like learning to just step over the broken stair instead of actually fixing it.

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    Rudraposted 10 years ago

    seems as if its all automatic. but less adsense means more money as lower bidders are out of the game and highest displaying ads are placed.

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