Even if you have taken advantage of the nature of Adsense ads and have optimized your website accordingly - namely: view Adsense ads as supplemental content and not ads, integrate them into the actual content of the webpage and not solely into the header or navigation, use a larger rectangle shape ad near the very top of your content, and potentially another one at the bottom, your Adsense performance will probably still only be a fraction of what it could be.

The reason for this is that modifications to the actual ad and it's positioning are only half the story of succeeding with Adsense. There is such a thing as a perfect Adsense page and what this is is the type of page that will generate the greatest number of clicks. The perfect page will meet the criteria listed below and the click through rate will be extremely high.

1. The Page Is about One Self-Contained Topic

The purpose of content websites is to reveal information to their visitors. The perfect Adsense page is focused on one particular topic and serves to reveal information about that topic. This has several benefits. Firstly, it makes it easier to get good search engine listings which will bring you relevant traffic. Secondly, the traffic will have come to that page for the sole reason of looking for the information which the page will actually reveal - they will therefore be more responsive to ads related to that content. Finally, your page will generate more targeted ads as your content focusing will have made it easier for Google's technology to analyze and match ads. The more related the ad the more clicks it will receive.

2. The Content on the page is not too comprehensive

Now while you want to be revealing information about one topic, you do not want to be the definitive resource for that topic. You do not want your reader to be "full" by the time they have finished your article. If you have completely satisfied their curiosity on that topic they are going to be less likely to look for further information in your cleverly placed Adsense ads. Content should be interesting and insightful and the reader should feel like he's learnt something but not everything. The perfect article makes more curious - encourages the readers search for information.

3. The Page Breaks The Back Habit

As search engines dominate the way that the internet is explored an important task of every website is to break the habit of people clicking on the back button. If someone comes to your website from a search engine listing and doesn't immediately relate to your page they will go back to the search engine and try another website. If they've gone backwards, they can't go forwards through your Adsense ads. People move through the internet very quickly and so your website should seek to connect with the person instantly. There are several aspects to achieving this:

• Keep your page kb size small (below 50kb) so it loads quickly - no one likes to wait.
• Have a good page title which relates perfectly to what the search engine visitor will be expecting to find.
• Your first paragraph is to the point and pulls someone in to your website
• The clever use of images - in terms of immediate responsiveness people often relate better to images than to words - they trust them more. The appropriate use of images in your banner or at the top of your page can pull people into your website.

4. The Way The Page Is Laid Out and Reads Should Flow Forward

This is a continuation of breaking the back habit. Once you've got your visitor involved then your page should flow forward and if done correctly the Adsense ads will be used as a continuation of that flow.

5. The Page Pre-Sells what the ads are offering

If you were promoting a particular product through a sales letter your aim would be to pre-sell it. Talk enthusiastically and knowledgeably (your visitor must believe that you know more than him) about your topic - your visitor should want more on the subject and your Adsense Ads should provide them with this more.

5. Limit The Number of Navigation Links on Your Page

A visitor has three choices - they can go back to where they came from, they can click the x button or they can click on another link on your webpage. If you've suceeded in breaking the back habit and you've not completely resolved the question he came to your site to find an answer to, then he will look for another link. This is what you want your visitors to do and if you want them to click on your Adsense ads you want to limit the amount of choices that they can make.

6. Give Your Visitors Nowhere else to go

An Adsense ad at the end of your content often converts well. If the visitor has read your article through then they will by this time be well away from your navigation links. If you want maximum performance from your ads don't include links to other pages on your website at the bottom of your page or place links to other resources which they may find useful, or make a suggestion that they go and do something. This works especially well on pages that are built around one self-contained topic. The ads are then used as a further resource as the visitor has nowhere to go but forward.

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Now, unless you create a website exactly around this model, your own website will inevitably diverge from it in several ways.

For example, the flaws in UnderstandingAdsense.com when placed against this idea of a perfect page are:

• Although each page is generally about one self contained topic they are not great for the search engines. Pages built around keywords like Adsense Tips, Adsense Secret, Adsense Website and Optimizing Adsense would result in more direct search engine traffic.
• On each page I try to be as comprehensive as possible and often highlight further resources and use examples for which I receive no commission.
• Although I am talking enthusiastically about Adsense I am not pre-selling the Ads as each article will bring you further into the site rather than encouraging you to look elsewhere.
• I have not limited the number of navigation links on each page.

But these negatives are offset in this case by the aim of creating a workable and integrated resource. If I'd built this site with the aim of it being a strict search engine traffic, Adsense optimized website then it's pages would be built much closer to the perfect page model. You have to decide where your own project lies and build accordingly.