I've found the most effective way to increase your AdSense CPM and CTR, without being “Smart Priced”, is by having AdSense show ads relevant to the page.

For this, Google has to know what the page is about and it does this by looking at a number of things such as the URL and the domain names general topic trend.

However, the most important part is the page content itself, and while you may have written a great article, other page elements may be causing AdSense some confusion and end up influencing the ad shown in a detrimental way.

To combat this you can use ‘section targeting’ to filter out any unnecessary page content. Some areas of the page you might want to consider 'filtering out' are:

• Headers
• Footers
• Navigation
• Comments (Possibly)

Implementing Section Targeting

Implementing Section Targeting is relatively simple if you’re comfortable editing your HTML.

You simply need to wrap the content you want AdSense to take the most notice of in the following.

<!– google_ad_section_start –>

<!– google_ad_section_end –>

To tell AdSense to IGNORE content, you should wrap it within:

 <!– google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) –>

<!– google_ad_section_end –>

As you can see, it's implementation is pretty simple, but it can make huge differences to ad relevancy and therefore your AdSense CPM and CTR - which are both things you should be aiming to improve, at all times.

So, if you haven't already, implement section targeting as soon as possible!

For more information on section targeting, visit the AdSense Help Center.

I often see badly placed AdSense ads on forums and a lot of people seem clueless as to why AdSense isn't performing for them. I realise that integrating AdSense into your forum can be a bit daunting so I've compiled some tips below (Inspired by Everton's Increasing AdSense CTR/CPM post this morning).

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I was disappointed when Alex Tew announced his follow-up idea to milliondollarhomepage earlier this month. I remembered reading that he had something up his sleeve 4/5 months ago. Was this it? I was sure it had been done before.

A friend of mine purchased a block (minimum order) and is receiving an average of 40 visits per day. Is that worth the $200? I don't think so! That could buy some targeted advertising.

So is it a failure? Maybe it’s too early to call. Although the site’s not been active a month I can’t see it picking up – there’s nothing new for the press to ‘buy into’ – Alex is no longer a poor student and it’s hardly a revolutionary idea, just a rehash.

Visit SiteLogic.co.uk for for more reading and an update on pixel lotto.

Well,  I’m sure if you’re an AdSense publisher you’ll have already heard about Google finally giving us more information regarding the placement of AdSense  ads and images. If you haven’t, see the AdSense blog.

Personally, I’ve never placed ads near AdSense ads, though I know it increases click through ratios dramatically, I always try and think about the user first. If they really want to click the ad, they’ll click the ad. I don’t think they should be confused or tricked into clicking an ad that looks like it’s part of the site they’re on.

I’m expecting to see a flurry of sites being listed in the usual places - i.e. SitePoint Marketplace – from site owners that have been taking advantage of this!