Hey Wil,
I think on the side of the page is very unobtrusive. I am afraid I can't help with the Adsense problem, frankly I am lucky I am able to turn on my computer. I am incredibly technically challenged. Hope you get the help you need. Have a good one.. love to the kitties.

Kate

Posted by: kate_13 at March 29, 2005 10:28 AM

Ads are fine in my book, but I have not sold as many copies as Mr. Wil Wheaton. I vote for the top right, in the 'Patron' section, above Read, Listen, Watch.

When faced with a big decision, anyone who takes enough time to make their best choice (a la pro/con list) has my full support. I see two issues: make money, and do not alienate readers. You are contemplating what to do with your pocket fives.

The regular updates are what keep me coming back (and probably others), so rest assured that your readers will continue to support you. After all, you give them what they want. Ads will not get in the way.

Posted by: applecore at March 29, 2005 10:28 AM

I'd recommend putting AdSense into the right-hand sidebar, at the top. You may also consider putting an additional block between your post and comments for archived pages. From my own experience, I don't find AdSense stuff to be intrusive.

Posted by: Simon Jessey at March 29, 2005 10:32 AM

I would say on the sides is better, if that's allowable. That's purely an aesthetic opinion, though.

I assume "TOS" is the Terms of Service agreement from AdSense? So they don't want any other advertisements on the page besides their own? That makes sense.

It would be interesting to know what algorithms they use to select ads that are run on your site. One assumes that it's tuned on the fly by taking ads that people click on and putting them up more often.

Posted by: Craig Steffen at March 29, 2005 10:38 AM

Wil, hope the AdSense revenue is helpful and also hope the ads themselves don't make the site too 'busy' to continue enjoying visually. Ads don't work if they're unobtrusive, the whole point is to be seen, but I have stopped visiting some sites because the ads give me migraines with all the flashing! and blinking! argh -- dawno

Posted by: geezerette at March 29, 2005 10:43 AM

I agree, right sidebar is the way to go. I don't mind the ad info at all. As long as they don't interfere when I am trying to read updates, I am oblivious! While I am a total dork, I am NOT a computer dork, and therefore completely useless to you in any other aspect of this post! Must love to the kitties!!

Sandra

Posted by: swl-mom2Bryn at March 29, 2005 10:45 AM

Replace the textads with the Google Ads, but make the textads your "alternate ads" so that if Google can't find something relevant, you show your textads instead of their public service stuff. That'd be my first suggestion.

Email Adsense Support, give them the URL of your site, and simply *ask* them if your Textads are competing ads as per the TOS. They might not be: either way, you'll know, and if they are, you can still use them as your alternate ads.

I'd put the Google Ads somewhere "above the fold" (say, in the first 600 pixels or so of the page), but that's just me. Side columns may work better than banner format, but you'll have to see what works for your site. Try one for a month, then try another. If possible, use the "channels" to see how the ads do on different parts of your site. If they aren't really doing anything, you might look for other options for those sections.

That's probably good for a start, anyway.

Good luck!

MV

Posted by: MrsVeteran at March 29, 2005 10:51 AM

I vote for the side at the top. Maybe one in between your latest post and the next posts that are still on the page, like an "Ad-Of-The-Day" sort of thing.

If it means that there'll be some cash towards the kitties, I'll click the HELL out of the links.

Posted by: Thomas at March 29, 2005 10:54 AM

I'd put them anywhere you like, BUT I would put a request that each visitor click one ad just once to help support the cats...

Posted by: cspenn at March 29, 2005 11:02 AM

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention - remember that adwords are context sensitive, so if you want to get some $$$, you should consider making a page that has adwords on it for high-bid keywords.

Don't forget to also ask for the money. Having a PayPal donate box can be just as effective as adwords or even your book, because someone may not have $25 for the book, but they might have $2...

Good luck, man! Feel free to message me - cspenn at gmail dot com - if you want more advertising tips. I'd be happy to help you in everything from simple placement to full out whoring.

Posted by: cspenn at March 29, 2005 11:08 AM

Wiki would be wonderful. Wil Wheaton's Wiki on the World Wide Web. Yes, please.

Posted by: BonzoGal at March 29, 2005 11:18 AM

I think I'd personally put them either right above or right below the blogads in the top right part of the screen. I think text only is a great idea, hope they generate some good revenue for ya.

Posted by: Chuck at March 29, 2005 11:25 AM

I just put up AdSense on my blog too. On the main page, I have text ads after the first 2 entries, and ad links in the right sidebar. I don't think ads in sidebars are as effective because they're easier to ignore there. On a single post archive page, I have text ads in between the post and the comments. Good luck with this!

Posted by: free_eric at March 29, 2005 11:44 AM

I didn't want to shove my sidebar any further down than it already was, and never liked having the ads at the very top, and therefore the very first thing that visitors saw.

My solution was to put the adblock between the first and second posts on the main page, then between the post and the comments block on the archive pages. So far it seems to be working pretty well -- present, but not too intrusive.

Posted by: Michael Hanscom at March 29, 2005 11:45 AM

Quote:"I'd put them anywhere you like, BUT I would put a request that each visitor click one ad just once to help support the cats..."

I think that would be against the Adsense TOS. Wil probably won't want to do that anyway :).

As for positioning, vertical is what I use - it doesn't disturb the content area too much.

Posted by: Shell-Shocked.org at March 29, 2005 11:48 AM

Since I'm a Tripod user, I kinda have no choice but to have Google Ads on my page. The only place they work? At the top, now that they've figured out how to get them up there without covering my title bar. There's nothing I can do about the placement or style of these ads.

My suggestion? The top.

Posted by: Eric in PA at March 29, 2005 11:56 AM

Dude! A wiki would be soooooo farking cool. You should do it. I love my Wiki's!

Posted by: Keith Coogan at March 29, 2005 11:59 AM

sorry I won't be much help except to say put the ads anywhere you want. To help your kitty, I'll click anywhere. I also liked the PayPal idea that was mentioned.

Posted by: Janine at March 29, 2005 11:59 AM

I'm glad the David Lawrence manual worked for you. Just reading the for sale page would have made me run screaming.

It wasn't too bad until it got to the part that said "and look how much money these people made!" part. Yech! You can almost hear it saying "all this for only nineteen-ninety-five. But wait, if you order in the next ten minutes...".

Good to find out that it's legit, and contains useful information.

Posted by: Craig Steffen at March 29, 2005 12:12 PM

"breathe in the darkest country road"

SOMEBODY likes Death Cab for Cutie!

Posted by: Daynah B at March 29, 2005 12:18 PM

You'll get the highest click thru rates if you put it in the main body. The top is best, second best is in the middle of the posting, third best is at the bottom. The sides work but less well. If you are going to put it there the left side has a much higher CTR then the right side. Also I've found that having the ad change appearance from one page view to the next helps prevent banner blindness and also increases CTR. I have a PHP script if you want I'll send it to you and you can modify it yourself or contact me with your info and I'll do it for you. Unfortunately the most jarring visually disturbing colors work best.

Posted by: graywolf at March 29, 2005 12:23 PM

But, but, but...

What about those of us who still want to target WWdN readers?

I advertise on WWdN because my listeners and Wil's readers are the same.

Does AdSense have a facility for *only* advertising here on WWdN?

We run ads on WWdN and Fark. That's about it.

--AJ @ EggRadio

Posted by: AJ at March 29, 2005 01:03 PM

Hey Wil,

I'm with the other visitors here. If cliking on the ads will help your cats than my damn mouse is in for a workout!! I hope all of you are doing great!! Sketch and Felix are in my thoughts everyday!

Posted by: JCade at March 29, 2005 01:44 PM

Thank you and David Lawrence for that link to the guide. I'm now on my way to genius too! hehehe.

I think the contextual ads are great, and everyone who wants to keep wwdn going strong will click on them! I actually find most of the ads pretty useful on other sites.

Rock on.

Posted by: drdrew at March 29, 2005 02:13 PM

I have to admit, I'm having a kind of knee-jerk reaction to the idea of adding AdSense here. I mean, gearing the ads toward subject words that appeal to your readers is at least a step in the right direction, if you HAVE to have advertising. But Jesus, aren't I already subject to enough advertising each day? Do I really need it from a blog that isn't necessarily supposed to be a money making venture? I mean, I'm happy to buy your book at full price, and I'm probably going to buy a few things from your store cause those mugs are cool, but those are things created by you expressly for consumption by your fans. But tacit endorsement of ads you don't even control from sources you don't even know seems pretty weak.


On the other hand, I know what it's like to need some cash. But hell, there's got to be a better way than whoring our your incredible website to AdSense. Have you done any concerted ad sales pitches?


Jesus-- I'm sorry-- here I am trying to live your life for you. I'm gonna shut up now. (and yet I'm still posting this...)

Posted by: Kristen at March 29, 2005 03:04 PM

Anywhere you want is good. I'd suggest that if you want to keep Google from getting excited and possibly not cancelling your account, you do NOT suggest anyone click them, as they're supposed to do it naturally (part of Google's TOS). And, whatever you do, don't ever click your own, not even one (they consider that fraud). Google is one company that actually enforces their TOS. Good luck.

Posted by: Slightly Off Kilter at March 29, 2005 04:52 PM

I've been running PhpWiki for my website HollenbackNet for about three years. I really encourage you to try out a wiki for WWdN because it can be a fantastic collaborative tool. However, just keep in mind that the same spam problems you see with blog comments apply to a wiki. I recently had to disable anonymous editing of my website because of the constant VIAGRA spam.

I'm actually moving my site to PmWiki so I recommend that wiki engine. It's relatively easy to set up and supports a lot of nice features like file uploads and fine-grained access control. Plus, it uses PHP and a flat-file backend so that its easy to set up on a hosted system.

Posted by: Phil Hollenback at March 29, 2005 08:11 PM

AJ:

AdSense's TOS doesn't prohibit placement of other ads on the same page as AdSense ads. All it prohibits is the use of other context-sensitive ad systems in competition with AdSense ads. So, your EggRadio spots here should be fine, since they are traditional static ad content, not chosen-on-the-fly context sensitive content.

Posted by: subliminal at March 29, 2005 11:30 PM

I feel for you and your cats. I've been there many times myself, and it's always painful. Your writing on the topic is full of emotion, for the writer and the reader.

But to directly solicit contributions from your readers who are emotionally drawn in by your story? That's predatory. I'm disappointed.

And then, to pitch the 10 Quick Steps pyramid scheme with such a glowing endorsement? As another reader commented, most intelligent people run screaming from the slimy sales pitch oozing from the 10 Quick Steps site. Did no one notice that your link to 10 Quick Steps is an affiliate URL? That you profit by your endorsement casts a shadow on the integrity of your claims.

Is the 10 Quick Steps for AdSense ebook really worth $20? I'm not convinced. Your endorsement and link led me to take a look, but the information at the other end gives me plenty of reason to believe that 10 Quick Steps is just another pyramid scheme selling $20 pamphlets full of useless or obvious information freely available elsewhere.

Dubious factual information and unverifiable statistics are warning signals. "We're celebrating our 20th Anniversary! All Guides are just $20!" 20th Anniversary of what? According to the copyright notice at the bottom of the page, 10 Quick Steps has been around only 2 or 3 years. "Limited time offer" Limited to when? Have the prices ever been more than $20?

I have no objection to ads alongside web content, even links to promotional items I wouldn't buy myself. I've signed up as an affiliate of 10 Quick Steps myself, and added links to my own blogs.

What bothers me is panhandling. It's degrading.

Posted by: subliminal at March 31, 2005 12:00 AM

I saw a mention about your blog at about.com blog profit tips and stopped by to check it out. I don't know what I really expected, but I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. I've only read a few entries, but I enjoy your writing style and am looking forward to stopping by more often.

Keep writing!

Dawn

Posted by: Stamptildawn at March 31, 2005 04:53 PM

Another vote for wiki.

Posted by: harkonnen at March 31, 2005 05:06 PM

Hiya!

At "my" site, danish geek lifestyle thingie called geekculture.dk, we argues back and forth about ads for a long time and ended up using GoogleAds. We have to cover costs, basically.

We decided to put them on the right side of our articles/reviews and on the bottom right of our comments pages.

Turns out especially the latter was a good move. We often have great fun chatting about how Google came up with a particularly menacing ad for a given thread.

Not only does GoogleAd deliver relevant ads - and money - it even delivers great fun, when it mishits.

Posted by: RockBear at April 1, 2005 04:54 AM

I've been using Adsense for awhile now and have made some nice pocket change for it. The ads are great for adding your personal settings to. They are content specific so the ads will have something to do with your site and not something totally off topic.
I like the text ads because they are not intrusive at all.
I didn't think these things would generate a big income but to my suprise I got $120 in two months, and that was before the new Adsence Links feature was added.
Stay away from them HUGE ads, they just mess up the page. The small text banner and ad links are great. If you want you can view my site at http://macbros.dnsalias.com they are embeded to fit my page style.

PS: Sorry to hear about your cat. Loosing a family member is hard even though it's a pet. My Cat Blackie went off into the woods one day and never came back (Old Age). You don't realize it when you go to look in places they are always laying down, that the'll never be there again. It's sad. But from what I've read, the poor kitty is probably at peace now. It's hard to let go.

Posted by: MacBros at April 2, 2005 03:33 PM

Wil,

Having participated in numerous wikis and run a few myself, I'm not sure it'd be right for what you're doing here. Unless you're trying to take this site in a very different direction. How would you see it used, as a place where folks could create pages for each "Wil-sighting" they have, so others can edit and comment? Or document your current acting gigs? (I was sorry I missed the CSI one, BTW) Or would they create pages of old STNG episodes that had Wesley Crusher in them, adding various takes on the dialog, story line and how sexy the Klingon chicks were?

As I ask end-users at work every time they want me to program something new, what's the business purpose? How do you see this being used?

On a more important note, thanks for sharing your story of having to put Felix/the Bear down. We've had to put down two of our dogs from old age and I could totally relate. After we put our first dog down, her companion, Jessie, went on a hunger strike. We literally had to force-feed her for 6 weeks before she decided she really wanted to live without her lifelong friend. It was brutal. She lasted another 18 months before we had to put her down (at 16-1/2, pretty good for a golden).

But when the time comes, you just know. When their pain is too great and you know they're suffering more than they're enjoying themselves.

Each time, we've waited about 6 months and then gotten another dog. And you have to have 2 and only dogs. Two so they can be companions for eachother. Only two because you only have two hands, to pet one with each. Our dogs remind us of that each time there's a third dog around. Also, they bond to you better if the "pack" isn't too big.

I hope you understand this, since you're a cat-person! :-)

All the best...

Posted by: pbarnes7 at April 3, 2005 02:03 PM