Where you put your AdSense ads changes how much you earn. Not a little — sometimes by a factor of two or three. Ad placement is one of the most effective things you can adjust after your site is approved and running ads, and it costs nothing to experiment.
The Ad Locations That Have Worked Best for Me
Within the article content, after the second or third paragraph. This is consistently the best-performing placement on text-based blogs. Readers are engaged — they have read enough to know they want to continue — and an ad at this point is noticed rather than immediately scrolled past. This is called in-content placement and most AdSense publishers who have tested placements agree it tends to outperform others.
At the end of the article. After someone finishes reading, they pause for a moment before deciding what to do next. An ad at this point gets a look. The position has decent performance because the reader is momentarily at rest.
The sidebar, if you have one. Sidebar ads perform worse than in-content ads on most sites. But they are still worth having because they add ad inventory that costs the reader nothing in terms of reading experience. A standard-sized ad in the sidebar adds revenue without interrupting anyone.
What I Stopped Doing
Ads right at the top of the page, above the article content, used to be common. Google has actually penalized sites for having too many ads above the fold. I removed top-of-page ads from most of my sites and saw no significant revenue drop — but I avoided the risk of a ranking penalty.
Ads between every paragraph slow down reading and make the experience feel like the site exists only to show ads. Readers bounce faster and do not come back. The short-term click revenue is not worth the long-term loss of repeat visitors.
Popup ads and ads that cover content are against AdSense policies and also actively annoy readers. I have never used them and would not recommend them to anyone who wants a site that people actually enjoy using.
How Many Ads Is the Right Number
Google removed the three-ad limit they used to have. But more ads does not mean more revenue if it means worse user experience.
For a standard blog post of 800 to 1,200 words, two to three ads is reasonable. One in-content ad around paragraph three, one at the end of the article, and one in the sidebar. That is enough inventory to earn meaningful revenue without making the page feel like a billboard.
For very long articles of 2,000 or more words, you can add an additional in-content ad around the midpoint. Longer content reads like a longer document and the extra ad fits naturally.
Auto Ads vs Manual Placement
AdSense offers auto ads, where Google automatically decides where to place ads on your site. This is convenient but gives you less control. Google optimizes for revenue, which sometimes means more ads than you would choose to show yourself, or ads placed in spots that hurt the reading experience.
I prefer manual placement with ad units. I decide where the ads go, I test different positions, and I know exactly what is on my pages. Auto ads can be a good starting point, but I recommend moving to manual placement once you have a feel for what works on your specific site.
Testing Placement
The only way to know what works on your specific site is to test. Change one thing at a time. Move an ad from one position to another. Wait two weeks. Compare the earnings data in AdSense. If it went up, keep the change. If it went down, revert.
This is slow but it works. Chasing every recommendation from every forum without testing for your own site is just guessing. Your readers are specific people. Test and learn what they respond to.