JourneyAustralia.com

25.1 JourneyAustralia.com — Unmissable Ads Down Under

Fig. 25.1 JourneyAustralia.com puts its ads front and center.

It can take some courage to make your ads the most important thing the user sees when he looks at the page, but that’s the approach that JourneyAustralia.com takes.

You can’t miss these ads! They’re right above the fold and slap-bang in the middle. They’re the first thing the reader sees even before he knows what the site is about.

Note too the picture right next to the ad unit. That helps to keep users’ eyes in the ad zone, but you have to be very careful doing that. Google’s ban on “misleading” images is vague enough for them to act on any picture placed next to an ad unit any time they want. That doesn’t mean they will but you don’t want to give them an opportunity. JourneyAustralia.com seems to have found the right sort of image to use. If you’re not sure about your image though, it’s best to leave it to one side.

The strategy of placing an ad unit in the middle of the page though is very simple. It’s about as subtle as a slap in the face but it can be very, very effective.

Do you have the courage to try it?