I pretty much always ignore the right hand side of all blogs and websites that I visit. I do this so often that I don’t even notice the ads anymore.
The more and more we get bombarded with ads the easier and easier it is to just ignore them. This is why companies really have to work hard on getting you to notice ads. Take a look at Techcrunch and WSJ. They have to show you a fullscreen ad to get you to notice their sponsors.
On Reddit I have an entirely different reaction. I notice the ads more and more. Mainly because every few days I notice games on the right hand side.
Adding fun or useful content in your ad slots every now and then will get your viewers to notice your ads more often.
The goal is to train your audience to actually view all aspects of your site and then Bam! insert an advertisement so they actually see it. If you are familiar with Pavlov’s law it is all about training your viewers where to look.
Here is Google’s Heatmap from 2008:
Google noticed this and now you will find a ton of ads on top of the page (just not on the right hand side).
Compare Google’s heatmap to a few other sites:
1. A wiki like site:
2. The U.S. Census Bureau
My point is if you want more people to notice your ads. Doing a complete ad takeover isn’t your only option. Train your viewers to notice other parts of your website from time to time.
2/19/2011 UPDATE:
My buddy Ali of Peanut Labs just pointed out that Facebook does a great job with this as well. Recently (last 2 months) they show you nostalgic pictures of you and your buddy and then BAM! lots of interesting ads to click on beneath it.
Thank you Kadavy for helping me with this blog post.