Maximum AdSense Ad units per page - new limits as per updated policies
Google has removed the 3 AdSense ad units per page limit. Now publishers can add multiple ad units in every page, as long as the content is still prominent than ads. Read more about the Google AdSense policy change regarding ad unit placement limits.
One of the biggest complaints from bloggers and other publishers regarding Google AdSense was, they were allowed to use a maximum 3 of content ad units per page. In addition, they were allowed to use 3 link units and 2 search boxes. Some of the lucky publishers were given a special allowance to use extra ad units and I was one of them. I have been using 3 content ad units in my blogs since last 4-5 years. Many bloggers were questioning me about the ad unit limit violation and I have spent a lot of time explaining how I got the special permission from Google to use the extra ad units. Also, my old article on how to display more than 3 AdSense ad units per page is no longer relevant!
Anyway, it's happy news for all publishers. Google has silently removed the restriction on using more than 3 content ad units for all publishers. Well, there is no official announcement yet from Google but they have removed the specific details that talk about the limits from their help topics and is replaced with text that indirectly allows any number of ad units as long as the content is still more prominent than Ads.Limits on number of ad units as per past policies
Here is a screenshot that in the Google AdSense policies page that shows the limits on the number of ad units that can be used in every page:
The old policies states:
This part of the policies has been now replaced with the new text, that doesn't mention any such limits per page.New AdSense policy regarding number of ad placements per page
According to the updated policies, there are no limits on the number of AdSense ad units per page, subject to the condition that the content should still remain prominent than ads in the page. Here is a screenshot of the new ad placement policies:
This is what the updated policy states, under the title "Valuable inventory":Advertising and other paid promotional material added to your pages should not exceed your content. Furthermore, the content you provide should add value and be the focal point for users visiting your page. For this reason, we may limit or disable ad serving on pages with little to no value and/or excessive advertising until changes are made.
According to the new policy, there are no limits on the number of ad units that can be placed in a page. However, Google requires that the ads on the page should not exceed the content on the page. The content should remain more prominent than ads and should add value to the visitors to the page. Fair enough.How does it help bloggers?
This is definitely a big change by Google and indeed helpful to the genuine publishers. I personally found it as a big limitation to restrict myself to 3 ad units per page when I am writing long articles with 1,500+ pages. With the new policies, I can place 4 or 5 or even more ad units when I write long articles.
Are you thinking about editing your template to insert ads everywhere? Wait, take some time to think about the best placement strategies. Don't fill your blog with Ads everywhere. Figure out a way to insert ads based on the length of your posts and also based on the layout. Place more ads only if you can do it such a way that your pages do not look cluttered with too many ads.Official announcement from Google regarding ad limits per page
There is no official announcement from Google regarding this policy change. However, I found Google has updated a couple of pages in their policies that talk about the new guidelines about ad placements. Here is another screenshot from this page: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/17958?hl=en
This page states that "Multiple ad units can help optimize your performance by leveraging our large inventory of ads". It specifically says "multiple ad units" and "leverage large inventory of ads", indicating Google suggests publishers to use more ad units if it really fits well in your page.New ad placement policies
Google has removed the restrictions regarding the number of ad unit placements per page. However, there are some restrictions still apply. You are recommended to go through the Google AdSense policies.
Here are some of the important points to remember:
1. Google specifically uses the term "Valuable inventory" in multiple places. This means the ad inventory in your pages should be valuable to the advertisers and shouldn't be filled with Ads.
2. There are is no more "3 ad unit per page" limit. However, now you have to take care that the total number of ads in the page should remain less than the total volume of content in the page. How do you compare the volume of ads to the volume of text? Well, there is no hard and fast rule. Use your best judgement. If you are in doubt, show your page to a small kid and ask if they see more ads or more text in the page!
3. The policy update brings the total number of ads and promotional material in the page into the policy. Earlier, the restriction was only applicable to AdSense Ads but with the new policy, Google will care about all the ads and promotional material used in the page, which include affiliate ads, third party ads, AdX ads etc. The total volume of all ads together should remain less than the text content of the page and Ads should be less prominent than the content in the page.
4. The content should remain the focal point of the page and not the ads. So, if you are planning to fill the page with lot of ads, be aware that Google is watching.
5. You still cannot place AdSense ads on slim pages like error, log in, or exit pages.
6. The new guidelines are applicable for mobile ad units as well. Google specifically states that "As per our valuable inventory policy, you may not place more ads than content on your mobile page.". This indicates you can use more than 3 content ad units in the mobile pages as well, as long as you have more content than ads.
7. If your site uses download links, such links should be still "above the fold" and "easy to find". Don't try to hide the download thinks expecting users to accidentally or desperately click on ads while searching for the download links!
Read updated ad placement policies.How is this helpful?
The biggest advantage I can see is, now I can get rid of the low paying third party ad units I am using in the sites and replace them with less intrusive Google Ads. Hopefully, that will make my blogs load faster and will allow me to work with just one ad network - Google AdSense.
What's your feedback on this policy change from Google? Share your comments below.
Click here for my source. I have collected the information directly from Google's official pages based on the information I received from the source.
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Did they remove the restrictions on using large Ads? Earlier there were some rules like we cannot use more than 1 600x300 ad unit in any page. Is that limit still applicable?