Comments on: Google Above-the-Fold Ad Penalty and How To Avoid It

By: David Gould

David Gould — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:52:08 +0000

Responsive design is a great way to approach the issue to avoid layouts that are unintentionally topheavy with ads at certain resolutions, although Google’s target here is more the people who are very deliberately keeping those ads high and huge.

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:38:32 +0000

Two words: responsive design. This doesn’t necessarily get rid of the penalty from Google, but it will make it easier for visitors to read your content. And if they love it and link to it, that penalty for too many ads above the fold might not hurt as much as you’d think.

By: David Gould

David Gould — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:23:22 +0000

Ha, very interesting comparison. I think the ad weight penalty is a valuable thing to have, but as you say it’s just tough to swallow when Google themselves seem to be among the worst offenders.

By: Mendenhall Creative

Mendenhall Creative — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:50:16 +0000

Ha! Seeing that Google SERP page made me laugh. It DOES seem hypocritical…big time! Since whenever there’s an ad to display to the user, they do. They also deliver it right at the top of my gmail. It reminds me of the scene from Swing Kids when the Nazi Leader is dining with a family and starts to drink wine. The son in the family who’s been recruited and indoctrinated by the Hitler Youth reminds him that drinking alcohol is taught against. The man shrugs it off in a “well, I am above that now” kinda way. Google’s making strides, but at the end of the day, they want to make a buck like the rest of us. Think of a better way Spam Team. There’s got to be other indicators available.

By: David Gould

David Gould — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:32:46 +0000

Hi Krish,

No, images and videos are considered content. The penalty applies specifically to above-the-fold ads, like AdSense.

Thanks!