Today we’re sharing our tips and best practices for placing AdSense for content ads on game play pages in a way that doesn’t confuse the user and create invalid click activity. If you run a site with online games, a game play page refers to the page where an individual game is described and a user can click to begin playing. Make sure to also visit Pt. 1: Keeping the right distance and Pt. 2: Use the right product for more tips on avoiding invalid clicks and maintaining a healthy user experience.

Let’s start with a quick recap on why it’s important to follow these policies to minimize accidental clicks. First off, in order to protect our network from artificially inflated costs, we carefully monitor clicks and impressions on Google ads. Invalid activity that we detect will be deducted from revenue at the end of the month and in some cases, may eventually lead to a disabled account in which the earnings will be returned to the affected advertisers. Also, with smart pricing, high numbers of accidental clicks will decrease publisher revenue in the long-run. This is because accidental clicks don’t result in conversions for advertisers, which will in turn reduce the amount that they’re willing to pay to show ads on your site.

As a general guideline for online gaming sites, you can ask yourself the following question: Could a user who doesn’t speak the language of your page navigate from the game play description page to the actual game, with a minimal chance of unintentionally clicking on advertisements? The answer should be yes, and based on this, we’ve derived the following two tips:

• Interstitial ad pages: Game play buttons shouldn’t lead to interstitial pages dominated by AdSense for content ad units with no obvious game play links. More generally, links intended to navigate the user to game play pages shouldn’t deceive the user into clicking AdSense ads. Please visit our Help Center for more information on placing AdSense ads on interstitial pages.

• Inconspicuous play buttons: Game play buttons should be clickable and placed in an obvious location. To minimize user confusion, indicate how to play the game through text and image. Ad units shouldn’t surround game play links too closely. Please visit our Help Center to view the full policy regarding deceptive AdSense implementation.

An example of acceptable implementation                        An example of unacceptable implementation

For a full description of the above two policies and to review example ad implementations, please visit our Help Center. Following these guidelines will help you avoid accidental clicks and provide an optimal user experience.

Posted by Awni Hannun – Inside AdSense Team