[weisinator]

I was reading This article about the Dodge Challenger concept and the affiliate marketer in me saw the google ads under seemingly unrelated pictures.

Is this okay? If so, how well does it work at increasing conversions?

[Snib]

Personally I think it's deceptive because it entices visitors to click a link because of the picture. This only helps the affiliate as the advertisers are getting very poor quality traffic and if I had to guess I'd say Google doesn't like it either.

- Scott

[Vegemite]

I've seen quite a few instances of similar methods, including animated gif's running up the side of the Adsense banner that certainly catch the surfer's eye. I also know of another webmaster who uses similar picture placements to draw attention to the ads on one of his sites, and from what I gather his CTR went up and Google didn't have a problem with it (he asked before doing it). I'm not sure what the long-term 'Smart Pricing' effect was though - increased clicks doesn't always equal increased income.

Vege...