Maximum Allowed AdSense Ad Units on a Web Page

UPDATE: This article has been updated in September 2016 with the latest information. Read carefully, as this can help you earn more money from Adsense.  

We all know that AdSense is (to date) the best contextual, high-paying ad network.

But AdSense also has very strictly enforced program policies. If they find that a website is in violation of their TOS, they will permanently disable the offending account.

It is very important to follow AdSense’s quality and program guidelines in order toavoid having your AdSense account banned.

Here’s one of the most common questions new bloggers ask:

• “What is the maximum number of AdSense units I can put on a page?”

Google AdSense offers different types of ads and most are categorized in the following formats:

• AdSense Content Unit
• AdSense Link Unit
• AdSense For Search

(AdSense used to offer AdSense video units as well, but they ultimately retired this option.)

Here are the maximum AdSense ad units allowed for a web page:

AdSense Content Unit

Earlier, AdSense had a maximum limit of 3 ad units (while “premium partners”enjoyed serving up to 6 ad units).

In August 2016, AdSense lifted the ad unit limit for every site.

• You can now place an unlimited amount of AdSense ads on a page.

However, advertising and other paid promotional material added to your pagesshould not exceed your content.

In other words:

• You also need to maintain the quality of your site.

AdSense Content Units are available in following sizes:

• 728*90
• 468*60
• 234*60
• 125*125
• 120*600
• 160*600
• 180*150
• 120*240
• 200*200
• 250*250
• 300*250
• 336*280

Personally, I have found 336*280 and 160*600 to be the most effective.

You can also use ads from multiple publisher IDs.

(Note: I have started serving ads using Ezoic which is also helping me to increase my overall revenue.)

AdSense Link Units

AdSense Link Units perform really well when blended with your theme and placed above the fold.

I tested this by placing one in the Navbar and it turned out to be one of my best-performing ad units.

Again, you can place unlimited Link Units as long as the ads are not exceeding the content.

You can find the various sizes for AdSense Link Units here.

AdSense For Search

For a big website, AdSense For Search units perform really well.

If you have not yet set up AdSense For Search units, read our guide:

•  How To Set Up AdSense For Search

How many AdSense ads can you put on a page?

As mentioned above, Google has lifted the limit restrictions. As long as your ads do not exceed your content, there is no upper limit on the number of ads on a single page.

It’s important to note that while picking the number of ads, you should think about the short posts on your blog. If you decide to place more than 5-6 ad units, and you are placing them sitewide using a plugin, you might be spamming your own short posts with a large number of ads.

AdSense has explicitly mentioned:

• “We may limit or disable ad serving on pages with little to no value and/or excessive advertising until changes are made.”  

So I suggest you keep less than 5 ads per page.

I usually stick to 3 or 4.

But you should identify your own limit according to your blog’s layout.

A few things which I have learned from my own experience:

• Sometimes 2 ad units perform better than 3 ad units.
• Placing ads above the fold yields better results.
• A combination of image + text ads perform better.

There are many different options available for the placement of ads, but I highly recommend using a minimum amount of ad units or utilizing adverts only at the bottom or on the sidebar.

Let us know how many AdSense ad units you are using on your blog. Now that Google has lifted the limit, are you using more AdSense ad units, or are you keeping it the same? Share your experience in the comments!

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