Last updated on August 1st, 2018 at 06:24 pm
Are you using Ads on your blog? If so then you’ll want to take the time to read this Advanced Ads review to find out what it is and why I chose to purchase the pro version.
As you know, I recently started using Google Adsense on this blog. I figured what the heck if I can monetize my blog with Adsense, I’m going to give it a shot.
If it doesn’t work, well at least I tried.
Why I Choose Advanced Ads
There are literally tons of different Adsense plugins that you can use. When I first put ads on my blog, I had no clue which one to try.
Instead of spending hours trying to find one and testing them out on Desktop Server.
I reached out to Claire from Start A Craft Blog and she told me about the Ad Inserter plugin.
I reached out to her because of this post. She talks about monetizing your blog with affiliate marketing and I noticed that she had ads in her blog posts.
At that time, I had just signed up for ads and wasn’t really sure how to place them inside of the content on my blog.
As soon as she told me which plugin she was using, I installed the free plugin on my blog.
It’s very easy to use and I was going to keep using it. After all, it was free and I didn’t really want to spend any money.
However, I wasn’t happy with the way that my ads looked on my iPhone. They were overlapping on my sidebar and in opinion looked bad.
Maybe I was doing something wrong, and missed some of the settings? It’s possible, I’ve been known to not follow directions very well ๐
So I went back to the Internet and started researching how to add ads in my content on WordPress.
I found several tutorials on how to add the ads without a plugin. As well as a bunch of other free plugins.
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After spending a few hours online, I decided to invest in the Advanced Ads Pro Bundle.
Advanced ads is available as a free version, but the Pro Bundle has so many different features, that I loved, so I invested in the plugin.
There’s A Lot To Learn
I have to admit that I am still learning how to use all the different features of the plugin. Here are some great affiliate marketing tips that I just discovered and am using with this plugin.
I’ve learned how to create niche specific targeted ads to show my readers.
I haven’t used all the available add-ons that come with the Pro Bundle.
I’ve only used the Advanced Ads Pro, Responsive and the Tracking add-on.
The great thing is that I have access to all the add ons if I decide to use them later on.
Add-Ons I’m Currently Using
The only reason that I went ahead and purchased the entire bundle, was because I wanted the tracking and the responsive add-ons.
The Responsive Add On is โฌ29.00 which converts to $34.21 US dollars. So I figured why not save some money and pick up the entire bundle?
So I did.
Anyway, the Add-Ons that I currently have installed on this blog are:
- Advanced Ads Pro
- Responsive
- Tracking
I spent the past weekend learning how to set up responsive AdSense ads for my blog
The plugin also enables you to set up different ads based on categories, tags, pages or basically anything you want.
My Sidebar Ads
If you look at my sidebar ads, you’ll notice I am now displaying different ads for the Blogging and the Genesis categories now.
Yup, you can target your ads to match your content better. We all know that if you’re optimizing your ads and showing the right ones to your audience, your conversion rates should be better.
I know what you’re thinking. People are suffering from banner blindness and don’t even click on the sidebar ads.
Well, I’m not really sure as I haven’t been able to really track the clicks on them till now. So I’ll find out if it’s worth having ads in my sidebars.
It’s pretty cool and I haven’t used it to its fullest effect yet.
Since I’m not using all the Add-Ons, I’ll only be walking you through the ones that I am using. I’ll even show you how to set up your first device-specific Adsense ad.
You’ll find all the available add-ons that come in the Pro Bundle. However, I can’t walk you through on how to use them. Because I have no clue yet ๐
A Look At the Advanced Ads Pro
In order to start using the Advanced Ads pro, you’ll need to install the free version of the Advanced Ads plugin.
This kind of reminds me of the Social Warfare plugin. You have to install the free version in order to use the Pro version.
To tell you the truth, I didn’t even test out the free version of the Advanced Ads. I just signed up for the Pro Bundle as soon as I read about all the features.
I did install the free plugin on my localhost using Desktop Server, just so you can see it.
So Here’s a side by side comparison of what you’ll see with the free version and when you have the same AddOns I have installed.
As you can see with the free version, you can still place your ads. I am not sure if the placements are the same as the pro version?
You’ll have to play with it as I won’t be covering the free version.
Instead, I’m going to take you inside the pro version and show you why I upgraded and how I created my first device-specific Adsense ad.
An Inside Look At Advanced Ads Pro
The first thing you’ll want to do is go to your global settings on your dashboard and set up the plugin. I pretty much left everything as default.
I made a few changes but not much. If you need help with the setup, you can view the tutorials on the site.
You’ll also need to enter the license key that you get when you purchase it. You can purchase the Pro Bundle here.
How My Ad Looks Like On Specific Devices
The one thing that I really liked about this plugin is that it allowed me to set up ads for specific devices. This means that I can set up ads specifically for mobile phones and tablets and etc..
I took a screenshot of one of the ads on my Apple iPhone 6S .
You’ll see that I have an add under the first paragraph of my content.
You’ll only the ad on small mobile phone screens. I don’t have that ad displaying on tablets, desktops or laptops.
Here’s a look at how the ads from the same post look like on my iPad.
If you look closely, you’ll see that the ads don’t show up on my iPad after the first paragraph.
Pretty awesome huh?
I thought so too, that’s why I purchased the Bundle. Now, I’m still learning how to test out my ad placements on different devices, but I thought I’d quickly show you how I created my first ad.
Of course, if you look at the desktop version of that post on my blog I used for both the iPad and my iPhone, you’ll notice that I don’t have an ad under the first paragraph. Here’s a link to the post I used for the screenshots.
If you do see it, then let me know. That will mean that I messed up on the browser width settings.
How I Created Device Specific Ads
As I mentioned, above I tried a different plugin. The issue I had was that I couldn’t get my ads to look good on mobile.
I wanted my ads to look good on every device. That’s the main reason that I bought this plugin.
I’ll run you through one of the ads and then you’ll have an idea of how to do it.
Let’s Create Our First Adsense Ad
Log into your WordPress blog and go to Advanced Ads >> Ads >> Ad New
You’ll have the option to create several different types of ads. I’ll only be covering the Adsense Ads on this tutorial.
In a different tutorial, I’ll cover how to create different sidebar ads based on your categories like I did ๐
Click on Adsense to start creating your first ad.
You’ll also need to create an ad inside of your Adsense Account. I created a responsive ad to use for this specific ad.
Once you have the code for the ad, paste it in the box you see above.
Now all you have to do is click Get Details >> Next
Now we need to set up where we want our ads to display. If you want the ads to display on your entire site, you don’t have to do anything.
I personally only want to show my ads on my posts. You can choose whatever set up you want.
You’ll need to add a new condition. Then click on choose a condition and you’ll get a bunch of options you can choose. Here’s how mine look. Yours will probably look different than mine.
I chose Categories as the display option and then went through and highlighted all the categories on my blog.
This means that the ads will only show up on my specific categories I chose. I won’t have to worry about ads showing up on any of my pages or anywhere else on my blog.
Once you’ve set a condition, click on Next.
The next step is where we get to control the devices we want our ads to show up on.
Hiding Ads
Click on Hide the ads from some users
You’ll get some options to set up visitor conditions. Don’t worry if this sounds confusing, here’s the online manual if you need extra help.
As you can see, you have several different options when you’re using the Responsive Add On. If you’re just using the free version, you won’t get all these options.
My Exact Settings
I chose the browser width to set up the ads for my mobile phone and tablet ads. I can’t guarantee that these settings are correct, but they seem to be working for me.
Feel free to set yours up exactly like mine. Of course if y, u want to play around with yours to get a different look and feel, then that’s cool as well.
As I mentioned, I’m not that great with setting up the browser width settings. It took a while to get those settings set up the way
I spent pretty much an afternoon playing around with the different settings to get it to look the way that I wanted.
Ad Placements
After you get your specific devices set up, then you’ll click on Next. The next page that comes up, you’ll be prompted to add the placement for your new ad.
For these specific ads, I chose left of the content. Since these ads will only show up on mobile phones, I wanted an add at the top of the page to see if it would help me get some clicks ๐
Of course, you can choose from the following different placements. If you want to read where you can place your ads, read this.
You can choose to place your Adsense ads in your content. You even add ads after or before the paragraphs.
Yes, you can even place ads right after or before an image. I’ve seen a lot of bloggers doing this with their ads. You’ll have to play around with the placements to see what works the best for your blog.
Congratulations Your Ad Is Set Up
Once you’ve chosen the placement you want, you’ll then see this.
Your ads are now available and online. Of course, if you followed the settings on this post, you won’t be able to see your live ads on your desktop or tablet.
The ads will only be seen on mobile phones.
Advanced Ads Tracking Add On
If you pick up the Pro Bundle, you’ll also get the Tracking Add On. I’ve set this up and I just started using it. I love being able to look at my stats. Hopefully, over time, I’ll be able to see which ads people are actually clicking on.
If you’re just using Google Adsense, you should know that this doesn’t keep track of clicks on Adsense.
I’ve just installed this plugin this past weekend and here’s a quick screenshot of my the tracking. Those 2 clicks you see on my stats are mine ๐
You won’t get any details of when someone clicks on your Adsense Ads. However, you will see the impressions.
I am sure that you could use that information to see if the ad is worth keeping or moving it somewhere else on your blog.
Like I said, I’m new to Adsense, so I am still learning the ins and outs of it.
This is how the graph looks like. It’ll show you the impressions and clicks that your ads are receiving.
Personally, I think it’s pretty cool ๐
Those are the 2 Add Ons I am using for my blog. Of course, I am using the Advanced Ads Pro Add On as well.
What’s Next…
Let’s Look At All the Add-Ons
As I mentioned, I picked up the Pro Bundle, so I have access to all 7 Add Ons. I thought I would show you everything you get in the Pro Bundle account.
We’ve already covered the:
- Responsive Add On
- Tracking Bundle
- Advanced Ads Pro
Here’s the other Add Ons that come with the Pro Bundle:
Selling Ads: This Add On allows you to sell ads on your website.
PopUp and Layer Ads: You can display pretty much anything in layers and popups.
Sticky Ads: Create sticky ads that don’t move when a visitor scrolls.
GEO Targeting: You can control the placement of the ads on your site based on the location of the visitor, city, continent or country.
Slider: You can create a slider with your ads. I won’t be using this Add On, as I don’t like sliders.
Genesis Add On: If you’re using the Genesis Framework, you can use this Add On to show ads in specific places on your blog. Oh did I mention that it’s free?
Is this The Right Plugin For You?
As I mentioned, I picked this plugin up because I was looking for a way to insert my Adsense Ads inside of my blog content.
I did find a free plugin that I used for a day. It’s called Ad Inserter. It worked well, however, I wanted more control over my ads.
The Advanced Ads Pro plugin gives me complete control over my ads. I know that I still have a lot to learn about using it to the fullest potential.
I am sure that I haven’t tapped into all the features of the plugin. However, at the time of this writing, I’ve only been using the plugin for a little while.
I’ll continue learning how to use it as I continue tweaking and playing with it. Oh did I mention that you can set up your licensed copy on your localhost?
Which is great because it’ll give me a chance to play around with it so I can learn more about it.
How to Add Adsense Ads Inside of Content
Chances are you’ve probably been using Adsense a lot longer than I have. At the time of this writing, I’ve only been using it for about two weeks.
There are tons of different free plugins that you can use to add Adsense inside of your blog content. Heck, you don’t even have to use a plugin if you don’t want to.
Before I invested in this plugin, I was going to add the code without a plugin. I had created the short code to use. But then decided to use a plugin.
I wanted an easy way to remove the code in case I ever want to stop using Adsense on my blog. If I used the shortcode, I’d have to go inside each and every post and remove the shortcode.
If I had used the short code, I’d have to go inside each and every post and the code manually. Which would’ve been a pain in the butt?
Should I Get Started With Adsense?
I know that so many bloggers are against monetizing with ads. No one can tell you if ads are the right way to monetize your blog.
Heck, I don’t even know if they’ll work well for your blog. The only thing that I can tell you is that you’re going to have to test things out on your own.
If they work for you, use them. If not then take them off and monetize your blog using different methods.
That’s the great thing about starting a self-hosted blog. You can always change things up. Nothing is set in stone, if you don’t like something, you can remove it.
Final Take Away
I wanted to create this Advanced Ads review and walk you through on setting up your first Adsense ad.
It took me a while to get my first device-specific Ad set up. I sat on my MacBook Pro trying to figure it all morning.
If I had issues, I thought maybe someone else might be struggling with it. So why not write a blog post and help someone through the process?
This way if you do pick up the plugin, you can follow my tutorial. If it helps that’s awesome, if not, sorry, I did my best.
As I mentioned, I’m still new to the plugin. I don’t know everything. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to read their documentation They will help you get pretty much anything accomplished.
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Are you using Ads on your blog? Does the plugin you’re using allow you to control the ads based on specific devices? Let me know, I’d love to hear how you control the ads on your blog.
Hi Susan!
Thank you so much for adding a link to my post! Honestly, I agree with you, I’m not happy with how the large media.net ads look on mobile devices but I haven’t had time to research alternatives. I’m so glad you wrote this post and took the leg work out of it for me.
I’m definitely sharing this on Pinterest and adding Advanced ads to my To Do list ๐
Claire x
Hi Claire,
Thank you for introducing me to the Ads Insert plugin. I had never heard of it before you told me about it.
So glad that I was able to help you out with the leg work.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment oh and sharing it ๐
Have a great day ๐
Susan