In the time since I’ve gone back to Google Adsense, I’ve had issues with some of their ads. Mostly religion and politics. Big shocker, right? Every once in a while, Google suggest I allow those ads:
Consider allowing ads from sensitive categories to increase auction pressure and improve performance.
I usually discard the suggestion, but this time they tried something new to me.
… you can allow these ads now, or run an experiment to help you decide.
There are only two types of experiments right now. One is ad units, where you can adjust templates and ad sizes. The other is what I’m doing, allowing and blocking ads. I clicked on the experiment button, and it set up an A/B test for me, tracking the clicks of each version of my site, to see if anyone actually clicks on those ads.
Initially there was an option to automatically pick the best one, but I don’t know if I want to. I do know that I want to actually see if anyone who reads my sites wants to see political ads.
The reason I’d blocked them is they were showing right-wing crazy people on my sites, and I’m not that person. They were showing ads I would deem offensive (and you have to work hard to offend me) so instead of reading every single ad, I decided to block all of them, assuming I wasn’t hurting my income too much.
After this experiment, I’ll circle back and make a more informed decision. I wish there were more things I could experiment on, like specific ads in specific locations, but this ability to just see if the ads are clicked at all is a nice start for a free product.
