I’ve been asked a few times what WordPress plugins I use on this site. Rather than just compile a simple list I thought I would go into a bit more detail.
Over the coming weeks I am going to discuss each of the plugins I use. I am going to kick things off by talking about the AdSense Deluxe plugin.
When I first started using AdSense on this site I edited my WordPress template files to include the appropriate AdSense code. This works fine but it does have a couple of limitations:
- It assumes you’re familiar/comfortable editing WordPress template files.
- There is no real flexibility on how the ads are presented on your site. You’re pretty much stuck with the same ad format on each page.
I soon realised I wanted something more sophisticated. My main requirements were:
- The ability to hide google ads on certain pages
- The ability to experiment with different google ad layouts on my most popular pages
- A plugin that would support multiple AdSense channels
This is where the AdSense Deluxe plugin comes to the rescue.
You simply install the plugin, copy your Google AdSense code into the plugin options page, and then insert an appropriate HTML comment in the main body of your post. No messing with editing template files. Oh and did I mention it supports multiple AdSense channels too, you’re not stuck with one channel with this plugin, you can use as many Google Adsense blocks of code as you like!
The main section of the plugin options page looks as follows.
The text on this screenshot is a bit small to read but it gives you an overall impression of what it looks like. You basically define AdSense blocks. These blocks are the AdSense javascript code provided to you by Google. You can define as many as these blocks as you like, depending on how many AdSense channels you’re using.
To insert an AdSense block in a post you simply include a small HTML comment inside the main body of your post. You can position this HTML comment wherever you like in the main body of the post, and it is easy to define CSS styling to blend in with your web site layout. If you look at the screenshot above you can see a Name column. Below that are the HTML comment tags you insert into your post.
I’ve included a closer view of the AdSense blocks below.
So if for example you had an AdSense block defined to display a banner ad. You would simply insert the HTML comment for that block inside the main body of your post.
You also have the option to decide what pages you want the ads to appear on, for example the main page or individual posts. If you’re like me, and prefer to only shows ads on the individual post pages and leave your home page free of ads, then you’ll love this feature.
The plugin also supports a sandbox feature which enables you to test out what ads will appear on your page, before you add the HTML comment to your post.
This plugin makes managing your Google Ads a snap. If you want to experiment with a different ad colour scheme, or disable certain ad blocks, or modify the position of ad blocks, you simply go to the plugin options page in WordPress and make the changes. The changes are then automatically applied to all your blog posts. It is that easy.
If you want a simple, easy to use method of managing Google Ads on your WordPress blog then I highly recommend you check it out.
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14 responses so far ↓
1 Chris Rohde // Jun 22, 2007 at 2:41 pm
I think I used this plugin once before, but there must be something broken in my php of the site somewhere because certain plugins will, once installed, cause my whole admin section to freeze up and go white when I try to do something…
Which stinks, cause theres alot of good plugins out there I can’t evidently use!
2 Dean // Jun 23, 2007 at 7:32 am
I’ve seen this type of thing happen before. Not with this plugin but another one. I’m not sure what causes it, whether it is a bad plugin or one plugin clashing with another?
It would be worth checking you’re using the latest versions of all the plugins and try again.
3 Milan Dinić // Jul 10, 2007 at 11:31 am
Dean, what code and where in your template files you added so you have this ads out of post? I assume that those in post are added via tinyMCE editor.
4 Dean // Jul 10, 2007 at 7:19 pm
The ads at the top left of each blog post are added via the WordPress tinyMCE editor.
The ads in the left hand sidebar are a widget.
The ads between the end of the post and the start of the comments were added by editing the template file. The exact name of this template file may differ depending on the WordPress theme you are using. Mine is called index.php.
If you want me to go into any more detail, or you need any further help, then let me know.
5 Milan Dinić // Jul 10, 2007 at 8:49 pm
Thank you for your answer! Can you just tell me what code you entered in template changing, because I tried to insert that provided in tutorial, but didn’t work. I assume that you added it just before comments call.
Also, how you created widget for ads and do you also call Adsense Deluxe there or enter code manually?
Thanks again!
6 Dean // Jul 11, 2007 at 6:52 pm
You are correct. I modified my index.php file and added the Google AdSense code just before the comments call.
What theme are you using? I might be able to suggest where to insert your Google AdSense code into the template file.
Regarding the ads in the sidebar. I use a WordPress plugin called Sidebar Modules (SBM). It’s a more advanced version of the default sidebar widgets that come with WordPress.
SBM allows me to add modules to my sidebar, such as text, HTML, PHP, etc. I created a HTML module and then copied the Google AdSense code into this module. I can go into more detail about SBM if required.
Bear in mind though that the latest version of WordPress comes with widgets pre-installed. If you want to use SBM I believe you will need to disable the widgets first.
If all this sounds too complicated then another option for getting ads in your sidebar is to modify the template file and insert the Google Adsense code there.
You could look inside your template file and find out where the sidebar is included. You can try inserting your Google AdSense code directly below this code.
Let me know if this helps at all. If not let me know and we can chat further.
7 Milan Dinić // Jul 12, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Hi Dean!
Thanks for your answers! I wrote you reply last night, but when wanted to post it, my Firefox crashed and I lost that entry
So I’ll write it again.
I thought that you use php code provided by AdSense Deluxe in your template file, but it seems that you use javascript provided directly from Google. AdSense Deluxe count all calls for AdSense ads on one page and give max 3 ad units, so there can’t be mistakenly added more than that. Thats why I want to insert that code in template. I tried both examples given in AdSense Deluxe readme file, but I didn’t get any ads from it. Those codes are:
and. When I insert ads while write post (from tinyMCE), that ads shows normally. Now I’ll send question to author of this plugin about this issue. Theme I use is Mistylook, but you don’t need to check it.Thank you again for your help.
Milan
8 Jeff S. // Dec 2, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Hi,
I’ve been tearing my hair out today trying to position the google ads within a blog post. Unfortunately, I’ve not worked with CSS before which I suspect is the root of my problems.
Could you tell me how, above, you got the ads to go (or float) to the left of the text of the actual article? I actually want my ads on the right … I’ve tried etc.
But I can’t seem to figure out how to make the
block appear in an alignment to the *side* of article copy, within the article … the way I can a photo, etc.
Thanks in advance for clues …
9 Dean // Dec 2, 2007 at 9:43 pm
I enclose my Google AdSense code inside a DIV block and then apply the appropriate CSS formatting.
I’ll email you an example.
10 Jeff S. // Dec 2, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Cool, thanks for the speedy response. Shouldn’t we both have better things to do on a Sunday afternoon?
I guess I’ll anticipate my next question … I assume the “appropriate CSS formating” is something I’ll have to add/edit into my css file …
11 Jeff S. // Dec 2, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Phew … ignore previous post, if you like.
I think I’m all set.
I *think* I had tried tags earlier in the day … but I had put them in the page code rather than editing the google code/adsensedeluxe “tag” …
whatever it was, my way didn’t work and yours did. Done. And in time for dinner, too. My girlfriend thanks you, too.
-jeff
12 Milan Dinić // Dec 2, 2007 at 10:25 pm
BTW Dean, do you insert DIV tags and formating inside post or in AdSense code field on plugin’s page?
13 Dean // Dec 3, 2007 at 8:07 am
I insert the DIV tags inside the AdSense code field on the plugin’s options page. If you would like an example let me know and I’ll email it to you.
14 Rueben Pontbriand // Oct 15, 2011 at 3:55 am
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