I’ve used probably 20 different AdSense plug-ins during my years of using WordPress. For the last three years, the Quick AdSense plugin has been the one that I’ve used on all my blogs. It is not without its flaws, and I have certainly scouted and experimented with many other AdSense plug-ins, seeking find the perfect one that suited all of my needs.
Unfortunately, with AdSense plugins there is not one or two that are easily discernible as the “best”, or that really stand out from the others in terms of functionality and popularity. With other types of plug-ins like caching or tables plug-ins, for instance, it’s easy to pick out the best one because it is so far and away better than any of its competitors.
But that’s not so with AdSense plug-ins. There are dozens of free ones to choose from that all have moderate popularity, and the features and limitations they have all vary wildly. Which one is best for you will largely be depend upon the specific needs you have for your blog and the features you are looking for.
Let me explain to you why Quick AdSense is my favorite. One feature that it has, that no other AdSense plugin I’ve run into has, is the ability to automatically place AdSense ads after specific paragraphs in your blog posts. So, for example, I can set it to automatically inject a banner ad after the first paragraph, a large rectangle after the fifth paragraph, and a small square after the seventh paragraph. You can also, of course, align the ads to the left, center, or right within the text.
I can use the main control panel to do this on all of my posts, without having to edit each individual post to my blog. This allows me to easily change the settings and experiment to see which gives me the best click-through rates on my ads. I love this feature because I find that my click-through rates are highest when the ads are placed in the body of the content, rather than in the sidebars or at the bottom of the post.
Quick AdSense also allows you to set up AdSense widgets that you can use to place in the sidebar, header, or anywhere else you would like. If your theme allows you to configure hooks, you can set it up so that you can literally add a widget to any location on your blog.
Quick AdSense gives you the ability to specify which types of posts and pages you would like AdSense ads to display. For example, I only want ads to display on my blog posts. I do not want them to show my homepage, or any of my blog pages such as the contact form or image galleries, or on my category pages. You can easily adjust the settings to fit whatever your needs are.
The plugin is not limited to AdSense ads, as you can inject any type of ad that you would like. You can use Amazon ads or anything else and it will still work. It is configurable for up to 10 ads, with an additional 10 widgets. Of course, AdSense only allows you to have three ads, three link units, and two search boxes at the maximum. I recommend limiting the number of ads on your blog to reasonable amounts, or else the retention rate on your blog is really going to suffer.
One of the limitations of Quick AdSense is that you must manually insert the full AdSense code into each block. In some other AdSense plug-ins, all you have to do is fill in your AdSense publisher ID and the plugin will automatically create the AdSense code for you based on what size ad unit that you would like to use. This is a minor irritation, however, and one that I find tolerable.
Quick AdSense isn’t perfect, by any means. I would even be willing to pay for an AdSense plugin that was clearly superior to all the rest, and had every feature I was looking for. But, unfortunately it just hasn’t been made yet, which somewhat surprises me because I know that the demand is there for one. So until I find that perfect plugin, I will continue to use Quick AdSense, and I recommend that you give it a try as well.
Let me know if you agree or disagree with my opinions. And if you have a recommendation for a better AdSense plugin for WordPress, please express yourself in the comments below. Thanks.
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