I remember when I first was hearing suggestions about this as a method to increase CTR's and it seemed like a logical thing to do at the time. I over a period of days added images to almost every page I had at the time. I then later changed to an animated bar on some of the pages and was in progress of doing a comparison of the two methods to see how each would produce. I thought at the time I was seeing an increase of 1 -2% in CTR's.
Then came the rule definition with regard to using pictures and graphics next to AdSense ads, and for me shortly after that a polite note from Google that a page (or pages) on my site was in violation and I had 3 days to correct it. It was actually a page with static images that was called out but I wasn't taking any risks and began an immediate removal of all images from my site. Boy what a couple of days that was. My eyes were ready to fall out of my head by the time I was finished. I notified Google and received a nice thank you and clean bill of health about 6 days later.
Well here we are in the later half of March and the results have been interesting. My CTR's have actually gone up since going back to my original layout without graphics. My CTR's are up a solid 2% on average from where I was in December and January, and March looks to be the best earnings month I've had to date since starting on this adventure in April 2006.
I think what I've learned from this, is that no matter what the idea is, just because it works for someone else, doesn't mean it will work for you. You need to continue to test and see what is best for you site. Another thing I've learned is don't go running off buying the latest thing out there. Chances are, you already know how to do what you are going to be told in the latest email or download being offered. They in some cases just motivate you to actually do something with it.
All I'm saying is proceed with caution before you buy the latest "flavor of the month" or next hugely promoted launch that you receive. Have you ever noticed how if you are on more than a few lists, almost everyone of them promotes the same thing? Occasionally I have seen something that is really a "fresh" idea come along and they are worth a second look but buyer beware because you can get sucked in quickly if your not careful by all the hype with a new launch.
One thing I didn't regret buying was Joel's book (free plug Joel :D ), because it was very affordable and I did find very useful information to help me increase my AdSense earnings and for the cost of the book, I felt it was a great deal. I can't say the same for a number of other things I've tried since. Let common sense prevail, you won't regret it.
The old adage still holds true...if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. There is no magic bullet for AdSense, but with time and patience (and not getting yourself banned), you can earn a nice passive income with the program.
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