Members of Google’s AdSense network now have options to go “edgy or bubbly” with their ad units, assuming they display corners at all.
AdSense Corners The Ad Format
Web 2.0 design aesthetics have caught on with the AdSense team. Google has made new options available for tweaking the shape of the ad units.
“You’ve long been able to customize the size and colors of your ad units; now, you can also customize the shape by selecting between square, slightly rounded, or very rounded corners,” Google’s Teo Wickland wrote at the AdSense blog.
The update represents the ongoing work at Google to continuously improve their signature advertising product. With ads representing virtually all of Google’s revenue, anything that enhances their ability to keep that stream flowing merits a look.
It has been a common practice for site publishers to have their ad units match the colors and fonts of their online content. Many do away with borders entirely, to increase the likelihood of people clicking on ads.
Google updated the overall look of the AdSense ad units in April 2007. Dividing lines between ads vanished, and the “Ads by Google” text moved from the top left to the bottom right of the ad unit.
Now those corner-adoring publishers can go edgy or bubbly with their ad units. For the indecisive, a slightly-rounded option can be deployed. The AdSense Setup management screen contains the controls for making a well-rounded selection.
