I’ll cut to the chase: Monday, the 18^th of this month, Google made a post on the AdSense Blog stating: “We ask that publishers not line up images and ads in a way that suggests a relationship between the images and the ads.”

This has, by the majority of publishers, been assumed for some time. However, it was also long rumored (and seen in practice) that Google would tolerate images next to AdSense ads, so long as there was a line or some other divide segregating the images. In theory, this safeguard allowed publishers to be ‘resourceful’ in their placement of images next to ads without violating AdSense Terms of Service. In fact, Shoemoney even went so far as to develop a really cool php-based tool that uses the Yahoo! Image API to locate and resize relevant (hopefully) / unique images on the fly.

I’m sure most of my readers have seen the image-by-ads tactic many times before, but just in case I’ve been unclear, here’s the (very typical) example posted on the AdSense blog:

Google addressed this notion with an uncharacteristically direct response:

Here’s an idea for Google: Why not allow advertisers to upload small, pertinent images when they create their ads? Publishers obviously wouldn’t object—many of them are already doing it now in violation of AdSense TOS. Furthermore, the images would be more relevant if they were controlled by the advertisers and they would also provide a visual reinforcement to the message delivered by standard AdSense ads (after all, the advertiser would have the option of uploading a small image with each ad, and these images would go through an approval process just like ad copy).

And let’s do some thinking… Why are publishers putting these images next to the ads? Because for some reason these images increase the CTR. Whoa! That’s what advertisers want, too! A high CTR.

If Google took control and allowed unique ad formats that included small images like these, everyone would win: the publishers (higher CTR), the advertisers (higher CTR) and Google (higher CTR). My guess is it’s just a matter of time—at least it should be.