The changes that I have made to The Dividend Guy seem to be working quite well. To summarize the changes that I have made:

A. Google Channels
To help with the monitoring of the changes, I have created a couple of channels that will help me see where the most effective ad placement is. Of course I have used Google’s recommendations as a guideline.

The categories I created include:

1. TheDividendGuyBlogBetweenPosts - Square 250 X 250 Text Ads that are placed between posts.
2. TheDividendGuyBlogHeader - 230 X 60 Half-Banner that goes directly above the first post on the page and right below the top bar.
3. TheDividendGuyBlogEmbedded - 120 X 90 5 Link Ads that are embedded right into each post.

B. Color of Ads
I went from a rotating color scheme to a scheme that blended in with the page.

What have the results been like. Here is how the before and after results look (keep in mind this is really only day 4 into the results and should not be considered a final determination of effectiveness) for the changes made to The Dividend Guy:

Before Changes
March 6, 2006 Earnings	$0.90
March 7, 2006 Earnings	$0.38
March 8, 2006 Earnings	$3.59
March 9, 2006 Earnings	$0.00
March 10, 2006 Earnings	$0.27
After Changes
March 11, 2006 Earnings	$2.32
March 12, 2006 Earnings	$1.64
March 13, 2006 Earnings	$2.91
March 14, 2006 Earnings	$4.55

I think the changes appear to be working. My earnings are up on Adsense and I hope this trend continues. Keep in mind though that I have been posting everyday so that may have something to do with it as well. I will continue to monitor progress as I go.

In terms of my Chitika earnings, I have not earned one click since the change. I moved those to both sidebars and am not getting anything. I will need to play with these a bit - this weekend I may play with the color to see if that help.