Site Kit by Google Plugin Ad Placement Issues

Thanks for reaching out @thebrightestbrunette. When you activate the AdSense module within Site Kit, it’s the same as placing AdSense code on your site manually, without Site Kit. It’s the AdSense algorithms that determine the positioning, ad formats and placement of ads.

Luckily, if you’re not happy with ads appearing in the header of your site, you have a few options using your AdSense settings.

1. Restrict ads on areas of your site
2. Change your ad load
3. Disable anchor ads at the top of your page
4. Change your ad formats

While these are not configurable within Site Kit, the product experts over at the AdSense Help Center can provide assistance with any of the above.

Let me know if you have any questions with the above.

Hi James,

Thank you for your reply and assistance!

I went into my Google Adsense settings and removed the ads from displaying at the top of my website pages. However, they still appear there after adjusting the settings, and it’s been a few hours since I have done this, despite the guides suggesting it should only take an hour or so for the changes to show up.

I don’t want to completely remove ads from my homepage, as it will impact my revenue. I never had any issues with my ad placement or Site Kit before, which leads me to believe it’s an issue with the recent Site Kit plugin updates. Are you able to check my site health information, conflicts from other plugins, etc., that could cause it to perform this way?

Thank you!

Thanks for the update. And you’re correct, removing ads overall from your homepage isn’t ideal. Unfortunately we’re limited to Site Kit support here in the plugin support forums, and when using Site Kit, it only places AdSense code on users site, without impacting when or where ads will appear. This is determined on the AdSense side. If you disable AdSense from within Site Kit and place your AdSense code manually, the same will occur.

If you did disable ads from the header of your site, and it’s not working as you expect, I would suggest reaching out to the product experts over at the AdSense Help Center and explaining this.

Note also that I checked your site and I can see ads below your logo on mobile. Did you use the ad preview tool to restrict ads in this location both on mobile and desktop?

Hi James,

Thank you for your reply!

I only tried to remove ads from above the logo to the top of the page, so any ads you’re seeing underneath should still be running.

I just spoke to support at Bluehost, and they told me that it is, in fact, the Site Kit by Google plugin causing issues with my website and that it may not be compatible with the current WordPress model. When the support team disabled this plugin, my website looked completely normal again. However, with this plugin disabled, I have no ads running, and I’m losing revenue. What can I do to fix this? I’m not sure what to do.

Regardless of where my ads are placed, this plugin seems to cause an issue with the look of my website. Is there any way to check if the current Site Kit by Google plugin is supported by WordPress at the moment?

Thank you!

Thanks for sharing the update from the Bluehost team, much appreciated. Your version of WordPress is fully compatible with Site Kit. Note also that there may be confusion by the Bluehost team regarding how Site Kit works. I’m happy to expand on this below.

If the AdSense module within Site Kit is activated, this will insert AdSense code on a users site by default. At this stage ads can appear if your site is approved by AdSense for ads. As mentioned above, it’s not Site Kit that determines the placement of ads, it’s the AdSense algorithms. Note also that this isn’t an issue or fault, as ads are expected with an approved AdSense account and with AdSense code placed on your site (with or without Site Kit). What you are experiencing is ads in positions not suitable for you.

Note also that it’s also expected that if you’re only using Site Kit to place AdSense code, then ads will not appear if Site Kit is deactivated.

I only tried to remove ads from above the logo to the top of the page, so any ads you’re seeing underneath should still be running.

Are the ads you’re referring to anchor ads? If so, please disable anchor ads at the top of your page. If you’re unsure, please share a screenshot of an example ad for your site and I’ll check this further. If it’s not an anchor ad, you will need to find such as ad using the ad preview tool to disable ads from areas of your site, by viewing both the mobile and desktop version of your site using this tool.

Regardless of where my ads are placed, this plugin seems to cause an issue with the look of my website. Is there any way to check if the current Site Kit by Google plugin is supported by WordPress at the moment?

You’ll see that your version of WordPress (6.3.2) based on your generator tag in your feed, is compatible with the latest version of Site Kit (see here, from the plugin repository page).

Let me know how you get on with the above (disabling anchor ads or using the ad preview tool to remove ads from areas of your site), or ask if you have any questions.

Hi James,

Thank you for clarifying and providing more information!

If incorrect ad placement through Google Adsense is the issue and not glitches or incompatibility through my plugins, then my question is, why did this suddenly start happening? I’ve had automatic ads installed for a few years, and I’ve never had a problem with it until last week.

Can you please send more information on how to correctly place ads on my website from the beginning? If the automatic ads are the issue, then I want to set it up manually from the start.

Thank you!

No problem @thebrightestbrunette, happy to assist.

If incorrect ad placement through Google Adsense is the issue and not glitches or incompatibility through my plugins, then my question is, why did this suddenly start happening? I’ve had automatic ads installed for a few years, and I’ve never had a problem with it until last week.

There are a large number of factors that determine if, when and where ads are placed – all determined by the AdSense network. It’s possible there were changes to the algorithms, as I would expect there commonly are. It’s also possible there were theme updates on your site or something on your site that triggered AdSense to find more suitable placements. There is no control over this when using Site Kit. What I would suggest for you to confirm this, is to manually insert your AdSense code on your site, and then deactivate Site Kit. You’ll find the same applies.

Can you please send more information on how to correctly place ads on my website from the beginning? If the automatic ads are the issue, then I want to set it up manually from the start.

Are are already placed on your site. The header ads may not be to your liking, but using the AdSense platform Auto ads settings these can be modified. I’m happy to assist you, but I would need to know the following:

1. Have you disabled anchor ads at the top of your page?
2. Did you locate the ad you’re referring to by using the Auto ads preview tool (in desktop and mobile view)? If so, you can deactivate ads from this location by following this guide. You did state that you “only tried to remove ads from above the logo to the top of the page“. I need to know did you remove this ad which you don’t want placed, from both mobile and desktop.

As we’re limited to Site Kit support here in the plugin support forums, the product experts over at the AdSense Help Center may be able to assist with the above further.

Hi James,

Thank you for getting back to me with more information!
How do I manually activate the AdSense code on my website? And how do I tell if I have a theme issue?

I have disabled anchor ads and excluded the top parts of my website from showing ads through Google AdSense from both web and mobile placement settings. I noticed that when I update these settings, Google says it can take at least an hour to reflect changes. Even after the hour, I still don’t see the changes I made implemented on my website.

It’s impossible to get in touch with Google. There is no phone number, email, or online chat support. They only have an online forum, and no one has replied to me.

Thank you for your assistance so far!

Thanks for the update, and confirmation of you having removed ads from areas of your site.

How do I manually activate the AdSense code on my website? And how do I tell if I have a theme issue?

If you wish to confirm that this isn’t specific to Site Kit, you can deactivate the plugin and insert your AdSense snippet manually via this guide. You’ll need to include the ad code on your themes header.php file. As mentioned above, using Site Kit is not a favor in ad placements with AdSense. You therefore will encounter the same ad behavior. By performing this exercise, however, you will be able to see that that you’re facing isn’t a Site Kit related issue.

I have disabled anchor ads and excluded the top parts of my website from showing ads through Google AdSense from both web and mobile placement settings. I noticed that when I update these settings, Google says it can take at least an hour to reflect changes. Even after the hour, I still don’t see the changes I made implemented on my website.

Thanks for sharing. I performed some additional checks on your site and I can see an ad that does cover your logo. Can you confirm that your main ads related issue is ads that appear to the right of your menu bar, as per this screenshot? If so, this does seem to occur based on your navigation menu being in a fixed position (see this recording). When it’s not in a fixed position, the content below (including your logo), become visible.

While this isn’t a Site Kit issue, did you see this ad specifically appearing in the site preview tool? This is the ad you will need to limit. I’m aware you removed ads from the top section of your site, however, you’ll need to remove ads from the top right section of your menu bar.

It’s impossible to get in touch with Google. There is no phone number, email, or online chat support. They only have an online forum, and no one has replied to me.

Great that you posted to the forums, and sorry to hear that nobody replied to you at this time. When performing the exercise above regarding manually inserting your AdSense snippet you’ll be able to see that what you’re facing isn’t a Site Kit issue, with the same occurring with a manually placed AdSense snippet. I’m happy to confirm whether I see the same ad appearing if you do switch to a non Site Kit placed AdSense snippet if you wish to inform me when you do so.

Hi James,

Thank you for getting back to me and sharing more information!

I deactivated Site Kit, tried using other ad plugins, and tried entering the code manually with the help of WordPress Live Support, and nothing has worked so far. Site Kit must not be the only issue then. It seems to me that any ad plugin or code isn’t working on my website, so maybe it’s a Google Adsense issue then. What do you advise in this case?

Yes, my main issue is that my ads are covering my logo/half of my website pages, as well as bringing the pink header down too far when ads are activated. Can you please elaborate on the navigation bar menu point you raised? I watched the video you linked but don’t understand what to do with it. Am I supposed to input the changes and then have ads displayed correctly?

I have removed ads before/under my header at the top of the pages and above my sidebar icon. These issues persist even after saving the changes to my Adsense account. What’s confusing to me is that the website looks good in the preview section but not when you go to the live website.

Any further assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

Glad to hear that you were able to confirm that the issue isn’t specific to Site Kit. Appreciate you going to the effort to check this.

One thing you may wish to try, is to fix your menu bar height so there are no ads that extend the height. This is a theme modification as opposed to anything we can assist with here. You’ll see from this recording that when I apply a fixed height of 40px for your menu bar, the issue no longer occurs. As it’s set as a variable height (via the “auto” value), it can extend with ads, and it is extended with ads.

Theme modifications are not something we can assist with here in the Site Kit support forums unfortunately, but you can reach out to your technical contact, or even check with your theme documentation or support, asking can they define a fixed height of 40px for the navigation menu on desktop.

Being able to locate the unsuitable ad using the ad preview tool via AdSense should also be sufficient to remove ads from this area of your site, so keep an eye on the support topic you raised in the AdSense Help Center.

Sorry we can’t be of more assistance with this.