Today I got a difficult question from Luc Biggs asking which template I recommend to run Google AdSense on when it comes to small niche sites.
I would like to find and stick with ONE WordPress template – one that looks attractive and is also more-or-less AdSense ready – as I have limited knowledge about coding, HTML, PHP etc. I will then use this theme over and over again with all my high PPC domain names. Which theme(s) could you recommend?
The problem is that you will never find a good looking theme with high CTR (click through ratio). You will always have to make a compromise between these two and therefore I have decided to list one of each. Here are my best looking theme for Google AdSense and also the theme with highest CTR.
Best Looking Theme for AdSense
Surprised to find out that I love Thesis the most when it comes to good looking themes made for small niche sites? Probably not. This version of the theme only took me 10 minutes to set up and still have a CTR of 5% which I find very good since it’s such a good looking template.
By using Thesis your visitors will take you seriously and most probably come back if you deliver good content. This is probably nothing for you who create a one-paged site and need every cent you can get to pay for the domain fee. Just remember that you need every visitor.
Highest CTR for AdSense
With a cross section of 25% CTR I will most certainly never find a good AdSense-theme as BlueSense. If you are creating niche sites made for AdSense this is your number one theme irrespective of what others say. Again, BlueSense has a CTR of 25% on my sites!
This is way better than Thesis but with it comes a risk. A risk that no one will take your blog seriously and therefore find it more difficult to mention it.
Visit BlueSense | Download | Live example
Group discussion
Have you tried any of these two themes? If yes, did you get the same opinion about them? Or do you maybe use another AdSense-theme? If yes, which?
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for recommending the Bluesense-theme, I recently installed it on some sites to try it out!
/Benny
You’re welcome Benny. It’s been a favorite for me a long time now.
Very Nice Article, I Have been searching for Adsense Ready Themes, But All the themes are quite Odd looking.
The One You Suggested Above is Impressive.
Thank you Asif, I’m glad you found them useful.
I am fairly new to ads on my sites because my sites in the past were business sites and I didn’t want to advertise for my competitors.
I recently started using Flextheme and it integrates adsense with ease, I like it so far.
I know everyone really like Thesis, that may be why I decided to go with Flex since a lot of sites are starting to look the same.
Anyway, nice blog, I am subscribing….
Thank you Keith, I’m glad you find my blog useful and decided to subscribe. The best thing about using Thesis is not only that it’s easy to customize but also that more and more free customizations are being released. Flexxtheme looks interesting and I think it goes well with business oriented sites.
Nice looking theme.
Any guesses on the estimated ctr?
Estimated CTR for?
For both the themes
assuming that you have used them in the past for niche sites maybe.. I have used thesis and provides around 4-5 ctr.. freshnews used to provide 6+ ctr, never tried BlueSense yet and it looks quite ugly.. ugly themes have higher ctr eh? 
I’m not sure if I follow you. In my post I mentioned my CTR both for Thesis (5%) and BlueSense (25%). I agree with you that themes with extremely high CTR usually have a unattractive look.
Thanks for your recommendation. The themes are not very attractive, but really AdSense friendly. I’ve got a 2.5% CTR on the WP theme I’m using. Check out my blog. I think the theme is pretty good. It balances the look, function and AdSense.
I have been using Thesis Theme for quite some times but have never designed it to be Adsense familiar or optimized for Adsense. As for the bluesense, I don’t like the colour and design, but if it has the highest CTR, can give it a try as well.
Highest CTR is good, but you need to have better traffic to gain more clicks too. Example, Thesis 5% CTR, 1000 UV and 50 clicks; while Bluesense 100 UV and 25 clicks. So you see traffic plays the role, right? Pick the right niche is the most important factor I believe.
Thanks for sharing this 2 themes Stefan!
Cheers,
Lee
DoshDosh bluesense is NOT the “better” adsense theme.
the reason that bluesense gives higher CTR is simply that you made SIGNIFICANT mistakes on your thesis demo site.
You ignore the #1 rule to blend in Ads, you ignore another important rule that the best CTR is right above content.
You can make a VERY GOOD adsense CTR with thesis.
1) Your ads are the same font than whats on your page
2) your ad titles are the SAME COLOR as your links on your blog
Just look at the bluesense theme WHY it has 25% CTR, because the ads have the same color. And you can do all this with thesis..even better actually.
I’ve actually been doing this over at Hotell Gyllene Knorren without noticing any vast difference. I’m currently running a A/B-test on my other sites now to make sure but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Do you still reach CTR:s of more than 20% for blusense?
Unfortunately not. It’s down to 6% now.
fukin download link not working