Google AdSense provides publishers with several types of ad units that can be placed manually at strategic locations on a website. When you open AdSense → Ads → By ad unit → Create new ad unit, you may see options such as:

• Display ads
• In-feed ads
• In-article ads
• Multiplex ads

Although all four formats are designed to monetize website traffic, they serve different purposes. Choosing the correct ad unit depends heavily on the structure of your website, the type of content you publish, the location where the advertisement will appear, and the experience you want to provide to visitors.

Google describes an AdSense ad unit as one or more Google ads displayed as the result of a piece of AdSense ad code. Ad units give publishers more control over where advertisements appear on their websites.

This guide explains the technical differences between these four AdSense ad formats, where they should be placed, how they work, and which formats are generally most suitable for article and knowledgebase websites.

1. What Is an Ad Unit in Google AdSense?

An AdSense ad unit is a predefined advertising placement created inside your Google AdSense account.

When an ad unit is created, Google generates an advertising code containing information such as your publisher ID and ad slot ID.

The code is then inserted into the HTML of the website at the location where you want advertisements to appear.

For example, you could create separate units named:

• KB-Article-Top
• KB-Article-Middle
• KB-Article-Bottom
• Homepage-Feed
• Sidebar-Display
• Article-End-Multiplex

Using descriptive names makes performance analysis much easier later.

Instead of having one generic advertising code everywhere, individual ad units allow you to compare the performance of different positions.

2. The Four Main Ad Unit Options

The AdSense interface may present four important choices:

Ad Type	Best Purpose	Typical Placement
Display Ads	General-purpose advertising	Header, sidebar, article, footer
In-feed Ads	Content/listing feeds	Between article cards or listings
In-article Ads	Long-form articles	Between article paragraphs
Multiplex Ads	Multiple recommendation-style ads	End of article or sidebar

The correct choice therefore depends primarily on where the advertisement will appear.

3. Display Ads

What Are Display Ads?

Display ads are the most flexible and general-purpose AdSense ad units.

Google describes Display ad units as versatile units capable of showing text, images or rich media and designed to work in many different locations.

They can be placed in locations such as:

• Above an article
• Below an article
• Between website sections
• Sidebar
• Header
• Footer
• Homepage
• Category pages
• Knowledgebase pages

This flexibility is why the AdSense interface commonly marks Display ads as Recommended.

Responsive Display Ads

For most modern websites, Responsive should normally be selected when creating a Display ad.

Responsive Display ads automatically adjust according to:

• Available container width
• Page layout
• Desktop screen
• Tablet
• Mobile phone
• Screen orientation

Google recommends leaving the Responsive option selected when creating Display ad units.

For example, the same responsive ad container might present differently on:

Desktop

-------------------------------------------------
|                                               |
|                ADVERTISEMENT                  |
|                                               |
-------------------------------------------------

Mobile

-------------------------
|                       |
|     ADVERTISEMENT     |
|                       |
-------------------------

You therefore don't normally need to create separate fixed-size units for every device.

4. Responsive vs Fixed Display Ads

When creating a Display ad, AdSense may allow you to select:

Responsive

Google automatically determines an appropriate size according to available space.

Fixed

You manually define dimensions such as:

728 × 90
336 × 280
300 × 250
300 × 600

Fixed units can be useful when a website design requires a precise advertising area.

However, Google warns that fixed-size units may have a smaller pool of available ads and could consequently produce lower earnings than responsive units.

General Recommendation

For a responsive website:

Prefer Responsive Display ads unless you have a specific technical reason to use a fixed size.

5. What Are In-feed Ads?

In-feed ads are native advertisements designed to appear inside a repeating list or feed of content.

Google defines a feed as a stream of similar-looking content blocks that visitors can scroll through. It can contain articles, news, products, services or other listings.

Examples include:

Article 1
Article 2
Article 3

ADVERTISEMENT

Article 4
Article 5
Article 6

The advertisement appears as part of the content stream rather than as an unrelated banner.

6. Where Should In-feed Ads Be Used?

In-feed ads are particularly suitable for:

• Blog homepages
• News websites
• Article listings
• Category pages
• Product listings
• Service listings
• Search results
• Knowledgebase article lists
• Related article feeds

For example:

Windows Articles

How to Repair Windows Update
How to Fix DISM Error
How to Repair System Files

[ IN-FEED AD ]

How to Reset Windows Update
How to Repair Windows 11
How to Run SFC

This is a natural use of an In-feed advertisement.

7. Important: Feed Does Not Mean RSS Feed

The word feed sometimes causes confusion.

In AdSense terminology, an In-feed ad does not specifically mean an RSS feed.

A feed is simply a repeating stream of content such as:

Article
Article
Article
Article

or:

Product
Product
Product
Product

Google explicitly distinguishes these website feeds from RSS/web-syndication feeds.

8. Creating an In-feed Ad

Google provides two approaches for creating In-feed units.

Method 1 – Let Google Suggest a Style

Google scans the page containing your feed and suggests an advertising design that matches it.

You provide the URL containing the feed and select whether Google should examine its mobile or desktop version.

Method 2 – Create the Style Manually

You manually configure the advertisement's appearance.

Google specifically recommends the manual method when the feed contains only text.

9. How Frequently Should In-feed Ads Appear?

You should avoid placing advertisements between every content item.

Google recommends having at least three content blocks between In-feed advertisements when multiple In-feed ads appear within a feed.

A reasonable structure might therefore look like:

Article 1
Article 2
Article 3

ADVERTISEMENT

Article 4
Article 5
Article 6

ADVERTISEMENT

Article 7
Article 8
Article 9

This provides a better balance between monetization and user experience.

10. What Are In-article Ads?

In-article ads are native advertisements specifically designed for placement inside editorial content.

They are particularly useful for:

• Technical articles
• Tutorials
• Blog posts
• News articles
• Knowledgebase articles
• How-to guides
• Troubleshooting articles
• Long educational pages

Google describes In-article as a Google-optimized native format intended for placement between paragraphs.

11. How In-article Ads Work

Suppose your technical article contains 20 paragraphs.

Instead of putting all advertisements at the beginning or end, an advertisement can appear naturally within the reading flow.

Example:

Article Heading

Paragraph 1

Paragraph 2

Paragraph 3

[ IN-ARTICLE AD ]

Paragraph 4

Paragraph 5

Paragraph 6

The visitor continues reading without having to leave the article.

12. Recommended First In-article Placement

Google's current implementation guidance suggests placing In-article ad code approximately two paragraphs below the beginning of an article.

This does not mean every article must follow exactly the same structure.

For a technical knowledgebase article, you might instead use:

Article Title

Introduction

Explanation

First Technical Section

[ IN-ARTICLE AD ]

Detailed Instructions

The objective is to avoid interfering with the user's ability to immediately understand the article.

13. Multiple In-article Ads

Multiple In-article ads can be used in longer content, but there should be enough meaningful content between advertisements.

Google specifically advises publishers using multiple In-article units to provide sufficient content between them to minimize disruption.

For example, a long technical article could use:

Title

Introduction

Section 1

Section 2

[ AD 1 ]

Section 3

Section 4

Section 5

[ AD 2 ]

Section 6

Section 7

FAQ

[ MULTIPLEX AD ]

This is generally better than stacking advertisements close together.

14. In-article Ads Are Responsive

In-article advertisements automatically adapt to the available device and container.

Google states that In-article units are responsive by default.

On desktop, their width generally follows the width of the parent container. Their minimum supported width is 250 pixels, while height is automatically adjusted by AdSense.

This makes them especially useful for responsive knowledgebase websites.

15. Can Display Ads Appear Inside In-article Units?

Yes.

AdSense provides an option called:

Allow selected display ads

When enabled, Google can serve suitable Display ads inside an In-article ad unit in addition to native In-article advertisements.

Google notes that allowing selected Display ads can potentially improve monetization by expanding eligible advertising demand.

16. What Are Multiplex Ads?

Multiplex ads are significantly different from a normal single advertisement.

They display multiple native advertisements inside one grid-style advertising unit.

Google describes Multiplex as a native format containing multiple advertisements within a grid.

It can resemble a recommendation section such as:

------------------------------------------------
| Ad 1              | Ad 2                     |
| Image + Heading   | Image + Heading          |
------------------------------------------------
| Ad 3              | Ad 4                     |
| Image + Heading   | Image + Heading          |
------------------------------------------------

The exact appearance varies according to device, available advertising inventory and configuration.

17. Best Location for Multiplex Ads

Multiplex units are commonly useful at:

• End of articles
• Below FAQs
• Bottom of blog posts
• Sidebars
• End of knowledgebase pages

Google specifically identifies the end of articles and sidebars as common placements because Multiplex can monetize users who have finished consuming the primary content.

For an article-based website, one of the strongest locations to test is therefore:

Article
↓
Conclusion
↓
FAQ
↓
Multiplex Advertisement
↓
Related Articles

You could also test:

Article
↓
Related Articles
↓
Multiplex Advertisement

and compare performance.

18. Multiplex Ads Are Responsive

Google recommends using a responsive layout for Multiplex units.

The layout changes according to:

• Container width
• Desktop screen
• Mobile screen
• Tablet
• Available space

If a custom Multiplex size is used, Google currently recommends approximately a 2:1 width-to-height ratio for horizontal layouts or 1:2 for vertical layouts.

Responsive is generally the simpler option for modern websites.

19. Display vs In-feed vs In-article vs Multiplex

Feature	Display	In-feed	In-article	Multiplex
General purpose	Excellent	Limited	Limited	Limited
Inside articles	Good	No	Excellent	Usually article end
Homepage	Excellent	Excellent	No	Possible
Article listing	Good	Excellent	No	Possible
Sidebar	Excellent	Usually no	Usually no	Good
End of article	Good	No	Possible	Excellent
Native format	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Responsive capability	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Multiple ads in one unit	Normally no	No	No	Yes
Knowledgebase usefulness	Excellent	Good	Excellent	Excellent

20. Which Ad Type Should an Article or Knowledgebase Website Use?

For a website containing large numbers of technical articles, tutorials, FAQs and troubleshooting guides, there is no need to select only one format.

A combination usually makes more sense.

Suggested Article Layout

ARTICLE TITLE

Introduction

[ Responsive Display Ad ]

Section 1
Section 2

[ In-article Ad ]

Section 3
Section 4
Section 5

[ In-article Ad ]

Section 6
Conclusion

FAQ

[ Multiplex Ad ]

Related Articles

The exact number of units should depend on article length, page layout, traffic behavior and policy compliance rather than simply inserting the maximum possible number.

21. Suggested Homepage / Category Layout

A knowledgebase homepage might instead use:

Website Header

Responsive Display Ad

Latest Articles

Article 1
Article 2
Article 3

In-feed Ad

Article 4
Article 5
Article 6

In-feed Ad

Article 7
Article 8

Footer

This demonstrates an important distinction:

In-feed = between article listings

In-article = inside an individual article

22. Recommended Ad Unit Naming Convention

Never name your ad units simply:

Ad1
Ad2
Ad3

After creating dozens of units, performance reports become difficult to understand.

Instead use names such as:

KB_Display_ArticleTop
KB_Native_ArticleMiddle
KB_Native_ArticleMiddle2
KB_Multiplex_ArticleBottom
KB_InFeed_Homepage
KB_InFeed_Category
KB_Display_Sidebar

A useful naming formula is:

Website_PageType_Position_Format

For example:

KB_Article_Top_Display
KB_Article_Middle_InArticle
KB_Article_Bottom_Multiplex

This provides far cleaner reporting.

23. How to Create a Display Ad Unit

The current Google procedure is:

1. Sign in to Google AdSense.
2. Open Ads.
3. Select By ad unit.
4. Select Display ads.
5. Enter a descriptive name.
6. Select the required size.
7. Prefer Responsive for responsive websites.
8. Click Save and get code.
9. Copy the generated code.
10. Insert it into the HTML <body> at the required location.
11. Click Done.

Google notes that ads normally begin appearing within several minutes, although occasionally it may take up to approximately an hour.

24. Example PHP Implementation

For a PHP knowledgebase website, it is useful to centralize your advertising code.

For example:

/includes/
    ads/
        display-top.php
        inarticle.php
        multiplex.php

Your article template could then conceptually contain:

<?php include 'includes/ads/display-top.php'; ?>

<!-- Article content -->

<?php include 'includes/ads/inarticle.php'; ?>

<!-- More article content -->

<?php include 'includes/ads/multiplex.php'; ?>

The major advantage is maintainability.

If you later need to change an advertising unit, you modify one include file rather than hundreds or thousands of individual articles.

25. AdSense Placement Architecture for a Large Knowledgebase

For a website containing hundreds or thousands of articles, manually inserting different ad code into every article is inefficient.

A better architecture is:

Article Database
        ↓
Article Template
        ↓
Ad Placement Logic
        ↓
AdSense Include Files
        ↓
Final HTML Page

This provides centralized control.

For example, short articles could receive fewer advertisements while long articles receive additional In-article units.

Conceptually:

if ($word_count > 1500) {
    // Additional in-article placement
}

This is far easier to maintain than manually editing every article.

Any automated placement logic should still be tested carefully for policy compliance and user experience.

26. Avoid Ads in Technically Dangerous Locations

Advertisements should not interfere with:

• Navigation buttons
• Download buttons
• Forms
• Login fields
• Menus
• Search boxes
• Previous/Next navigation
• Copy buttons
• Software download links
• Troubleshooting commands
• Important warning messages

Poor placement can create accidental-click risks and degrade user experience.

Ads should be visually distinguishable from functional website controls.

27. Content-to-Advertising Balance

More advertisements do not automatically mean more revenue.

Excessive advertising can result in:

• Poor user experience
• Higher bounce rate
• Reduced pages per session
• Slower page loading
• Lower trust
• Poor mobile experience

Google's guidance for native ad units emphasizes maintaining sufficient publisher content and avoiding situations where ads exceed the page's content.

Therefore, ad density should increase only when the article contains enough useful content to support it.

28. Page Speed Considerations

AdSense advertising requires JavaScript and external advertising resources.

A page containing many advertising placements can therefore require additional browser work.

Publishers should monitor:

• Core Web Vitals
• Largest Contentful Paint
• Cumulative Layout Shift
• Interaction responsiveness
• Mobile performance
• Total page requests
• Layout movement while ads load

The goal should be:

Monetization + usability + performance

rather than maximizing the number of advertising containers.

29. Prevent Layout Shift Around Ads

One common problem occurs when an advertisement loads after the surrounding content.

The page may initially appear as:

Paragraph
Paragraph
Paragraph

and then suddenly become:

Paragraph

ADVERTISEMENT

Paragraph
Paragraph

The visitor sees the content jump downward.

Where appropriate, the page design should provide sensible space and stable containers for advertising placements while remaining compatible with Google's responsive implementation requirements.

30. Mobile Optimization Is Essential

A large proportion of knowledgebase traffic may come from mobile search.

Every placement should therefore be tested at several widths, for example:

360px
390px
412px
768px
1024px
1366px
1920px

Check that:

• Ads don't overflow the page
• Text remains readable
• Menus remain usable
• Ads don't overlap content
• No horizontal scrollbar appears
• Advertisement containers resize correctly

Google recommends testing responsive ad implementations across different devices and screen sizes.

31. Should You Use Fixed Display Ads?

Fixed advertisements still have legitimate uses.

For example, a desktop sidebar might have a precisely designed area.

However, responsive ads are generally preferable for modern responsive websites because the available width can change dramatically between devices.

Google also notes that fixed-size units can have a more limited pool of eligible advertisements.

Therefore:

Responsive = default choice

Fixed = specialized layout requirement

32. Can the Same Ad Unit Be Used on Multiple Pages?

Technically, ad code can be reused where appropriate.

However, using logically separate ad units can provide better reporting.

For example:

ArticleTop_Display
ArticleMiddle_InArticle
ArticleBottom_Multiplex

You can then compare which location produces stronger results.

33. How to Measure Which Ad Unit Performs Best

After collecting enough traffic, compare performance in AdSense Reports.

Useful measurements include:

• Impressions
• Clicks
• Page RPM
• Impression RPM
• CTR
• CPC
• Estimated earnings
• Viewability
• Device category
• Ad unit
• Requested format

AdSense provides ad-unit reporting, and Multiplex performance can also be analyzed using the requested-format breakdown.

Avoid making decisions from a very small number of impressions.

34. Practical AdSense Strategy for Technical Articles

For a substantial technical article, a useful starting structure could be:

Position 1

Responsive Display

After the introduction or first major content block.

Position 2

In-article

Around the early-to-middle portion of the article.

Position 3

In-article

Later in a sufficiently long article.

Position 4

Multiplex

After the article or FAQ.

This should be treated as a testing framework rather than a universal rule.

Short pages may require significantly fewer advertisements.

35. Strategy for Short Articles

Suppose an article contains only 400–600 words.

Avoid trying to squeeze several advertisements into it.

A simpler configuration might be:

Article

Display or In-article Ad

Remaining Article

Multiplex or Related Articles

The priority should remain the usefulness of the content.

36. Strategy for Long Articles

For a 2,000–4,000-word technical guide, there is much more natural space.

For example:

Introduction

Display Ad

Sections 1–3

In-article Ad

Sections 4–7

In-article Ad

Sections 8–10

Conclusion

FAQ

Multiplex Ad

This distributes monetization across the visitor's reading journey rather than concentrating ads in one location.

37. Which Ad Unit Is Best?

There is no single winner.

Best General-purpose Format

Display Ads

Best for Homepage Article Lists

In-feed Ads

Best for Long Technical Articles

In-article Ads

Best for End-of-article Monetization

Multiplex Ads

For an article-heavy knowledgebase, In-article + Display + Multiplex is therefore a particularly useful combination to test.

38. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1. What is an AdSense ad unit?

An ad unit is an advertising placement created inside Google AdSense. Google provides code for the unit, which is inserted into your website where advertisements should appear.

Q2. Which AdSense ad unit should beginners use?

Responsive Display ads are generally the simplest starting point because they are versatile and automatically adapt to different screen sizes.

Q3. What is the difference between Display and In-article ads?

Display ads are general-purpose advertisements, whereas In-article ads are native units specifically optimized to appear inside editorial content.

Q4. What is the difference between In-feed and In-article ads?

In-feed ads appear between repeating content listings. In-article ads appear between paragraphs or sections of an individual article.

Q5. What are Multiplex ads?

Multiplex ads display multiple native advertisements inside one grid-style advertising unit.

Q6. Where should Multiplex ads be placed?

The end of an article and sidebars are common placements recommended by Google.

Q7. Are Multiplex ads suitable for technical knowledgebase websites?

Yes. They can be particularly useful after long technical articles, FAQs or other end-of-content locations.

Q8. Should Display ads be Responsive or Fixed?

Responsive is generally recommended unless your layout requires a precise fixed advertising dimension.

Q9. Can responsive ads work on mobile?

Yes. Responsive Display ads automatically adapt to the available layout and device.

Q10. Are In-article ads responsive?

Yes. Google's In-article ad units are responsive by default.

Q11. Can multiple In-article ads be placed in one article?

Yes, provided there is sufficient content between placements and the advertising does not overwhelm the publisher content.

Q12. How much space should be kept between In-feed ads?

Google recommends at least three content blocks between multiple In-feed advertisements.

Q13. Does In-feed mean an RSS feed?

No. In AdSense, a feed means a repeating stream of website content or listings rather than an RSS feed.

Q14. Can Google automatically design an In-feed advertisement?

Yes. Google can scan a page containing your feed and suggest an appropriate In-feed style. You can also configure the style manually.

Q15. Can Display ads appear in an In-article unit?

Yes. AdSense provides an option to allow selected Display ads in In-article units.

Q16. How quickly will a newly created ad appear?

Google says ads usually begin appearing within a few minutes, although it can occasionally take up to approximately one hour.

Q17. Can I use the same advertisement code on thousands of articles?

A reusable template or include-based implementation can make large sites easier to maintain. Use separate logical ad units where reporting by position is important.

Q18. Does adding more advertisements guarantee more AdSense income?

No. Revenue depends on traffic quality, geography, advertiser demand, viewability, niche, CPC/CPM, user behavior and many other factors. Excessive advertising may also damage user experience.

Q19. Which format is best inside a long technical article?

In-article ads are specifically designed for this purpose.

Q20. Which format is best after an FAQ section?

Multiplex is a strong format to test because it is commonly used near the end of a user's content journey.

Conclusion

The four Google AdSense ad units shown under Create new ad unit are designed for different website structures.

The easiest way to remember them is:

Display Ads → Use almost anywhere

In-feed Ads → Use between article/listing cards

In-article Ads → Use inside articles

Multiplex Ads → Use primarily toward the end of content or in suitable sidebars

For an article-heavy technical or knowledgebase website, a practical architecture is:

Responsive Display
        ↓
Article Content
        ↓
In-article
        ↓
More Content
        ↓
In-article
        ↓
FAQ / Conclusion
        ↓
Multiplex

The exact arrangement should then be tested using AdSense reporting, mobile usability, page speed and visitor engagement.

The objective should never be simply "How many ads can I put on this page?"

A better objective is:

"How can I monetize valuable content without damaging the reading experience?"

That balance is generally the foundation of a sustainable AdSense implementation.

 

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