Recently I’ve noticed there are a lot of Wordpress blog themes being developed that incorporate banner ad positions.  They often have a 468×60 in the header, and a default set of six 125×125 positions in the sidebar.  All of the themes I’ve seen so far use a right sidebar to position the 125×125 ad cluster.

Based on research done a few years ago, that studied how a surfer scans a newly loaded web page, the 125×125 cluster of ads is in the number two most popular position.  If a left sidebar where used, they would be in the number one spot a surfer first looks when viewing a new page, just before shifting to the same location on the right side of the page.

I doubt seriously these 125×125 ad clusters will generate a lot of clicks from porn surfers, but they make for excellent branding, particularly if the webmaster is also promoting the same site in his/her posts.

I am in the process of developing a new blog that makes use of a theme which incorporates the 125×125 ad cluster.  I started looking for banners and quickly discovered a noteworthy number of sponsors do not supply 125×125 ads.

It is my recommendation sponsors consider developing a selection of 125×125 banners that lean heavy toward branding.