When I was still using my Ka Webspy blog which is now occupied by domain squatters, I used images with my Adsense Ads as suggested by Critters of Digital Point forums. I monitored the result of this technique and it’s really effective.

Then after a month of using it, I called up the member of the Adsense Team assigned to me to check what I’ve done and he said it will be alright as long as I will put a line between the images and the ads in order not to mislead users regarding the relation of the images and the ads. And so I did it.

It might not clear to me how to avoid misleading users regarding the images with ads, but since he said it’s okay then I left that way.

And with the existence of this blog, I installed a Wordpress plugin which applies the Adsense with Images technique. However, the supervising Adsense Team member assigned to me told that it’s against the Adsense policies, so I have no choice but to discontinue using that plugin.
Now, Google has made it clear on how to deal with this technique:

Can I place small images next to my Google ads?

We ask that publishers not line up images and ads in a way that suggests a relationship between the images and the ads. If your visitors believe that the images and the ads are directly associated, or that the advertiser is offering the exact item found in the neighboring image, they may click the ad expecting to find something that isn’t actually being offered. That’s not a good experience for users or advertisers.

Publishers should also be careful to avoid similar implementations that people could find misleading. For instance, if your site contains a directory of Flash games, you should not format the ads to mimic the game descriptions.

What if I place a space or a line between my images and my ads? Would that work?

No. If the ads and the images appear to be associated, inserting a small space or a line between the images and ads will not make the implementation compliant.

Does this mean I can’t place ads on pages with images?

You can definitely place Google ads on pages containing images — just make sure that the ads and images are not arranged in a way that could easily mislead or confuse your visitors. For example, if you run a stock photography site with a catalog of thumbnail images, don’t line the ads up with the thumbnails in a way that could be misleading. Consider using a full border around your ads or changing your ad colors, for example.

And the Critter (the man who first taught me this technique) was the one who applies the policy into his site even before Google posted the clarification post.

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