in regards to urlsdirectory
i like to keep them on the right side of the page.
since we read from left to right, its where our eyes end up - the ads will be there.
Try giving them less prominence; they seem to take up too much of a small page. try a 240X120 vertical banner (2 ads) in that place if you insist on keeping them on the left side.
You should also try sneaking in a horizontal link list somewhere - i think that would look good with a directory site.