@@ -1,7 +1,14 @@
 import { notFound } from "next/navigation";
 import { findAnyPost } from "@/lib/blog/posts";
+import { splitHtmlForMidAd } from "@/lib/blog/split-html";
+import { AdUnit } from "@/components/ads/ad-unit";
 import { env } from "@/lib/env";
 
+// The article body's typography. Hoisted out of the JSX so both halves of a
+// mid-ad split render identically.
+const PROSE =
+  "prose prose-invert max-w-none text-[var(--color-fg)] [&_a]:underline [&_h2]:mt-8 [&_h2]:text-2xl [&_h2]:font-bold [&_h3]:mt-6 [&_h3]:text-xl [&_h3]:font-semibold [&_p]:mt-4 [&_ul]:mt-4 [&_ul]:list-disc [&_ul]:pl-6 [&_ol]:mt-4 [&_ol]:list-decimal [&_ol]:pl-6 [&_blockquote]:mt-4 [&_blockquote]:border-l-4 [&_blockquote]:border-[var(--color-border)] [&_blockquote]:pl-4 [&_blockquote]:italic [&_img]:my-6 [&_img]:rounded-lg [&_pre]:mt-4 [&_pre]:overflow-x-auto [&_pre]:rounded [&_pre]:border [&_pre]:border-[var(--color-border)] [&_pre]:bg-[var(--color-card)] [&_pre]:p-3 [&_code]:rounded [&_code]:bg-[var(--color-card)] [&_code]:px-1.5 [&_code]:py-0.5 [&_table]:my-4 [&_th]:border [&_th]:border-[var(--color-border)] [&_th]:px-2 [&_th]:py-1 [&_td]:border [&_td]:border-[var(--color-border)] [&_td]:px-2 [&_td]:py-1";
+
 // Force dynamic SSR. Was ISR with revalidate=60 + generateStaticParams
 // over the static `posts` array, but once we emptied that array the
 // empty generateStaticParams return combined with the lack of explicit
@@ -43,6 +50,10 @@ export default async function BlogPost({
   const post = await findAnyPost(slug);
   if (!post) notFound();
 
+  // Null for short posts and for plain-text (non-HTML) bodies — those render
+  // straight through with just the top and bottom units.
+  const split = splitHtmlForMidAd(post.html);
+
   return (
     <main className="mx-auto max-w-3xl px-4 sm:px-6 py-16">
       <a
@@ -75,16 +86,38 @@ export default async function BlogPost({
           className="mt-6 w-full rounded-lg border border-[var(--color-border)]"
         />
       )}
+      {/* Top unit: after the headline block, above the body. */}
+      <AdUnit className="mt-8" />
+
       {post.html ? (
-        <article
-          className="prose prose-invert mt-6 max-w-none text-[var(--color-fg)] [&_a]:underline [&_h2]:mt-8 [&_h2]:text-2xl [&_h2]:font-bold [&_h3]:mt-6 [&_h3]:text-xl [&_h3]:font-semibold [&_p]:mt-4 [&_ul]:mt-4 [&_ul]:list-disc [&_ul]:pl-6 [&_ol]:mt-4 [&_ol]:list-decimal [&_ol]:pl-6 [&_blockquote]:mt-4 [&_blockquote]:border-l-4 [&_blockquote]:border-[var(--color-border)] [&_blockquote]:pl-4 [&_blockquote]:italic [&_img]:my-6 [&_img]:rounded-lg [&_pre]:mt-4 [&_pre]:overflow-x-auto [&_pre]:rounded [&_pre]:border [&_pre]:border-[var(--color-border)] [&_pre]:bg-[var(--color-card)] [&_pre]:p-3 [&_code]:rounded [&_code]:bg-[var(--color-card)] [&_code]:px-1.5 [&_code]:py-0.5 [&_table]:my-4 [&_th]:border [&_th]:border-[var(--color-border)] [&_th]:px-2 [&_th]:py-1 [&_td]:border [&_td]:border-[var(--color-border)] [&_td]:px-2 [&_td]:py-1"
-          dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: post.html }}
-        />
+        split ? (
+          <>
+            <article
+              className={`${PROSE} mt-6`}
+              dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: split.before }}
+            />
+            {/* Mid unit: sits at a top-level block boundary near the middle,
+             * so it never breaks a list, quote or code block apart. */}
+            <AdUnit className="my-8" />
+            <article
+              className={PROSE}
+              dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: split.after }}
+            />
+          </>
+        ) : (
+          <article
+            className={`${PROSE} mt-6`}
+            dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: post.html }}
+          />
+        )
       ) : (
         <article className="mt-6 whitespace-pre-line text-lg text-[var(--color-fg)]">
           {post.body}
         </article>
       )}
+
+      {/* Bottom unit: after the article. */}
+      <AdUnit className="mt-10" />
     </main>
   );
 }
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
+import { Fragment } from "react";
 import Link from "next/link";
 import { loadAllPosts } from "@/lib/blog/posts";
+import { AdUnit } from "@/components/ads/ad-unit";
+
+// Drop a mid-list unit after this many posts, but only when the list is long
+// enough that it isn't effectively the bottom unit again.
+const MID_AD_AFTER = 3;
+const MID_AD_MIN_POSTS = 6;
 
 export const metadata = {
   title: "Blog",
@@ -23,57 +30,71 @@ export const revalidate = 60;
 
 export default async function BlogIndex() {
   const all = await loadAllPosts();
+  const midAdAfter = all.length >= MID_AD_MIN_POSTS ? MID_AD_AFTER : -1;
   return (
     <main className="mx-auto max-w-3xl px-4 sm:px-6 py-16">
       <h1 className="text-4xl font-extrabold">Blog</h1>
       <p className="mt-2 text-[var(--color-muted)]">
         Notes on AEO, AI crawlers, and how to make sites legible to LLMs.
       </p>
+      {/* Top unit: above the list. */}
+      <AdUnit className="mt-8" />
       <ul className="mt-10 space-y-6">
-        {all.map((p) => (
-          <li key={p.slug} className="card overflow-hidden p-0">
-            <Link
-              href={`/blog/${p.slug}`}
-              className="flex gap-4 p-4 sm:gap-5 sm:p-5"
-            >
-              {/* Thumbnail. Falls back to a tinted "CP" placeholder so the
-               * list column stays aligned even when an autoblog post lands
-               * without a featured image. Alt text describes the article the
-               * image illustrates so it is meaningful for screen readers and
-               * image search. */}
-              {p.image_url ? (
-                /* eslint-disable-next-line @next/next/no-img-element */
-                <img
-                  src={p.image_url}
-                  alt={`Illustration for the blog post “${p.title}”`}
-                  loading="lazy"
-                  width={120}
-                  height={120}
-                  className="h-20 w-20 shrink-0 rounded-md object-cover sm:h-28 sm:w-28"
-                />
-              ) : (
-                <div
-                  aria-hidden
-                  className="flex h-20 w-20 shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-md bg-[var(--color-card)] text-xs font-semibold uppercase tracking-wider text-[var(--color-accent)] sm:h-28 sm:w-28"
-                >
-                  CP
-                </div>
-              )}
-              <div className="min-w-0 flex-1">
-                <h2 className="text-lg font-bold leading-snug sm:text-xl">{p.title}</h2>
-                <p className="mt-1 text-xs text-[var(--color-muted)] sm:text-sm">
-                  {p.date}
-                </p>
-                {p.excerpt && (
-                  <p className="mt-2 line-clamp-2 text-sm text-[var(--color-muted)]">
-                    {p.excerpt}
-                  </p>
+        {all.map((p, i) => (
+          <Fragment key={p.slug}>
+            <li className="card overflow-hidden p-0">
+              <Link
+                href={`/blog/${p.slug}`}
+                className="flex gap-4 p-4 sm:gap-5 sm:p-5"
+              >
+                {/* Thumbnail. Falls back to a tinted "CP" placeholder so the
+                 * list column stays aligned even when an autoblog post lands
+                 * without a featured image. Alt text describes the article the
+                 * image illustrates so it is meaningful for screen readers and
+                 * image search. */}
+                {p.image_url ? (
+                  /* eslint-disable-next-line @next/next/no-img-element */
+                  <img
+                    src={p.image_url}
+                    alt={`Illustration for the blog post “${p.title}”`}
+                    loading="lazy"
+                    width={120}
+                    height={120}
+                    className="h-20 w-20 shrink-0 rounded-md object-cover sm:h-28 sm:w-28"
+                  />
+                ) : (
+                  <div
+                    aria-hidden
+                    className="flex h-20 w-20 shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-md bg-[var(--color-card)] text-xs font-semibold uppercase tracking-wider text-[var(--color-accent)] sm:h-28 sm:w-28"
+                  >
+                    CP
+                  </div>
                 )}
-              </div>
-            </Link>
-          </li>
+                <div className="min-w-0 flex-1">
+                  <h2 className="text-lg font-bold leading-snug sm:text-xl">{p.title}</h2>
+                  <p className="mt-1 text-xs text-[var(--color-muted)] sm:text-sm">
+                    {p.date}
+                  </p>
+                  {p.excerpt && (
+                    <p className="mt-2 line-clamp-2 text-sm text-[var(--color-muted)]">
+                      {p.excerpt}
+                    </p>
+                  )}
+                </div>
+              </Link>
+            </li>
+            {/* Mid unit: between cards, styled as a plain row so it doesn't
+             * masquerade as a post. */}
+            {i + 1 === midAdAfter && (
+              <li className="list-none">
+                <AdUnit />
+              </li>
+            )}
+          </Fragment>
         ))}
       </ul>
+      {/* Bottom unit: after the list. */}
+      <AdUnit className="mt-10" />
     </main>
   );
 }
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+// Finds a safe place to drop a mid-article ad into rendered post HTML.
+//
+// Post bodies are marked-rendered markdown injected with dangerouslySetInnerHTML,
+// so a naive "cut at the halfway character" would routinely land inside a list,
+// a blockquote or a code block and leave unbalanced tags in both halves. This
+// only ever cuts after a top-level block element closes.
+
+/** Block elements we're willing to cut after. */
+const CLOSERS = new Set([
+  "p",
+  "h2",
+  "h3",
+  "h4",
+  "ul",
+  "ol",
+  "blockquote",
+  "pre",
+  "table",
+  "figure",
+]);
+
+/** Elements whose interior must stay intact — never cut while inside one. */
+const CONTAINERS = new Set([
+  "blockquote",
+  "ul",
+  "ol",
+  "li",
+  "pre",
+  "table",
+  "thead",
+  "tbody",
+  "tr",
+  "td",
+  "th",
+  "figure",
+  "dl",
+  "dd",
+  "dt",
+  "div",
+  "details",
+  "section",
+]);
+
+const TAG = /<(\/?)([a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]*)\b[^>]*?(\/?)>/g;
+
+/** Below this, an article is too short to be worth interrupting. */
+const MIN_LENGTH = 1500;
+
+// Keep the break away from the very start and end of the body. A single big
+// block (a long list, a 200-line code sample) can straddle the midpoint and
+// leave no legal boundary in the preferred window — rather than drop the unit
+// entirely on exactly those long posts, fall back to a wider window before
+// giving up.
+const PREFERRED_WINDOW = [0.25, 0.75] as const;
+const FALLBACK_WINDOW = [0.12, 0.88] as const;
+
+export type SplitHtml = { before: string; after: string };
+
+/**
+ * Split `html` into two halves at the top-level block boundary nearest the
+ * midpoint, for an ad to sit between. Returns null when the article is too
+ * short or has no safe boundary — callers should then render it unsplit.
+ */
+export function splitHtmlForMidAd(html: string | null | undefined): SplitHtml | null {
+  if (!html || html.length < MIN_LENGTH) return null;
+
+  // Every top-level block boundary in the document, in order.
+  const boundaries: number[] = [];
+  let depth = 0;
+
+  TAG.lastIndex = 0;
+  let m: RegExpExecArray | null;
+  while ((m = TAG.exec(html)) !== null) {
+    const closing = m[1] === "/";
+    const name = m[2].toLowerCase();
+    const selfClosing = m[3] === "/";
+
+    if (CONTAINERS.has(name) && !selfClosing) {
+      if (closing) depth = Math.max(0, depth - 1);
+      else depth += 1;
+    }
+
+    if (closing && depth === 0 && CLOSERS.has(name)) {
+      boundaries.push(m.index + m[0].length);
+    }
+  }
+
+  const target = html.length / 2;
+  const nearestWithin = ([lo, hi]: readonly [number, number]) => {
+    const lower = html.length * lo;
+    const upper = html.length * hi;
+    let pick: number | null = null;
+    let bestDistance = Infinity;
+    for (const offset of boundaries) {
+      if (offset < lower || offset > upper) continue;
+      const distance = Math.abs(offset - target);
+      if (distance < bestDistance) {
+        bestDistance = distance;
+        pick = offset;
+      }
+    }
+    return pick;
+  };
+
+  const best = nearestWithin(PREFERRED_WINDOW) ?? nearestWithin(FALLBACK_WINDOW);
+  if (best === null) return null;
+
+  const before = html.slice(0, best);
+  const after = html.slice(best);
+  // A boundary that leaves only whitespace behind is no boundary at all.
+  if (!after.trim()) return null;
+
+  return { before, after };
+}