This paper discusses a time-dependent density functional theory study of the effect of molecular structure on the excited state polarizability of conjugated molecules. A short phenylenevinylene oligomer containing three phenyl rings (PV2, distyryl benzene) is taken as a model system. Introduction of methyl substituents is shown to have only a small influence on the increase in polarizability upon excitation (the excess polarizability, ?). Methoxy groups have a much larger effect but in this case ? depends strongly on the dihedral angle between the side chain and the backbone of the molecule. If the central phenyl ring of PV2 has a meta-configuration rather than para, both the optical absorption spectrum and the excess polarizability change considerably.