martinibuster - 4:31 am on Jun 5, 2006 (gmt 0)

...maximising ecpm is important if the root causes of the slump is a slowdown in traffic.

That's a good strategy, thanks for bringing that up. :) Now, in short, what are the most common ways for squeezing out more ecpm?

I have to say that on my top sites I have A/B tested my pages to the point I feel satisfied I can't squeeze another nickel of performance out of them. But maybe one should never feel so satisfied?

One way I cover shortcomings is building sites in leisure related topics that are sure to be searched on during the summer.

I guess with student sites it may be feast then famine.

Would it at all be possible to have student reviewed products on a site, like a forum community for students to review stuff like music, clothing, books, electronic gadgets, local restaurants and cafe's; sort of a student-to-student tips community?

For example, I know of a non-profit parent-to-parent community associated with a local university that has provided me scores of tips for myself and my family. Really helpful, and ranks well for parent related queries.

We have purchased everything from strollers to baby carriers based on recommendations from that site, and have patronized dozens of restaurants and stores as well as discovered playgrounds all from that community. Surely a student to student community could leave behind data relevant to their lives whether at school or back home?