Forum Moderators: martinibuster
Anyway, getting to the point, I'm very happy with Google. I started my site as a hobby not too long ago, and it almost immediately encountered the best kind of problems: too much traffic, not enough servers. At this point things are going well. I am in the top 2000 of Alexa, I'm doing over 80 million ad impressions at one ad per page every month. I guess I'm in the "UPS" club, I've flown to Mountain View and had lunch on the Google campus with my AdSense rep. They even sent me a Christmas gift. I've never had problems with support. They've helped me since my site had 0 traffic. I really think they are awesome.
All of that being said, I know I'm not making the kind of money I should. Tens of millions of uniques, 80 million ad impressions and my click through rate is awful. 0.1% (usually rounded up). The nature of my site makes it not very content rich text-wise, so a lot of the ads aren't very relevant and it's hard to target regardless. My layout is aesthetically pleasing but I don't know if it's optimal for CPC ads.
I know I may be taking a shot in the dark but I wanted to get a general idea of how many people with high traffic sites end up making a lot more with generic CPM ads versus AdSense/Overture. Are there any members that offer optimization services by the hour?
I guess I'm in the "UPS" club, I've flown to Mountain View and had lunch on the Google campus with my AdSense rep.all this and you're outsourcing help with your ads? hmm.
what did your google insider say?
I've never outsourced help for AdSense in the past, so far it's just been me tweaking things and taking the advice of my rep and other people I know who use AdSense. The amount of money I'm earning has nothing to do with the quality, it's completely quantity. This is why I'm making so much with 0.1% CTR.
Users aren't there to research ways to spend their money.
If you knew your audience's demographics and behavior, you might be able to target them with ads that were designed to appeal to those interests. For example, if you knew that your visitors were mostly kids between the ages of 14 and 18 who were interested in hip-hop, you might be able to interest them in iPods or certain types of clothing or CDs. But AdSense isn't that smart. It can't target by demographics or behavior; it can only target by keyword. So--at least in theory--you might be better off finding sponsors who are interested in reaching your audience, instead of relying on AdSense to overcome your readers' ad blindness with messages that may have everything to do with the Rolling Stones or Chantal Akerman or 50 Cent but nothing to do with what your audience might be interested in buying.
I'd wait a little before signing up with this beta program. Granted the ads are attractive looking, but I know publishers who are still awaiting payment from Chitika for december.
I concur with those who suggest experimenting with ad placement. If you want someone else to make suggestions, then Google will do it as part of their optimisation service.
Another idea is for you to create another text, content-rich site (or section of your current site) on a topic or topics that might interest some of your visitors, but one that will yield better returns. Eg: if your site is film reviews, create another site on dvd/home cinema equipment, Windows Media Centre reviews etc. Then advertise your second site on your first site - either alongside existing Adsense blocks, or rotating with them.
Of course, try getting a better CTR on your current site - with the amount of traffic you have even a small increase in CTR will bump your income significantly. I (and many others on this board) would kill for that amount of traffic.
As you said, G is aware that your type of site and content attracts low CTR, but they may have some suggestions as to how to improve your metrics even by a little bit.
All of that being said, I know I'm not making the kind of money I should. Tens of millions of uniques, 80 million ad impressions and my click through rate is awful. 0.1% (usually rounded up). The nature of my site makes it not very content rich text-wise, so a lot of the ads aren't very relevant and it's hard to target regardless. My layout is aesthetically pleasing but I don't know if it's optimal for CPC ads.
80 million impressions and only 0.1% CTR.
Your traffic is untargeted and SPAM.
Don't you think with that volume of traffic and contact with people at Adsense it's been tested and optimized as best it possibly could? I don't think during the lunch discussion the Adsense rep said "let's stick with the bottom right, below the fold half banner".
80 million impressions and only 0.1% CTR.
Your traffic is untargeted and SPAM.
Coming to that conclusion makes no rational sense. Because someone's site ads are not converting does not mean the site is spam.
Herein lies what I think is the essential problem:
The nature of my site makes it not very content rich text-wise, so a lot of the ads aren't very relevant and it's hard to target regardless
I have noticed some things have impacted targeting and CTR immensely for this type of site.
1. A 200 word well written excerpt on the top of the page with the theme of the page as an H1 header above the text.
2. Surround this text with google sectioning tags to allow Google to better understand the specific page topic.
3. As many have pointed out, better ad placement.
I'm betting you can get to 2%.
:)
I'm betting you can get to 2%
