how long to wait for improvements?

[jema]

I have just removed adverts from poorly performing pages, what sort of time delay do people see before EPC increases as it reputedly does?

[hunderdown]

At least a week--the general understanding is that smart pricing updates weekly.

[europeforvisitors]

I haven't seen any gains from doing that, but--as the expression goes--your mileage may vary.

One thing to keep in mind:

Total revenue, not EPC, is what pays the rent or mortgage. Unless increased revenue from a higher average EPC offsets your loss of revenue from the ads you're deleting, you'll be worse off than you were before you made the change.

[hunderdown]

I'll second what EFV says. When I have done this, I've found that it's only worth doing on pages that get relatively high traffic but no clicks, or only a few low-value clicks. Otherwise the increase in EPC you may see will not make up for the loss of income from the clicks you would have had on the ads you deleted.

[jema]

Well income wise I'm down about 20% on day one.

[OutdoorWebcams]

When I have done this, I've found that it's only worth doing on pages that get relatively high traffic but no clicks, or only a few low-value clicks.

I have also removed ads from this kind of pages and have NOT experienced an increased EPC or any change in total income.

But:
Having no ads on high-traffic-pages can also result in a better user-experience and lead to some natural links, which will in turn increase your SE-positions and thus increase traffic + revenues.

It's a long term strategy but maybe it's one reason why people like to link my site...

[ronburk]

Well income wise I'm down about 20% on day one.

But what is your typical daily variation in income? If you see 30% variation several times a month, then of course being 20% down offers no relevant statement about the change you've made.