Is Less More?

[Truegho]

Is less more? I ask this question in regard to my site, which admittedly is cluttered with other links besides my Adsense units. I read in some Adsense Tips forum that if you have too many other links on your site, it can divert people's attention away from the Adsense ad links, and consequently generate only minimal CTRs.

So should I tidy up my True Ghost Stories site, and get rid of the long list of links in my left-hand column and replace them with Adsenese links? Also, should I replace the horizontal Adsense link bar under my navigation row with an Adsense rectangle? I ask this because I have read that the Adsense rectangles perform much better than the other Adsense link units.

Finally, would you recommend that I add an Adsense "Google Search Box?"

[iridiax]

After trying several different ad formats and positions, I've found that the most successful one for me is a single large rectangle ad (336 x 280) in the main content column (I put mine at the bottom of the page). Thinning out your sidebar links to just the best few is a good idea, especially for your readers (it saves them time, and people can be put off by a long list of links). An Adsense for Search box can be a good idea, and even if it doesn't generate a lot of searches, it can have a high ad CTR (at least it does on my sites). However, I didn't put an Adsense for Search box on my site until my site was well-indexed by Google (it took quite a while).

[europeforvisitors]

If you want your site to have credibility in its niche, and if you want to make it attractive to Webmasters or other people (such as writers and editors) who might link to it, turning it into an "AdSense site"--with the content relegated to the role of filler material--is likely to be counterproductive.

[mavi]

What i want is that people read into my site.
Maybe they like my content and later come back every day.
A click-away visitor can bring you 20 cent immediately, but a repeat visitor can bring you much much much more

If you have lots of site targeted ads, those page impressions will bring you more money than when somebody clicks away from your site.

If somebody clicks away from your site, you might have lost an important visitor.
Maybe this visitor was going to love your site and was going to recommend 10 frineds.... and each of those could recommend 10 friends again...

Well.... i guess you are talking about internal links...
I wouldn¨t link external unless i see no chance that i can create something better.

[Hobbs]

I'm currently experimenting with the weird theory that 'more is more', go figure!

[maximillianos]

I've found less is more... it seems (for my site at least) that when I have more ad units... the poor performing ones bring down the performance of the better placed ad(s). So I just stick with the few top spots... and they seem to jump in earnings.

Go figure... it can be different for every site... so you r best bet is to just experiment...

Good luck.

[RandomDot]

If it's internal links you have to other sections on your website ... then try to structure it a little better - instead of listing every ghost story there is and has ever been on the frontpage ... list the most "popular" ones - and then categorize the others appropriately

"Other Ghost Stories" - "Rumors and Speculation" - "Stories from the News" - you know, just four or five major categories - which can give people a soft learning curve on your site - so they aren't like "3000 stories, links, headlines, and two million ads on the first page - to go with it..." at least you would be down to 750 links on each page - and more advertising... but go figure ;)

Forgot to mention - if you can - keep your front page free of advertising - people who go there everyday will be annoyed... you can just overload the contents inside your page instead with ads for whatever it is - always link to a story from there ... so people click it and then advertising is there you know ;)

Good luck! - Good is always better than the rest!

[edited by: RandomDot at 2:40 pm (utc) on Oct. 2, 2007]

[naitsirhc26]

I would have to say that you don't want to lose good site navigation to more Adsense links. I believe that your Adsense links should be integrated into your site to not by too intrusive, and ruin the user experience.

It all depends on your user/niche, but "most" users on the web can get easily confused when navigating a site, and are easily overwhelmed. Too many ads, etc...can confuse them to an even greater extent.

With a good site structure, plus a good link tree going throughout all of your pages, I think you are going to find that this will help in the long term...for your users.

Hope these tips help.

Christian

[ecmedia]

If you have additional info on a topic, link to it by all means - eventually people will visit those pages and realize that you have a wealth of information on many topics. If you create a website to please visitors, money will come - on the other hand, if you create a website for clicks, well, I am not sure if you are building a long-term business. Plus, add the search box - people do not always end up on the right page but if they like what they see, they often search to learn more. It also brings money if they click on an ad instead.

[netmeg]

I am of the Coco Chanel school of thought on this - always remove, never add. I fashion the site with the ad blocks I want to use, and then once it's finished, remove at least one. I tend to get better ads this way, too, and fewer or no duplicates.