So you want to earn money with Adsense.

...but earnings are dropping

[Lame_Wolf]

People have been writing here saying that their Adsense income is declining, or there are less clicks than before.

As an avid IE6 user, I see more and more sites that do not render correctly. In many cases, the adverts are well down the page. Often they are positioned so far past the content that the normal user will not see them.

Yes, IE6 is on the way out, or so some people are trying to tell you. But it is still widely used.

I wouldn't class my site as busy, and if my site did not render properly, 3000 of my visitors (5%) per day will not have a good experience, and most would not even see an advert. That's a lot of potential revenue. (Wordpress and some blogs are high up on the list for this).

Another problem I am seeing increasingly are sites that crash the (IE6) browser. The page will display the content (for a second) and then an error box appears and clears the page of any content.

This leaves me with two options. Forget the site and look elsewhere (don't forget this will give an Adsense impression, a high bounce rate, and the loss of a possible sale or returning visitor).

Or, I could open up another browser and view the page again. This of course will give you yet another Adsense impression. And because you've inconvenienced me by this, I am less likely to purchase or to click.

People, do not get lazy. Take a little time out to check your sites in different browsers. Do not forget IE6. Don't listen to so-called "SEO experts and designers" telling you that nobody uses it any more. They are wrong.

So instead of complaining that is is always Google that is at fault. Sometimes the problem is closer to home.

[martinibuster]

Yes, IE6 is on the way out, or so some people are trying to tell you. But it is still widely used.

What'll put some meat on the bones of that statement is if you post the IE6 percentage stats of that site for the last four months. ;) Unless your site is low in traffic and the stats are overcounting your own IE 6 visits, it is likley your stats will reflect a steady downward trend for IE 6 users, with under ten percent of total visitors using IE 6.

Last year, for the month of December 2009 one of my sites was receiving just under 11% IE 6 usuage. For November 2010, IE 6 usage is down to just under 4%. This is not a tech site, either. I think it's important to acknowledge the fact that IE 6 usage today is very low and dropping like a rock quarter over quarter.

Nevertheless, I agree that it's important to make sure a site renders well in IE 6 if you want to squeeze every cent of revenue coming to you, the fact is that it's barely important. If more or less five percent of site visitors are on IE 6, that means only a fraction of that 5 percent are clicking on ads. As a percentage of total site visitors, this will represent about a fraction of one percent of total site visitors.

Whatever CTR/eCPM or earnings drop one may be experiencing, a fraction of one percent is negligible and won't explain a signficant change in year over year earnings.

[koan]

I checked my mainstream, high traffic sites (non tech, non geek) and the current percentage of IE 6.0 users are about 2-3% at the lowest, 5% at the highest. Sure, they tend to be bigger clickers than Firefox or Chrome users, but we're talking a few percentage in the CTR rate. I could lose them all and it wouldn't make much of a difference. Actually, I would save more time creating new content instead of hunting for 6.0 bugs and possibly make more money. That browser is dead, or on the verge of death, which is great news overall for everyone, especially anyone involved in making web sites.

[Rockyou]

Increase your ecpm, take this tip If you are ranking No.4 & below for a competative keyword on Google, You are missing not only traffic but also ecpm, ecpm almost doubled for me when i am in top 3 slot. So don't make your site ugly looking. User experience is more important than anything in Google game. I agree with Lamewolf but i am using ie9 currently. I only look how my site looks in IE not bothered about Firefox or Chrome.

[AndyA]

This is the way I figure it. If my site looks lousy or doesn't load for people using IE6, chances are LOTS of sites don't look good or load properly for them. If they are happy with this experience, they can continue to use IE6. I finally got to the same point years ago when it came to Netscape.

Originally, I did pages that were specific to the browser being used. I tried to make EVERYONE happy. Then I realized that wasn't possible, and I was spending a lot of time on one page when I could have done 5 others in the same amount of time.

I test my site in the two most popular browsers used by my site visitors: IE8 and whatever the latest version of Firefox is. I have the recommended settings for my site published on my site, and they match the resolution and settings most of my visitors are using.

I have a lot of old pages on my site (over 10 years old) that need to be updated, and I'm doing that as time allows. I've also asked people to let me know if a page looks strange or seems to have a problem when they view it, and from time to time I get a note from someone about a particular page, but not often.

If another browser becomes more popular, I may start checking my site in that one as well, but for now I know my pages look good and load properly for the vast majority of those who land on my site, and for those who are using an outdated browser and have problems, well...updating is free and only takes a few minutes. I even provide a link for them on my site to update.

[londrum]

i know my site is a bit rubbish in IE6 and i would probably try and sort it out, but it's not easy when you've only got one computer because how do you install IE6 and keep all the others?

i know there are sites on the web which can give screenshots of your pages using different browsers, but that is too time consuming when your site consists of 1000s and 1000s of pages -- you have to make changes, upload it to your server, check it, make more changes, upload to your server again...

Microsoft did a good thing when they introduced their

<meta http-equiv=X-UA-Compatible content="IE=EmulateIE7" />

thing, and if they extended that to work with IE6 it would be perfect.

[Lame_Wolf]

What'll put some meat on the bones of that statement is if you post the IE6 percentage stats of that site for the last four months. Unless your site is low in traffic and the stats are overcounting your own IE 6 visits, it is likley your stats will reflect a steady downward trend for IE 6 users, with under ten percent of total visitors using IE 6.

It's been averaging around 5% daily for ages for me. That equates to 3000 people a day that would have been affected.

I have blocked myself from the stats, and only show unique daily visitors. So if someone other than myself came back to the site in the same day, it won't count again. Even if it did, it wouldn't make a huge difference in the stats.

Nevertheless, I agree that it's important to make sure a site renders well in IE 6 if you want to squeeze every cent of revenue coming to you, the fact is that it's barely important.

Far from it. I only have adsense on about 20% of the site. I do it because I care. I take pride in my work and want it to render correctly in as many browsers as possible.

Not only that. Some of these badly rendered sites are breaking the Adsense TOS because some of the adverts are only partially shown.

That browser is dead, or on the verge of death, which is great news overall for everyone, especially anyone involved in making web sites.

I normally hear those kind of remarks from either inexperienced web "developers" or from lazy ones. I am not saying you are either.

Don't forget there are many pirated copies of Windows out there still. When MS decided to check for legal copies when doing updates prevented many people from doing so. This was when IE6 was at its peak.

Then there are schools, institutions, offices etc that CANNOT upgrade to a better browser. They may browse at work with IE6 and (may) use a different browser at home, but you could still be losing visitors and revenue.

Sorry, but if you are wanting to spend time building a site - esp if it is for a paying customer - then you ought to put that little bit of extra effort in. It's not rocket science.

People churn out these boring wordpress and blog sites like there is no tomorrow, and then complain when they lose their account, or wonder why there is a drop in revenue, or visitors.

The amount of times I have seen threads where people are all of a sudden rewriting their sites because it no longer works properly in IE7/8/9 yet if they did the job properly from the start, they wouldn't have to redo it. (esp from IE6 to 7)

From what I have seen and experienced is... if it works in IE6 then the chances it will work in higher browsers, but not always visa-versa.

This is the way I figure it. If my site looks lousy or doesn't load for people using IE6, chances are LOTS of sites don't look good or load properly for them. If they are happy with this experience, they can continue to use IE6.

Like I said, some people do not have a choice. I am a (legal) IE6 user and I am not happy with the experience, but I will still use it as long as there are people coming to the site using it.

User experience is more important than anything in Google game.

I Agree. Adsense is 2nd.

i know my site is a bit rubbish in IE6 and i would probably try and sort it out, but it's not easy when you've only got one computer because how do you install IE6 and keep all the others?

I do screen prints all the time for people and I agree about it being time consuming about checking, but if your template has been fully tested then it is a breeze after that.

A lot of the badly rendered sites are wordpress and blogs. The ones that crash the browser seem to be news sites more than anything else (That I have come across).

I only mentioned all this in case there are some people here who were not aware. Some adverts are placed above the fold (if viewed in Firefox for example) yet in IE6 they are way, way down the bottom. Maybe it alters the CPC... who knows ?

IE6 will still be used in 5 years time. You read it here first ;)

[piatkow]

Like Lame_Wolf I am still getting around 5% of traffic from IE6.

My view is that if you don't cater for those visitors it is no different to a b&m merchant simply refusing to admit one prospective customer in 20 to the store.

[farmboy]

My view is that if you don't cater for those visitors it is no different to a b&m merchant simply refusing to admit one prospective customer in 20 to the store.

This might be one of those situations where you have to determine the opportunity costs of catering to that 1 customer. Might be worth it - might not. Each person has to decide based on his/her own situation.

FarmBoy

[ken_b]

determine the opportunity costs of catering to that 1 customer. Might be worth it - might not.

Depending on how "opportunity cost" is defined that might be fine, if that "one" customer lived in a vacuum and never communicated with anyone else. That is probably not the case.

But if that one customer goes away unhappy and tells a few fiends, the cost could go up up pretty fast and far.

I know that when I have usability trouble with a ecom store I probably at least mention it my buddies at our morning coffee bs session. Since our common interests mean we likely all would be potential customers of the same stores, well the negative experience might end up affecting more than just "one" customer.

[scotland]

I would not blame webmasters and IE6 - Google has changed how it displays its adverts in a google search and now blends in the top links with very small disclaimers that it is an advert - using the "words" Ad and Ads with very slight background color differences from the organic search returns. So now more people go to the Google advert links than to non-paid organic links without realising they are clicking on advertising.
My Adsense earnings are at rock bottom, and in my opinion it has nothing to do with browsers people are using - unless of course the Google adverts are being blocked.

Richard

[Lame_Wolf]

I would not blame webmasters and IE6 - Google has changed how it displays its adverts in a google search and now blends in the top links with very small disclaimers that it is an advert - using the "words" Ad and Ads with very slight background color differences from the organic search returns. So now more people go to the Google advert links than to non-paid organic links without realising they are clicking on advertising.

You are missing the point here.

Forget the adverts for a moment. It is the actual site that breaks in IE6.
Sometimes you will see the nav menu on the left hand side with nothing on the right - just blank. You then have to scroll past the menu to see the content. Then, you have to scroll past the content because the right hand column is below it.

Now, in Firefox all three columns will appear as they should - above the fold.
If your "above the fold advert" is in the right hand column, then it will be well below any content and not seen by most IE6 users.

That is just one example. Other sites will have other columns out of place, or in some really bad cases, the adverts are only partially shown and therefore breaking the adsense TOS.

Catering for Netscape 4 is one thing, but to ignore IE6 is IMO a bad move.
The Box Model Hack is not that hard to sort out - which looks like the cause for most of these sites.

And it has nothing to do with catering for the new technology. Okay, some things may not work with IE6, but that is no reason for a badly designed site.

When I build sites, I make a template. I then test it in as many browsers as possible. And then do my best to break it. Only when I am happy with that, I will start to add content.

[martinibuster]

Forget the adverts for a moment. It is the actual site that breaks in IE6.

scotland is not missing the point. He's saying, forget that the site is breaking down for IE6, that in his "opinion it has nothing to do with browsers people are using." His point is there are other factors affecting a far greater amount of site visitors that concern him more.

[Lame_Wolf]

scotland is not missing the point.

Then it is off topic.
I am on about the sites that DO break under IE6 and that adverts do not display where people think they do. THAT is what the thread it about.

[Rockyou]

Scotland concern is also useless, If Google is pushing ads as content or blending too much, people will start using Bing. Google will never kill its own business. If you want to be on top of SERP you have to think even for 1% of visitors to your site. 5% is a huge number if your an SEO you know it can be deciding your position on 7 th or 1st position.

[HowYesNo]

I don't care for ie6 users at all even if I'm loosing some money, all my sites are valid strict html. I even put links to chrome/opera/ff and crossed ie.

[Lame_Wolf]

I don't care for ie6 users at all even if I'm loosing (sic) some money, all my sites are valid strict html. I even put links to chrome/opera/ff and crossed ie.

Jolly good.

I personally don't care if people's sites render correctly or not. I just gave the HU for those that might not be aware.

And FYI - The code can still be valid and yet still break the browser. But you knew that already, didn't you.

[scotland]

Off topic - I thought the topic was: "So you want to earn money with Adsense ...but earnings are dropping"

If having a website that was wonderfully designed would help me make money then fine - my sites are very basic, they do however have a lot of content, and use valid html where possible and are formatted using CSS.

Having an attractive website that renders in most browsers will not equal high earnings in Adsense (in my opinion).

Using valid strict html is also not going to help you make money with Adsense - basically it is irrelevant whether a site is valid html or not - it is whether people will see and click on adverts. The only sites that I see where this takes place are plastered with Adsense adverts plus other adverts (probably breaking Adsense TOS).

So I would love to know how to optimise my site to earn money with Adsense and keep everyone happy (my visitors and my bank manager!).

[HuskyPup]

So I would love to know how to optimise my site to earn money with Adsense

The rumour is that ugly does the trick...I've no idea but may just try it out one day, the problem is "how to do ugly?"

[scotland]

HuskyPup
I have read that ugly sites make most money in this forum many times and I probably achieve it - just not deliberately!

[netmeg]

There's a nice post pinned to the top of this forum.

[ken_b]

There's a nice post pinned to the top of this forum.

It might have made more sense to pin that thread IF the Supporters Forum debate in it was moved to another thread.

Let's see, my numbers might be off by 1 or so, but it kind of looks like....

... 7 of 26 links in that thread point to threads in the paid Supporters Forum. Five of the links pointing to the Supporters Forum are in the opening post, (Those 5 links might better have been the basis for a separate thread about how joining the supporters forum could help one earn more from AdSense.)

But as it stands, of 44 posts now in the pinned thread,

21 are mostly about the supporters forum in sense or another.

16 are about the earning more from AdSense.

5 or 6 are about both of the above.

and then there is the OP.

So it looks like at best, the thread is only half "On Topic". Which is a shame because any real value in the thread gets diluted by the Supporters Forum debate.


.

[ken_b]

21 are mostly about the supporters forum in sense or another.

That should read: 21 are mostly about the supporters forum in [one] sense or another.
.

[netmeg]

Fair enough. I don't begrudge the Supporters Forum plugs; this site uses a lot of resources and has to pay for them somehow. (And I'm a Supporter)

If the pinned item won't help you, there are still LOTS of great items in this forum; you can use the Library link up at the top left, or do some searching on specific strings. Almost nothing ever gets thrown away and everything anyone could possibly say has been said at least three times.