OPINIONS: 3rd Party Ad Networks

Blocking vs Allowing

[JCKline]

I have always allowed 3rd party ad networks, however, my eCPM hasn't been good lately and I NEVER seem to get any 3rd party ad clicks, only PPI pennies.

Has anyone experimented with them blocked vs allowed and seen a positive change either way? I don't want to make a big change that could kill what is already dismal lately, so your opinions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[JCKline]

Nobody tested this? I guess I will, because things are so bad.

[jpch]

The general rule of thumb is the more advertisers bidding for your ad space the higher the price will be. I personally don't limit 3rd Party Networks.

[ken_b]

My opinion is that the 3rd party networks are just a back door for advertisers I would not otherwise allow on the site to get in. So I block them all.

There are plenty of old threads around here talking about 3rd party networks. I don't recall a single one where the majority of posters had a positive opinion of them. I also don't recall anyone bragging about how much they make off 3rd party networks.

.

[Chrispcritters]

I have them turned on and some have consistently generated higher than my AdSense average eCPM rates. However, the number of impressions for those are low.

[ThatsBoBo]

I have them on.

[JCKline]

@ken_b, Have you ever allowed them? Any difference in eCPM?

[JCKline]

After reading the other more recent threads about this subject here, I decided to block all 3rd party ad networks, minus the 6 google networks. Now I'll give it a week or two and see what happens.

[jpch]

minus the 6 google networks

I'm only seeing 4 in my list...would you mind listing which ones you have...just curious.

Looking at my September earnings roughly 7% of 3rd Party Ad Networks outperformed Google AdWords in Ad request RPM and all combined generated about 5.5% of total earnings.

[Lame_Wolf]

Google Testing Network
Google: Invite Media
Google: Invite Media (Asia)
Google: Invite Media (Europe)
Google: Invite Media - Self Managed
Google: Watch This Space

[jpch]

Thanks Lame_Wolf. Here's my four as listed in Ad Networks from September:

Google AdWords
Google Bid Manager
Google Display Network: Reserve
Google: Invite Media

The Reserve one only showed 1 Impression for whatever reason so really I only had three serving decent amount of ads with Google AdWords showing the bulk of ads.

[Lame_Wolf]

No problem.

I have tested 3rd party for a number of months, and my conclusion is... don't bother. I eventually turned them off completely, even the Google ones.

[JCKline]

It's been one day since I've blocked them, and earnings increased back to average yesterday as opposed to below average, Coincidence? Maybe, it's too early to tell.

[jbayabas]

On or off. It won't make a difference. Don't waste your energy on this. Instead, focus on what's important - driving traffic to your site. Once, you have achieved at least 5k page views per day then you can play around with ad settings or placement.

Publishers generating only less than 5k page views per day should not have making money their goal. It should be creating good content first.

Good content = traffic. Then money will just follow.

It's always good to have one, if not all, of these skills:

Graphic design
Programming
And most importantly, Marketing

[Lame_Wolf]

Good content = traffic.

Untrue. You could have the best designed site in the world, with the most accurate information in that field, but there are a number of things that could prevent it from being seen by the masses.

[jbayabas]

Untrue. You could have the best designed site in the world, with the most accurate information in that field, but there are a number of things that could prevent it from being seen by the masses.

That's when Marketing comes into play. I'm a living example that it is true. My Adsense earning is no small money: it pays the mortgage, car, food, electricity, etc.

[Lame_Wolf]

That's when Marketing comes into play.

Not necessarily. It could be as something stupid as blocking it with your robots.txt or poor hosting company that brings your site down every other day. Or, all done in flash, over optimized (in Google's opinion) and the list goes on.

I'm a living example that it is true. My Adsense earning is no small money: it pays the mortgage, car, food, electricity, etc.

Yep, there are a number of us like that in here.

[JCKline]

Back on topic, my earnings now seem about the same as before I blocked them. However weekends are always the lowest days for my sites. This week will shed more light, but if earning don't drop, I'll keep them blocked. I prefer not having so many hands in my website real estate.

[JCKline]

Day 3 now and I'm seeing a decline in earnings over the last two day...hmmm.

[jbayabas]

Not necessarily. It could be as something stupid as blocking it with your robots.txt or poor hosting company that brings your site down every other day. Or, all done in flash, over optimized (in Google's opinion) and the list goes on.

Even though I am happy now, I don't want to be too overconfident because yes, traffic may go down in a flash.

[jbayabas]

Day 3 now and I'm seeing a decline in earnings over the last two day...hmmm.

Told you so. I say just leave it ON.

[incrediBILL]

Aside from the payout issue, I typically don't allow 3rd party networks just because if one gets hacked then people think your site is hacked, Getting rid that big red "untrusted site" page is a real pain, not to mention if you get flagged on McAfee Site Safe, Surf Safe or whatever it's called, so for those reasons alone I avoid it.

Google does a better job with security than OpenX does but I just don't like to take chances.

Once burned and all that.

[Lame_Wolf]

Told you so. I say just leave it ON.

Nooooooooo. Off is the best option. I have tested these for months with two accounts. YMMV

Then again, if you prefer pennies to dollars, then have them on. ;)

Don't forget we've just had two holidays in the States and Canada.

[jpch]

Google does a better job with security than OpenX does but I just don't like to take chances.

Pardon my ignorance but I assumed Google was still screening the ads for Malware even though they are 3rd Party? If not, then the earnings argument aside this is the best reason I can think of to turn them off. Please share any resources for helping to figure out if 3rd Party ads are effectively screened by Google.

Update: A quick search returned this:
[support.google.com...]

Update 2: From this page:

[support.google.com...]

Fourth-party calls: All ads may only include tracking elements from certified third-party servers or research vendors already approved by Google. No fourth-party calls are permitted, except tracking elements associated with certified third-party servers or research vendors expressly authorized by Google. All tags may only be associated with a single advertiser. Multiple advertisers cannot be represented through a single tag.

Creative approval: All creatives and tags that call the third-party server or research vendor must be fully tested and pre-approved by Google Ad Operations at least 72 hours prior to the campaign start date.

Creative modifications: Creative substitution or modification via the third-party vendor without prior approval isn't allowed. All creatives must be pre-approved by Google Ad Operations. Any ads with dynamically changing content must be initially reviewed and pre-approved by Google Ad Operations but may be exempt from additional reviews and approvals at Google's sole discretion.

[jbayabas]

My bad. I meant was.. leave everything as default. Don't block anything.

[JCKline]

@Lame_Wolf, was there a significant increase in earnings?

[Lame_Wolf]

@Lame_Wolf, was there a significant increase in earnings?

Enough to turn them off. And I have seen a decrease in CTR since IE8 shows adsense adverts with horrid arrows.

[JCKline]

@Lame_Wolf, I don't have IE8, do you have a screen shot?

Anyway, I'm not seeing much of a difference now (slightly lower). I'll tray to wait it out a week or so and see.

[Lame_Wolf]

@Lame_Wolf, I don't have IE8, do you have a screen shot?

I can do one. What would you like a screen shot of?

[Lame_Wolf]

This advert is set to small font on IE8...
[imageshack.us...]

This is the same advert size, same page, same settings*, but on FF and Chrome...
[imageshack.us...]

*they were same settings, colorwise, but on the FF image they look slightly different because I did the screen grabs the other day when they had the same colors, but deleted it.