My website has got 10 bucks one month and I had over 72,000 page views that month. Now the site is just 4 months old. Last month I got like 2.50 and this month I might not even make that. I am not earning anything and I dont know why really. Most of my traffic comes from stumbleupon and reddit. Only 120 have came from google since the site was up. How can I increase this? I made 26 cents with Kontera this month which is good I think compared to the like 75 cents I have made so far with adsense(it may be more but its poor). I was told comedy sites like mine that just show pics,videos and articles dont have a high CTR and I wont make much anyways..... Should I just say this site will never make much? I would like for it to make at least 6 bucks a month to pay for its domain and hosting.
One of the problems is the quality of traffic. A lot of webmasters these days used sites like digg and stumbleupon to get traffic. The best traffic comes through google search.
I don't think it's the traffic so much as the ad format. A single image banner sticking in your face in the middle of a post (often being a PSA) isn't going to bring in much. Consider a skyscraper on the right and when you get to the individual pages, dump the image banner and put a ad unit unobtrusively near the top. By unobtrusive I don't mean hide it but rather make it not scream out at you that it's an out-of-place ad.
also try to make the ads compliment your blog, graphical banners are also nice, the nice ones that is lol. You just have to promote and promote and promote, in a non spammy way. Submit to digg, propeller, and blinklist if you write your own jokes then submit to associated content and/or ezinearticle. Basically you want more exposure!
So nobody thinks the big cow banner is worth having there? Better suited for a banner ad? Or something else?
try a link unit between the cow banner and the content, in the light blue area. I can tell you that all of my attention is on that cow banner when I first come to your site, so you might try putting a small adsense square on top of that banner too.
First, the problem with the blog isn't the Header image or the ad placement. The root of the problem is that your blog has little direction. Blogs that just rant and talk about everything will rarely be successful. Pick a topic you want to blog about and stick with it. You say you're getting 72K page views a month, but what's the bounce rate of your blog...probably 75% or more. That means 75% of your visitors are leaving without even going any deeper into your site...probably because the content doesn't hold their interest. Become an expert in whatever it is you're interested in, post quality and even controversial information about your subject and you will get targeted traffic that will convert into clicks. But you should be writing without worrying about getting clicks. Just write good content..period. As for the Adsense, if you have a blog or website that is not specific to one topic, expect to see crappy ads showing that are probably not related to your blog whatsoever. Once you narrow your blog topic, your ads will become more targeted to your content, and will convert better with your readers. Run a skyscraper down the side and ditch the 480x60 banner in every post. You won't get rich from Adsense on your blog, but there's no reason you can't make a few bucks a day if you set it up correctly.
Great comment christian231. Also, if most of your traffic is from SU and Reddit, don't expect high AdSense earning. These are tech savvy visitors who generally do not click on ads.
Actually my bounce rate is closer to 50% and sometimes lower. Average stay length is 1 minute +. I dont get this whole stay on topic. What does that mean? For my blog?
I understand that you want to write about your daily life, politics, sports, cows etc...but be prepared that you probably won't get 10000 subscribed readers, and you're clicks are going to be minimal. Unfortunately the general equation for getting clicks on Adsense is Website/Blog of a specific niche or topic + targeted Adsense ads = Clicks (assuming you have good traffic). The ads that will show on your blog homepage will be all over the place, however on your individual post pages they should be a little more specific. Blogs are not the place to make big adsense money. Keep the blog if you like to write about your life, but if you want to make money, you'll do better making a site or selling affiliate products. Some will say I'm wrong...but this is very much the reality of 99% of blogs.
Yes. The way to do this is to update your content regulary and get links to your site with your keyword as the anchor text. Its basic seo stuff. There are many ways to get links. Search the forum for reciprocal linking and one way linking. SEO takes time, and unless you can spend time doing it you won't make anything from it. If you do though, you will have success.
How is my blog not on topic? Like if I want to share funny things and write funny things its about comedy regardless if I am writing about my daily life or if I am sharing a video spoof, correct? How do I target a category in the comedy area? It does not make sense to me and its info I need to know.
Your problem is that none of your visitors are looking for a product or service. Blogs that attract people looking for free entertainment will never have ads that pay more than a few cents. I assume you live on a farm? Well, do a website about gardening or raising animals or something.
So really I could improve on the revenue but if I want to make any real cash for my time I need to focus on some niche sites with one topic that try's to sell something?