As you all may be aware, I operate an online games website, and have a question regarding arcade earnings as a whole. I’ve noted that most people consistently complain about their low-paying arcades, which is also the case with me. On the contrary, I was always curious why my earnings fluctuate as particular games gain popularity. Obviously, the Adsense system assesses the content of the page prior to displaying the advertisement. For instance, if you play the McDonald’s Simulation game on my website, the advertisements are not related to the online gaming industry but rather the corporation in question itself. I’m assuming these are far higher paying keywords than what the habitual gaming advertisements’ clicks would provide. So my question boils down to this – aren't arcades' earnings dependent vastly on the type of game being played? Accordingly, couldn’t arcades earn as much as other niche websites with these certain games gaining popularity? I’m not implying that arcade owners now merely target games with high-paying keywords, as that would evidently undermine the concept of online gaming, but rather appreciate that earnings for even an arcade could parallel others. I’m truly confused at this point, and would like your inputs in my theory. If my points are valid, are arcades truly that bad?
Well, if you play the mcdonalds game... how many people do you think would click on "Want a job at Mcdonalds?" or other corporate related keywords... I doubt many would. On the other hand, if there was an ad "Play Free Online Games" that would get a much higher CTR.
Well, most ads related to games (no matter what type of games) will produce ads that are rather low in cpc value.
what arcade script do you have? I know its offtopic, it looks like a forum skin I used to have. Just curious.
I have an online arcade installed at my board. Google ok'd it but told me that arcades and related sites tend to produce a lot of clicks and was told that my account might be subject to "smart pricing." Don't worry about low paying ads, worry about getting a lot clicks and visitors. Also, make sure you arrange your Google Adsense ads around areas of high user activity. That is , where you think the player's cursor is the most, put ads there. Arcades will only product low paying clicks, so concentrate on getting a lot of clicks. FYI. My board has been online 7 months going on 8 and I still have adsense.
You can increase CPC by finding games that have a competitive theme. My real estate game performs much better than your average vanilla themed game.
arcade games are usually played by kids who do not have the resources to buy anything online from a company, therefore no matter how you will optimize your keywords, at one moment you will be smart priced because of the crappy traffic that you send; it is not your fault.
On the other hand, it's far easier and less costly to add games related to the current highest paying keywords than it is to create a website catering to those particular niches as they evolve. While I agree with the above points, duilen is an ideal example of the point I'm trying to convey. My online games website was actually gaining several conversions for the advertisers per day, contrary to popular belief. How do I know? While I was using CPX Interactive, they monitored and displayed the figure of conversions in the daily reports. Essentially, with arcades, your advertisements are reaching a far greater audience than most niche websites would. While some (or even most) users may be children, the figure of adult users may surpass what your typical websites would derive under my judgement.