I have read a lot about people saying blend your ads into your site, make them look like part of your site. But I have also read some people saying it is better to make your ads stand out and be noticed. This is an example of how I have used ads on my site: http://www.mariomayhem.com/consoles/ds/mario_kart_ds.php Notice the banner at the top has a black background and white text, the same as the rest of the site. Some of the older pages have grey text instead, im yet to update this. I have about a 2% ctr, I was wondering would I be better off going the other extreme and making these ads stand out? Like having a bright orange back ground or something so the ads really catch your eye because they are so different? Has anyone had any experience with this kind of thing? Any help is greatly appreciated!
I think it is good. But i think i am not lucky about CTR just like you since my CTR is around %1-2 MAybe niche specifies this a lot.. Mine is related to a programming language mainly..
yeah I would imagine that programming sites wouldn't have a good ctr, they say most computer type people kind of filter out the ads automatically and don't click. Thanks for your input mate.
Different ad formats do different things on different sites. Assuming you get traffic, you can find out what works best for your site with a simple split test between blended and not. http://performancing.com/node/1073
I'd be inclined to try the following: A block of link ads on the side menu, blended to match the menu links. A large cube ad half way down the content and rotate the sizes. I find that a smaller cube, in the space for a larger cube creates a blank space around the ad and that seems to increase ctr/earnings. If possible try to push the skyscraper further down the page - it is quite long, and once you scroll down, there is no ad inventory at all.
Put a ad-box inside your post. CTR will increase at least to 4%.....Thats what I observed from my site....
i have been playing with adsense for a few months - so i am not expert - but i have toyed with blending/contrast/different types of ad units and they all produced different things. Usually right after the change I had an increase in result for a couple of weeks - people that frequent your site suddenly see something different and are drawn to it -- don't be afraid to adjust the ads once a month and see what happens. I just blended mine and have had nice reults
Absolutely correct. One should change their ad format, colors... onece in a while. Particularly if your visitors are regular.
Try different methods. Different methods work on different sites so there isn't a one-fits-all method. Methods big-shots use to make $$$ with adsense Rotating google adsense to improve CTR Again try different methods and give enough time for each to see which converts best. I find a comfortable ad color scheme without borders which is neither sticking out nor completely blended in performs the best.
thanks for the great tips guys, I was thinking about adding an extra ad in with my articles about half way down or so, seems like that was a good idea by what you guys are saying. I will have to give it a try on a few of the pages atleast. Thanks for the great replies!