Learned new technique

I owned a 30k-40k daily pageview forum and have tried this method from last month

I put 3 leaderboard banner like in this image


And I've mailed Google Support, and they said it is legal.

From the 1st day I implement it, I generated tremendous hit from the front page alone.

Here the sample : http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5688/1555/1600/frontpage.gif

If you own a forum ( SMF, Simple Machine Forum ), you can get some idea from the blog : http://malaysiagolfingscene.blogspot.com/2006/01/adsense-high-traffic-forum-tips.html

 

looks like a made for adsense site to me.

 

well, it's a good way if you want to earn a quick buck. But will people ever visit your forums if they just click the ads on the frontpage?

 

Great idea, thanks! I'm gonna try my own version of that.

 

I think not. visiotrs will not stay longer in that kind of page

 

I run a forum, and that page is the index page. Every 2-3 days, I'll perform the usual forum maintainance. I'll use the hard way to force 100++ of users to the main page using a simple PHP redirect like :

<?
# /forum/index.php
# redirect all user to main page
header("Location : http://mydomain.com/index.php";
die(' forum under maintaince');
?>

The usual maintaince will take 1 hour, and I usually do it in peak time. In the one hour, the users will keep on checking the forum or just click the banner in the main page ..while waiting the forum to be up again.

I also do a checking script. I use simple PHP Session to check whether the user have seen the main page. If not, they will redirected to the main page ( no skipping url like directly go to http://mydomain.com/forum/ ..they have to use the main index page )

And while in the forum, I use rotating banner to caught my users eye to the ad....change the color for the ad.

 

wouldnt that decrease earnings?

 

That would personally make me stop going to your site. But, I guess if it works for you, then I'm not like most people.

 

I personally think it makes the page look to spammy. I think my users would be a little upset with me if I took it to that extent.

 

This is an interesting approach. Forums can be pretty low on CTR and revenue and can be high maintenance. I once maintained a forum for a band that made it on MTV and appealed to teenage girls. What a busy site and a headache!

If you are providing the forum for free, why not run maintenance when it is convienent and profitable? What happens to CTR and profits during the maintenance hour? Are there any complaints about the process?

 

I think that's lame...

 

From your picture, are the bottom words just keyword spamming?

 

As I told, I'm going to try my own version of it. I'm running a directory, not a forum. In the directory I had one line in the top that included 2 of what Google calls half banner (234x60) side by side. I replaced them with 2 rectangles (250x250).

OK, I know that it is too early to say anything but so far the CTR has risen 50%. After a week I believe that I know was it good idea or not.

 

I agree, everyone thinks that..

BUT

..I personaly think that good graphic design (primary - header and borders) can almost totaly "counter" that effect on viewers. By good I mean excellent btw

 

if you earn more money that way, then congrats! i dont like that kind of ads but i guess teenagers do.

 

You guys may say it's spammy, but it looks like it makes more money. Second day in a row and the CTR is about 50% over the average and revenue is higher than normally. My opinion is that was a good idea and it makes me think my layout in whole new way. Have to bring the ads in front that visitors can see them easily. Being polite and leaving ads in the side where they don't disturb anyone, that way you make less money.

 

I would be a little hesitant about placing the leaderboards like that.
Looking at the page, I think the lower ads attracts most attention because they are closer to where you look for the content. And they are the ones that brings the least CPC value. Two large rectangles next to eachother would probably yeald better results. Or maybe get rid of the third (lowest paying) leaderboard - you would probably see a slight drop in CTR but an increase in actual earnings.

I wouldn't put anything like that on my own site though, but I guess that's a matter of taste and the chararcter of the site itself, whether it will "offend" the users.

 

Okay, the good thing is you want to share your technique with everyone here. That's commendable.

The bad thing is I do not see any contents there except keyword stuffing at the bottom of the page. Isn't putting ads on page with no content against the TOS ?

Anyway, if you get lots of click from it I am not surprised since most people who gets high CTR normally have little content. THAT is why your visitors are inclined to click.

Anyway, good luck.