what is a good CTR for you? I have around 1% Mostly I use banners at the bottom of my site and also I use new ad type with links to ad pages. I hate ads moxed with content some sites use, I like visitor to distinguish clearly ads from site content.
A good CTR is one that works for you. If you're satisfied, great. If not, get to work on your content. Good, relevant content will drive your CTR, as the ads will also be relevant to your audience's interest.
problem is I am not satisfied at all. I am just curious if I could do more without pushing too much on the user. Is it all content related or also CTR depends on ad positioning?
Actually, if your content is too good, the user won't want to leave. I've had better CTR in the past by having bad content-- the user was eager to click away from my site... ;-) I've had to make up for the lower CTR now that my content is better by getting more traffic, etc... -- Derek
HMmmmm.... Bad content = better CTR... interesting concept. OK, I can see where that might work - but you'll never end up getting people to come back to your site. Also, if the content isn't so good - SEO and AD Relevancy would be down... perhaps there is a 'middle ground' to all of this. Mediocre content that's good enough for SEO and AD relevance, but not enough 'meat' to keep the reader satisfied?
I can think of a multitude of reasons why CTR might be higher or lower. For example, a niche subject currently has few advertisers so return visitors have soon seen all the ads and don't click anymore. As more businesses move advertising oneline the universe of relevant ads increases so your CTR improves. Of course, you think it was the result of your SEO changes or writing skills There are lots of slippery concepts and unproven assumptions in these posts. For example, what is good content? I have a feeling it's a lot like trying to define porn, "I'll know it when I see it." but very hard to write a definition (or an algo). Would SEO and ad relevancy be down if, for example, my writing is bad? I can use all the right words but if I don't assemble them creatively no one will enjoy my content, but I doubt a spider would care. I think it will be years at best before there is any significant proof of the validity of many of the assumptions which are casually tossed around on forums. So, have I succeded in using a bunch of good words in a way that didn't communicate?
I'll answer the question... My CTR is 2.1% with a 4 advert banner on the right side of the page. Along the bottom is less effective thanalong the top or the right side. The normal CTR is around 1-3%
I've read the eBook that claims to be able to triple your CTR. I was doing some of the thing he advised already so I wasn't able to triple my CTR but you could certainly triple your 1%. Here's a couple things to do assuming you are refering to text ads: 1. Avoid the banner shape, go for large rectangle. 2. Place your ads above the fold. 3. Make the ad text blend into the page by staying close to your site colors. If you work on your ad color, placement, and shape and get to 4 to 9%, then I'd say you fully optimized what you could with the ad presentation. Then work on content, in bound and outbound links, forums signature files, etc.
I have been usind Adsence for two months now. I just got my first check today. That was exciting. When I first started using the program my CTR was above average right off the bat, for only a square box at the bottom of my 1000+ pages. I was very happy with that as it helped pay for some of my monthly advertising. Then last week, I also ready the e-book that the above post speaks of. I was hoping to tripple my CTR. I have only had the chance to optimize about 10% of my pages so far with getting the ads to look like my pages but my average CTR now is about double. I was also able to create some custom channels to track wich type of ads do best and what I found out is that for my site, the 120X240 rectangle box built into your text does the best. CTR was tripple with this setup. Here is an example of one of my old pages. http://store.fairytaleendeavorsbridals.com/emtopbriddre.html and here is an example of the new configuration I am setting up going forward. http://store.fairytaleendeavorsbridals.com/howtohadrweo.html I have also been adding more ad boxes per page. I am trying whenever possible to put 2 or three ad boxes on each page so more ads are shown compared to before whe I only put one bottom page add on every page. This is also working out well for me because even if your CTR doesn't go up, if you have more impressions but your CTR stays the same then you are still doing better than you did before. I know you said that you like your adds to not blend in too much with your content but I feel that you can tell it is an ad still. My thinking is this. If someone is going to your site to look for something, there is a good chance that they are going to shop around a little before they buy. Thats the beauty of the internet. If they are really interested in what you have to offer then they will do their shopping around and then come back to you when they are ready to buy. You may as well put an ad on your site to aid them in their shopping endeavor and hope that they come back later. If they are not done shopping around yet then they are going to leave your site one way or another. It may as well be through an ad that will help you out as well. Hope this info is useful to some one.
For forums, i suggest, blending the ad with the site color scheme won't do good. Many forum users are comfortable with forums and they know exactly where to look. So the chance of getting your ads noted is less if you blend them to your color scheme. So use the complementary color or something that makes human eye note the ad. For static pages, please blend the ad to your color scheme.
Do you have data to support this suggestion? I see forums where the ad sticks out like an ad (this forum) and I see others where it blends in more. I am just wondering if there is an data or antecdotes ("I doubled my clicks by turning my green ad pink in a green forum").
Honestly, I doubt there's any way to increase your CTR in forums that much. The repeat visitors(the lifeblood of a forum) don't usually click on them, as they're busy with the subject matter. I'd really be interested in suggestions for increaseing CTR on forums, as mine is really pathetic(1% would be a significant improvement)... Thanks. -- Derek
Other than offering some random subject now and then, you will always see the same adds over and over in forums. Anything off the topic would be in a different category. So you're kinda stuck on this.
http://www.adsense-secrets.com/ this is the one I read. it is not a bunch of secrets but it is good information if you are not already an expert user. But it costs $80.
I obtained this from http://www.net5.com/terms-dictionary.html So it seems that CTR is one part of the equasion. When you say 1%...1% of what? For me 10% may be a good CTR, but I only have 50 page views a day. My point is CTR is 1 part of a bigger picture subject to many other factors in online revenue generating through clicks. Cheers
I am sorry to hear all you here speaking about "blending" the ads with the content. My approach is to clearly point ad as ad and content as content, so users can clearly identify. Is not that I don't need money, it's only that I hate fooling people into clicking ads unless they really want to. I guess with my approach is no way to go over 1% though ...
My ads stick out (quite a bit) and can justify the CTR that it generates (and the traffic). I noticed a huge increase when I changed from blended ads to ads that stuck out.
I think it depends on the design of your site, type of readers and probably alot more. Every person has there own way, many think blended ads are the way to go whilst other think opposite. It really depends on your site design. There is no right or wrong way, only the way that works best for you.
my CTR average this month is 7.7% ... lots of the ads don't pay very much though... i guess i need to work on boosting traffic