Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about Adsense and ad placements. Maybe its because Im reading too much Workboxers, or maybe Im just paranoid because my earnings have hit rock bottom. Either way I need to make a conclusive decision whether the ads are really working for me or not.
As a result, I need some feedback from you as the reader and user of this site. My basic dilemna is that I have too many ads and its starting to look ugly. I don’t mind the text links in the header, as they seem to have been converting well in the past and apparently they are actually quite useful for people browsing sites and wanting to do a bit of research. On the other hand, I might have too few ads, but I definitely don’t think that’s a feasible answer!
Im also wondering what you think about the ads at the end of posts: the ones with the black and grey text. Do they appeal to you? Do you think any of the ads are actually useful to you as an entrepreneur or internet browser?
I’ve also been toying with whether to completely scrap Google Adsense. The reason I say this is because today I received my first payment from an advertising company - Text Link Ads. All I did was refer someone to use the Publisher program at TLA and I received $25. This was about 2 minutes work and it already equalled half of my total Adsense earnings for 8 months! That just shows you how much alternative forms of advertising can make.
Im also waiting at the moment for my site to get into the search engines properly. I was talking to a TLA representative and he said that it would take at least 3 months for my pages to get indexed in Google. I’ve had some search engine queries coming to my site so that’s a positive, but I’ve still got 1 more month to wait. Then after that, I can become a proper publisher and start selling links on my site. People like Yaro and Workboxers have had a lot of success with that and make around $200 per month after the cut - if I could do that, it would be awesome! Think about it, $2400 a year!
So please take a few seconds and fill out the poll at the top of the left hand sidebar. It will really be helpful to me so I know what you guys are looking for as Blogtrepreneur is constantly looking to reinvent and move with the times. I appreciate your advice!
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23 responses so far ↓
1 thatedeguy // Sep 1, 2006 at 7:38 pm
You poll doesn’t have enough options for what I want to add so I’ll add it here. You can add a vote for whatever option you think I fit in if you like.
In regards to your adsense ads, The left skyscraper is fine. You might try tweaking the colors around a little to make them stand out more from the rest of the page. Sometimes that helps.
I find the ones at the end of the posts to get in the way. They spread the comment section a little too far from the post content. I’ve done the same thing at thatedeguy.com and my comment count reduced. I still haven’t fixed it yet, but it’s in the plans.
Also, welcome to the land of text-link-ads. I love their service and make about 3-4X with them that I do with adsense. It’s a great service that they provide.
2 thatedeguy // Sep 1, 2006 at 7:39 pm
I thought I might add that moving up the left skyscraper above the about and poll might also help with your click through. I did this on all of my sites and the click through increased two fold.
3 Leroy Brown // Sep 1, 2006 at 9:05 pm
Your ads aren’t excessive by any means - and they seem to be very tastefully laid out. The link unit up top is particularly nice - nice touch. I’d be surprised if that one doesn’t perform well for you.
The only thing I might suggest is moving your in-post ad block inside the content…. up to you since it may impede reading a bit, but you’re likely to get better results just the same.
4 Leroy Brown // Sep 1, 2006 at 10:16 pm
Hmm your comments were reduced by that? That’s very interesting then. I may have to shuffle mine around on my site; comments are more beneficial to me in the long run than a few more bucks in the here and now.
5 adnan // Sep 1, 2006 at 10:26 pm
Firstly - thanks thatedeguy and Leroy for your comments - I really appreciate it.
I think both of your answers are pretty conclusive that the ad block at the end of the posts just isn’t cutting it. I think I’ll get rid of it but I’ll wait one more day just to see if I get any more advice from readers. Although I do get the occassional click from it, the left skyscrapers always has brought me in the most CPC - Im not sure why that is.
I love TLA as well! They’re so punctual and this first payment hopefully is a sweetener for what’s to come - Im so excited I just can’t wait for my blog to hit the 3 months old barrier!
Leroy - the top link unit was performing pretty well at first but now the clicks have died down a bit. Some of that may be to do with traffic - its hard to compare results when traffic levels alter daily. Its sort of like an unfair test!
Im not sure whether the ad block prevents more comments from being made. I have noticed a decline in the number of comments recently, but that ad block has been there from day 1. Leroy I notice you have an adblock as well. How does that perform for you?
Yeah definitely I’d prefer the community rather than a few clicks by far. Clicks come and go, but a good community can make or break your business.
Thanks again for your opinions guys!
6 Leroy Brown // Sep 1, 2006 at 10:31 pm
My adblock performs rather poorly. Really, the only reason I have it set up that way right now is I want my readers to know that I will use ads. I don’t like the idea of establishing a site without ads, and throwing them up later… some people may get offended or some such thing. In my mind it’s best to start with them, that way there are no surprises later. If anyone is offending they can move on down the road without getting their feelings hurt.
As my traffic grows on that site I will concern myself more with advertising and how it’s performing. The site is pretty new, so traffic is still light. Eventually that block will move inside the content, and I’ll have one in the sidebar, and probably a link unit to round it out.
7 adnan // Sep 1, 2006 at 10:37 pm
Yeah thats a good idea actually. I’ve been the same, I want my audience to know that I have to support my hosting/domain costs and that I do want to make a bit of profit on the side. I think most of my readers know that. I just don’t want petty ads to interfere with how my site is being actively viewed. It would spoil the whole experience of reading blogs.
Out of interest how old is your site, and what sort of traffic are you getting to it?
Finally have you considered Text Link Ads? They are very good and I would definitely recommend them. If you havn’t got an account please use my affiliate link - it would be so cool to get another $25!
Good luck with your site. It seems very good with loads of great articles. Starting off a new blog can be very demanding, but if you write daily, it can definitely pay off.
8 Blogger Skills » Interacting With Your Blog Readers // Sep 1, 2006 at 10:54 pm
[...] Weekly Polls so that readers can vote on relevant topics. For example this week, Im asking my readers what they think about my Adsense placements. In this way they are playing an active part in the evolution of the design of the site and how it is seen [...]
9 Leroy Brown // Sep 2, 2006 at 2:59 am
Adnan,
Blogging Blog is very very new - I launched it on July 24th of this year. It’s my latest experiment, and I think it’s going pretty well thus far. As I said, traffic is still low - ~40ish uniques a day, give or take. It’s been slowly and steadily growing though, as I post.
The comments section has been fairly active IMHO, which is one of my signs of success. I figure someone who is taking the time to post a comment is pretty much going to stick around as long as i don’t screw the site up.
I do use TLA, though not yet on this site, due to the lack of traffic / PR. TLA likes to see your site more established before they let you sign up.
I would be moving faster with the site, but I have several others to manage, a very hectic full-time job, and a family to enjoy at home. So time is very tough to come by!
10 adnan // Sep 2, 2006 at 12:44 pm
40ish uniques per day is very very good considering you started only over a month ago. Blogtrepreneur.com has been launched since June 16th and gets around 50-60 uniques per day. Im not sure why its so low because talking to other webmasters and bloggers they say they get 400-500 uniques per day, but I think many of them make up these figures.
Im more proud like you of my comments section. I love it when people like you comment as it makes me feel as if I’ve written something really useful and interesting. Yeah TLA does need to see your site up for around 3 months before you’re allowed to sell links. But its probably worth the wait.
What other blogs do you have? I just have the one but at the same time manage a forum at ChipandChat.com and am making a program at GolfChum.com. I like to diversify and not just stick to the blogging aspect of the internet. Its more fun! Thanks for commenting again Leroy - I appreciate it.
11 Kimberly Kay // Sep 2, 2006 at 2:59 pm
I think those webmasters are definetely lying. As I sat in on a couple e-seminars about blogging before I got started and it seemed to me that a good number to target was 100 uniques. Then 250. 500 and then a 1000. For the fastest and stickiest of blogs that will take about 6 months for the average blog about a year. Granted you could also blow that number out of the water!
12 Dave Starr // Sep 2, 2006 at 5:15 pm
I’m not sure if the guys with the high numbers of uniques are lying or merely confused. Lying is a pretty strong word to use without proof. And when it comes to unique visitors, “proof” seems hard to come by.
On a given day my Awstats might say 287 visits, Webalizer says 509 and Google Analytics says I had 6 visitors yet Google Adsense counted 120 ad views and I was credited for x number of clicks and nearly $2.00 US. Confusing? I’d say so.
I take all those counting engines with a grain of salt … perhaps a whole shaker full. The only thing that really counts is clicks, and Google is either accurate or we’re all in trouble.
With regard to add placement, the only places I have found worth anything is the link unit across the top and skyscrapers in the top left or right column … right up at the top, above the fold. I have skyscrapers farther down on several blogs and looking at last month they accounted for about 3 clicks out of a total of xxx … so in my case where to place the ads is an easy choice … above the fold sidebars are literally orders of magnitude better.
13 adnan // Sep 2, 2006 at 6:17 pm
Thanks for your comments Kimberly and Dave.
Obviously I can’t just accuse these people of lying. They may well be getting as many uniques as they’re saying. However it just doesn’t add up in my opinion especially with one of the blogs Im thinking about. I won’t go into any detail because I have great respect for the blogger - but I just don’t feel there’s any reason to make up figures like that. The blogosphere should be a place where all writers share experiences and help each other improve.
You’re righ though Kimberly - its near impossible to have a large readership straightaway. Take the master himself Darren at Problogger , its taken him ages to get where he is at near 9000 subscribers. Kudos to him for sticking with it. Setting consistent targets is the way forward and it will also serve as a motivator.
I’ve had several comments now about the skyscrapers and I think I will change the position of mine after the poll is over. I may consider moving the poll over to the right hand column underneath the “Email Subscription”. As a matter of fact, I’ve only had 7 people subscribe by email. Do you reckon I should delete that?
Thanks for your insight guys, and above the fold seems to be the way forward.
14 Leroy Brown // Sep 3, 2006 at 12:58 am
Dave,
Good point about varying stats-though I can’t figure out AW Stats, Analytics and Performancing Metrics very widely for me , so traffic can definitely be hard to quantify.
15 Rosalind Gardner // Sep 3, 2006 at 1:14 am
Hi Adnan,
Personally, I would recommend that the Adsense on your homepage should be removed - at the very least.
I’m always baffled by webmasters who want to chase potential visitors away before they’ve even had a chance to look at their sites.
If you want to really monetize your blog and show others how to do the same, promote real information on the subject, like the Internet Marketing Center’s “Blogging for Dollars”. You’ll earn $50 per sale, which is far more than the pennies per click you’ll make with Adsense.
My 2 cents.
Cheers,
Rosalind Gardner
16 adnan // Sep 3, 2006 at 10:37 am
Thanks for your insight Rosalind. Im not sure about completely removing Adsense. Whilst Im not that bothered about making a few dollars every week, I feel that if I tell my readers that my site will never feature ads ever again, it will be difficult to monetize the site in the future, especially if my views have changed then.
Promoting affiliate products maybe isn’t such a bad idea. Would I have to sign up to CJ.com? How much success have you had with selling “Blogging for Dollars” and is it a good read. Obviously I would have to buy the product for myself if Im recommending it to my readers.
Thanks for stopping by!
17 Dave Starr // Sep 3, 2006 at 12:36 pm
Adnan, I was only exaggerating a little. darn little. I love the info Google Analytics provides, but I question its counting accuracy. Also, something to consider, have you ever gone to someone elses site and seen your computer pause … with a line in the status bar saying “Waiting for Google Analytics’? Watch for it. I’m still using GA but really considering bagging it.
@ Leroy, exactly. There is a tremendous variation between the stats programs. Glad you brought up Performancing … I gave that a whirl too. Shows promise but varies widely with Google’s figures and Google counting clicks is all that actually counts.
@Rosalind, you are the guru of AF without a doubt in my mind … but I dispute that AdSense “drives people away” any more than anyone else’s ad might do. As a user I frequently click on an AdWords ad to learn more about something that catches my eye, as a publisher you might look farther into them, since I didn’t know about the program of yours that you mentioned because we hang out in different circles. To find it at random in a blog comment is one thing, to get pointed there by an ad hat costs a couple cents however might be better business … or so Dave opines.
18 adnan // Sep 4, 2006 at 9:06 pm
Lol yeah I realised that! But every unique counts - especially when sites like mine aren’t getting huge amounts of them! Yeah I regularly see the “waiting for Analytics” text at the bottom left. Does that mean that Google slow down the loading time of a webpage. Because that definitely wouldn’t be good business. I have found Performancing to be the same though, maybe its just to do with the amount of information they are collecting from each unique visiting.
Thanks again for dropping by Dave.
19 Jamsi // Sep 5, 2006 at 4:58 am
Hi Adan,
Seeing as how you have to wait to get accepted into TLA (sucks doesn’t it) .. why don’t you try selling text-links using other systems such as Adbrite (easy to setup)?
I’ve also heard good things about textlinkbrokers.
http://www.textlinkbrokers.com/sell-links.html
20 Another Poll: Resources On Blogtrepreneur? at Blogtrepreneur | Entrepreneur Blog // Sep 6, 2006 at 7:44 pm
[...] I decided to end the Poll on my Adsense layouts a bit earlier than usual to make way for my new poll. All of these have been in aid of revolutionising Blogtrepreneur and the way in which information is given to you as an entrepreneur in the 21st century. [...]
21 adnan // Sep 7, 2006 at 5:41 pm
Hey Jamsi - your comment got caught in the Akismet filters, probably because of that link, so sorry I didn’t reply earlier.
Yeah it does suck waiting to get into TLA. I have tried using Adbrite on my blog, I had the account all setup and even had the code installed in the sidebar until a week ago, when I hadn’t got one sale. I think it was probably because my traffic was too low, so people didn’t even realise I was there!
I’ll check out TextLinkBrokers so thanks for the link mate.
22 Leroy Brown // Sep 8, 2006 at 2:13 am
Adnan,
I’ve tried Adbrite too, with no success. I think I had it installed for a little over a month with no sales. Perhaps that’s way too short a time, I don’t know. I’m impatient though, that’s for sure. I didn’t really like the types of default ads they showed though - they weren’t at all related to my site’s content, and to me that makes them an eyesore more than anything.
That’s one of the main reasons I like Adsense - my readers may actually benefit from the ads, becaus they’re contextual.
23 adnan // Sep 8, 2006 at 5:52 pm
Yeah Im really not sure about how Adbrite really works. Do they rank you in their general listing according to traffic? Using Alexa?
Im also very impatient, Ive been waiting day in day out for my TLA publisher status to go through and I just can’t wait now until Blogtrepreneur reaches a healthy age. In fact Jamsi did a great post today with an interview with the owner of TLA. Check it out.
I have never used Adbrite’s contextual because its against the TOS of Google to use the 2 at the same time. But you’re right, Google may be appealing to some people, even though I may have developed ad blindness! Thanks for commenting Leroy.
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