Internet Marketing with Josh SpauldingMaking Money through Ethical Internet Marketing.

40 comments

1. Doug
   10th May, 2010 at 3:03 pm 

   Good advice, I’m increasing my CTR lately, and it’s certainly from targeted traffic. Now I just need more of it!

   Thanks Josh!

2. Susan Greene (5 comments.)
   10th May, 2010 at 3:11 pm 

   To increase CTR, your content must be good. If it reads poorly or is too promotional, the visitor will click off, probably before even seeing any of the ads.

3. Maurice | TheCaymanHost (8 comments.)
   10th May, 2010 at 3:15 pm 

   Just a note on point 2 – using traffic exchanges in conjunction with Adsense will get your account banned. It may not happen immediately but rest assured it will happen eventually.

   TE’s and Adsense are a violation of Adsense policies so if you are using them in conjunction with Adsense now would be a good time to stop

4. Chuck (88 comments.)
   10th May, 2010 at 3:18 pm 

   You might want to clarify your point in #1. I’ve read it 3 times and I’m still not quite sure what you’re saying. And, I believe it’s also true that it CAN hurt you…that you will be served lower-paying ads if your CTR is lower. Maybe I’m wrong and you can straighten me out…but I still think the point of the paragraph is somewhat unclear.

5. Josh Spaulding
   10th May, 2010 at 3:20 pm 

   Chuck – The site impressions that are generated as a result of YOU visiting your own site. They all come from your own IP, so I think Google is smart enough to realize that and not smart price your adsense account as a result. It’s just a visual CTR issue that wouldn’t hurt you.

6. Patrik Berggren (5 comments.)
   10th May, 2010 at 3:21 pm 

   I don’t agree about having AdSense-units to “blend in” …

   My tests, over a lot of niches, say that in 95% of all cases the standard linkcolor is best to get clicks.

   Sites, with low CTR is often sites with returning visitors, like forum och other community related sites. 1 – 2% CTR on those types of sites is acceptable, and I would say “good CTR”.

   An MFA site should have atleast 20% CTR …

7. David Coleman (4 comments.)
   10th May, 2010 at 3:22 pm 

   Hi Josh,

   You said:

   “Ad unit positioning is very important. One large rectangle unit directly below the title is the most effective on most layouts.”

   I always wonder how “aggressive” we can be with our ads. I hear some people say that there should be content between the title and the ad unit. I’ve also heard people say that you can’t be too aggressive “above the fold”.

   Just recently, Grizz wrote;

   ‘Each time I was warned that my ads were too aggressive (above the fold) and I was given time to correct them. …Watch out that your ads are not too aggressive above the fold.’

   His post is here:
   http://makemoneyforbeginners.blogspot.com/

   Google’s rules seem a bit vague on this whole subject. What’s your sense (no pun intended) on where Google stands on this?

   Thanks Josh!

8. Josh Spaulding
   10th May, 2010 at 3:23 pm 

   Patrik – I’ve been testing my own adsense units in various niches for over 5 years. The standard unit layout SUCKS but if it works for you that’s great.

   And you’re right about low CTR from sites with a good amount of returning visitors.

   David – As far as I understand there is nothing wrong with placing an ad unit below the title. I’ve been doing it for years and Google has never had an issue with it.

   They don’t want deception though. In other words, if the title is “These 4 sites will help do this” with a unit that has 4 links in it directly below (for example) that’s probably a no go.

   I don’t work for google though, so take that with a grain of salt.

9. Josh Spaulding
   10th May, 2010 at 3:26 pm 

   As far as I understand there is nothing wrong with placing an ad unit below the title. I’ve been doing it for years and Google has never had an issue with it.

   They don’t want deception though. In other words, if the title is “These 4 sites will help do this” with a unit that has 4 links in it directly below (for example) that’s probably a no go.

   I don’t work for google though, so take that with a grain of salt.

10. Kris (1 comments.)
    10th May, 2010 at 3:28 pm 

    And you need to use the right keywords (in your title, description, and on the page) so you get the most relevant ads to display.

11. Ned
    10th May, 2010 at 3:32 pm 

    Be at least somewhat careful about putting the ad block directly below the title.

    Most of the time it’s OK, but if your title is “Blue Widgets For Sale” and that’s the keyword you’re targeting, Google see this as encouraging clicks on the ads since there is no text between the title and the ad block.

    How do I know this? I was guilty of this practice and Google sent me an email telling me I was violating their TOS and they stopped serving ads on this particular website..

    As soon as I put a couple of sentences between the title and the ad block everything was back to being OK.

12. Josh Spaulding
    10th May, 2010 at 3:33 pm 

    Ned – Yep, that goes along the same lines as my reply to David.

13. Sean Breslin (4 comments.)
    10th May, 2010 at 3:43 pm 

    Personally I prefer adsense at the end of my content, if I have no joy with the visitor clicking onpage links, I just try to catch them with adsense on the way out!

14. Ceecee
    10th May, 2010 at 3:55 pm 

    When I switched to using ads with the same colors as my site, my CTR went up and I made more money. When my ads were different colors, they stood out and looked like ads instead of content. Good info, Josh

15. Rich Hill (6 comments.)
    10th May, 2010 at 3:58 pm 

    All great advise of course.

    I have a question about CTR.
    Do you know it the lower CTR affects the pay rate on the actual clicked on ads?

    Thanks Josh.

16. David Coleman (4 comments.)
    10th May, 2010 at 4:02 pm 

    Josh and Ned,

    Thanks for the info guys!

17. Josh Spaulding
    10th May, 2010 at 4:08 pm 

    Yes, through Smart Pricing but I seriously doubt the impressions made by one person (like yourself when visiting your own site) coming from the same IP would invoke smart pricing.

18. Chuck (88 comments.)
    10th May, 2010 at 4:22 pm 

    Ahh, I see what you’re saying now, Josh. I guess I’ve never worried about whatever traffic I myself represent lowering my CTR. I don’t even visit most of my own sites very often, and the ones that matter most already have enough traffic that I don’t represent even a drop in the bucket.

    But what about my other point? It’s my understanding that having a low CTR leads them to serve lower-paying/performing ads. My conclusion would be that it’s wise to try to only include number/placement of ads which are most likely to perform…to keep your CTR as high as possible.

    Agree/disagree?

    And, just to weigh in on the other…I personally find naked AdSense blocks right under the title offensive…so I would never do that (one is bad…and two side-by-side, which I have seen often…is WAY over the top). I do, generally try to keep them at the same level as the beginning text of the paragraph, using text wrap. And I also understand that this may cost me a little. But it’s a matter of personal principle for me.

19. Patrik Berggren (5 comments.)
    10th May, 2010 at 4:35 pm 

    Josh,

    that may be true … I’m almost only in the swedish market, and there the std link color works best.

    I do have one site, in the weightloss / diet nisch, and there I have to blend the link colors …

    Most important of all “tips & tricks”:

    TEST IT! TEST IT! and do some more tests … especially Split-Test ad units to maximize CTR (income)

20. Patrik Berggren (5 comments.)
    10th May, 2010 at 4:38 pm 

    Chuck,

    my experience about “low paying clicks” is ONLY when the ad-click have a HIGH BOUNCE RATE, not so much about CTR ..

21. John (1 comments.)
    10th May, 2010 at 4:52 pm 

    Josh,

    Great info – as always!

    Any idea how to get out of smartpricing once you suspect you’re in it?

22. Chris (1 comments.)
    10th May, 2010 at 4:52 pm 

    Thanks Josh,

    I like the advice of different channels to test which block is getting more click’s – never thought of that.

    I have found though that pure text blocks do get more clicks than image blocks. Not sure why, but for me they do.

    THanks again

23. Joe Elliot (1 comments.)
    10th May, 2010 at 5:33 pm 

    The way to get out of smart pricing depends… if you have seven or eight Adsense channels, examine the ones that have a low CTR and determine or formulate a plan to correct those issues.

    I have in cases, pulled Adsense off of sites after realizing that the traffic was there but Adsense wasn’t converting. I replaced those sites with, either CPA offers, squeeze pages or affiliate marketing programs and they have performed much better.

    To be clear, as Josh stated, some sites won’t perform so well with Adsense. In those cases you need to find the best form of monetization and run with it!

    If you only have one channel in Adsense, then you’ll have to dig in to determine what changes you’ll need to make… but the same process still applies. You must determine if that particular site is capable of performing well with Adsense. As the old adage goes; if it doesn’t fit, don’t force it, just relax and find another option!

24. Chuck (88 comments.)
    10th May, 2010 at 8:03 pm 

    Joe (or anyone) -

    I’d love to hear what other good options you’ve found for monetization outside of AdSense. With YPN closing its doors, I’ve moved to Chitika as my backup option. But I’ve found very few things that perform well.

    I know there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but I’d be interested in looking at a couple other options that others have had some luck with. Any suggestions?

    Oh, and I should say that (due to the nature of my sites), I don’t do well with CPA stuff. So…anyone had any luck with anything else?

25. Jerry
    10th May, 2010 at 11:31 pm 

    Josh I liked this article and found it useful as always. I’d like you to do a future post about ways to find good niches.

    I spend a lot of time on Shopper.com, micro niche finder,etc. trying to find niches that pay decently with adsense, have a minimum number of views, give me a chance to rank on the first page and have a domain name that is available.

    I think it’s becoming harder and harder to find good niches or maybe it’s just me. It seems like when I find a niche that meets all of my requirements the domain isn’t available, even .info.

    .info sites could be another subject since .com, org and .net are becoming more and more difficult to find in our niche or keyword name. Thanks again.

26. V.C
    10th May, 2010 at 11:31 pm 

    Good content, hot content is also a tip to increase Adsense CTR.
    Just like an online manga site always receives far more clicks than a website about health and lifestyle.

27. Cate (2 comments.)
    11th May, 2010 at 12:21 am 

    I have to agree with the idea of wrapping the text around the ad. I find that the ads directly below the title don’t normally do as well as the ones shifted to the right with text around them for most of my pages.

28. Warren
    11th May, 2010 at 12:45 am 

    Josh
    Is there any truth to having fewer adsense blocks raising the the price of the ads?
    This works for me in one site but not in another. Don’t know.?.?

29. Linda (20 comments.)
    11th May, 2010 at 2:13 am 

    I agree Josh, quality traffic from google will always result in a higher CTR because people are searching for that term and if your site is properly SEO’d it should be displaying relevent ads for that term. People are more inclined to click an ad that is relevent to their search term.

30. Jaime Lim (6 comments.)
    11th May, 2010 at 3:57 am 

    Josh

    I usually get low CTRs for pages I promote on FaceBook. Yes I get a lot more visitors via FB but they rarely click, thus lowering CTR. Getting natural visitors via Search Engines usually bring in higher CTRs and revenue. If low CTRs trigger smart pricing, then I am not so sure about promoting via social media anymore.

    Jaime Lim

31. Patrik Berggren (5 comments.)
    11th May, 2010 at 6:07 am 

    My experience is that low CTR isn’t a “trigger” for smart pricing. It completelly depends on the quality of the traffic, if a lot of people click and directly go away from the page they land on

    I have several forum sites within the dog niche/sub-niches, 2 of those forums have >3K unique visitors/day AND!! 1% CTR …. not smart priced. Relevant ads to relevant traffic, my traffic CONVERTS to customers after they clicked, THAT’S more important than high or low CTR …

32. Rieke
    11th May, 2010 at 7:29 am 

    Hello JOsh,

    I only can say thank you – as I’m soooo un-techie, I’m learning and understanding many things from you clear info.

33. Elliott
    11th May, 2010 at 12:33 pm 

    Josh,

    Good points, however I have found that to increase my CTR on my WordPress sites, I use the Who-Sees-Ads plugin. It hides traffic to non-search engine visitors. You of course can specify other sites, how many times the ads are shown and lots of other options, including hiding the ads if you visit the site.

    Since I began using it, my CTR has gone up quite a bit, worth a consideration for those that get lots of traffic from other sources that might not convert as well as search engine traffic.

    http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/ozh-who-sees-ads/

34. Patrik Berggren (5 comments.)
    11th May, 2010 at 2:25 pm 

    Nice tip there on the plug (downloaded)

35. Jared Detroit (9 comments.)
    12th May, 2010 at 1:23 am 

    High quality traffic from high quality traffic sources is the main way to get better click through rates. I agree. Getting high quality RELEVANT traffic is another qualifier. I think that goes with building high quality links and building links from relevant sites that get you relevant traffic.

36. Stef (68 comments.)
    14th May, 2010 at 2:02 am 

    When you use commentluv sites like this one to promote your site, make sure your site covers the same topic in order to get a good CTR

    @Chris : image blocks on plain text sites do stand out, catch the attention of the visitor and get a good CTR provided they are on topic of what the page is all about. Works like a charm on manga sites like V.C says

    @Josh: very funny to mention your own visits, but what you say is very true: when working on a new site and refreshing pages a lot, you are increasing the ad impressions ‘big time’ and need to understand that the CTR is not a really relevant number, since it doesn’t reflect what your – few – visitors are doing.

    @Rieke; no need to be a techie: content is king and when you see lots of relevant ads in Google for your topic, your site should have a good CTR as well, unless you put 1001 other ads: if they click one one, chances are they don’t click on another, although a CRT of 20% like Patrcik Berggren mentions does show that sometimes people keep on clicking on more than one ad.

    Testing is king And Elliot’s Who-Sees-Ads works like a charm

37. szenovera
    18th May, 2010 at 1:33 pm 

    I have tried this cool little trick with one of my Adsense campaigns and have noticed a 75% increase in CTR. Awesome little trick!

38. Rieke
    24th May, 2010 at 7:10 pm 

    Hi Josh,

    thanks to your answer, I can just confirm what you say. Although I’m still on the ‘test-way’.
    It works

39. Gary
    29th May, 2010 at 2:58 pm 

    I own a lot of micro niche MFA sites.

    Does anyone use adsense protection scripts like: http://www.adsenseclicklock.com/

    I am always worried about someone clicking on my ads too many times and my adsense account getting banned because of that.

    Let me know.

    Thanks.

40. Andy (1 comments.)
    19th April, 2011 at 11:02 am 

    If your traffic is significant, then visiting your own site quite a few times in a day is unlikely to make a dent in stats.

    Over the years I’ve noticed a gradual slide in ctr as users become increasingly ad blind, however, this is negated by a gradual rise in bid rates as more and more people use online advertising.

    The biggest problem I face now seems to be a sudden slide in ctr, resulting from the dreaded Panda update, though this trend began before the March 2011 roll out and I’m looking for further information on how Google serves less relevant ads if your ctr is low. I recently added new sites to the same account that have lower ctr, and it seems to have affected ctr on existing sites. This all occured when we recently changed the layout and decided to place two large boxes (the highest ctr by far) inside the text, when previously there was only one.