Adsense Placemenet Critic Needed: You Newb

Hello everybody, just wanted to introduce myself into the DigitalPoint forums. I have been reading them for quite some time now but have not registered actively as I have been busy. I am looking to contribute back into the forums as many of you put time into it. Currently, I am an officially licensed mortgage broker and looking to expand greatly in internet media and news.

My Site: www.younewb.com is a gaming news site and yes, I know that there are many others but I have much plans in mind to differentiate myself and stand-out from the competition. Since it has been open for one week, news has been spreading of the site quickly and we have been linked by Japanese sites, Spanish sites, etc. Currently, we are up to 200 unique visitors per day.

My problem is that the CTR is only about .25% currently and I would like to get it higher. I understand that as a gaming site, many users may not be as interested as if it were more of a niche site. Although, I still think I can do a little better than .25% CTR. I need the great advice and wisdom of the DP forums members to tell me what I need to do. Whether it is to add a new AD or change the current one, I will be definitely willing to listen. Thanks for all the help guys and if anyone has any questions on refinancing, purchasing, or mortgages in general, I will be gladly willing to help.

Sincerely,
Nick

 

Anybody have any ideas at all? It would be really appreciated if I could get some advice.

Sincerely,
Nick

 

Try putting the ads where they most draw attention. Not at the top since everyone knows thats where ads should be try adter each post or maybe in the middle of the post. This way you catch the user's attention when he's focused.

Thank You

 

The problem is that if I put it in the middle of the post, won't users think it's like a stupid site? I mean if I am trying to read and there is ads in the middle of posts everywhere, I won't enjoy the site or feel like it is as professional. Any other suggestions?

 

Positioning is really poor on the site, the ads at the top are too far from the content to warrant enough attention. The sidebar also looks really bare....

I would try a 250x250 on the right below the "archive" on the right there, get rid of the standard black text it looks to generic, possibly make the links the same colour as the live links in your posts, the redish/maroon colour.

Chitika does quite well on gaming sites, especially the new multi product blog banners. I have a psp site that earns me more from chitika than adsense really.

I would also reccommend putting a 468x60 banner at the bottom of the post or perhaps half way through each post.

I notice that you're using wordpress, a guy called Bignuts has developed a cool little plugin that will inject adsense randomly into every post at different positions each time. Perhaps use that, here's a link

Let us know how you get on

 

We are now hitting 1,400 uniques/day and my CTR still under .45% constant. Hmm, I used the 250x250 on the right and changed adsense links to maroon too. I don't believe that helped too much.

 

468x60 at the bottom of your posts.

Use channels to see which ones are getting the clicks.

You need the ads closer to the content, the 728x90 is too far up at the top....

 

Or possible try & integrate some pictures near the ads. That will increase CTR