Critique and question. Number of ads a page?

I have been using google ads for about 4 months and average about $7 per day. I try different style ads and placements on different pages and my average CTR over all pages for the month of April is 4.51. I would really appreciate your opinions on how I can improve my earnings.

Some pages are more popular than others and have higher CTR because ads are more relevant to the topic discussed. For example http://www.catsofaustralia.com/urinestainremoval.htm which has a CTR of 19%.

A question I have is: Is it better to have lots of ads on one page or maybe just one or two? Most of the ads that appear on my site are low paying. Does putting fewer ads on a page make them pay any more?

Thanks in advance
Zoe
http://www.catsofaustralia.com

 

I find that I make the most money when I have an adsense block in the content, and an adsense block right near my website's navigation menu. Your 4.5% click-through rate isn't that bad.

 

I've read many forums on ad placements ect and I would say around 80% of forums mention placing an ad unit above the fold to the right. Apparetly this is were your eyes first see when you open a page.
I have an ad unit above the fold, dead centre and it makes a nice little earning on it's own, My other ad placements are just a big bonus. I should experiment with them more.

 

It's not just placement, but colouring the ads to match the look and feel of your site is very important too, and Google recommends this too. If the ads look like part of your navigation, someone may just click, by mistake, on a link, and bingo, a few more $$s!

I find I make MUCH more money using the link boxes than the Skyscrapers and Horizontal ads, and my earnings have more than doubled since using them.

I also change the colours every couple of weeks, maybe moving the ads slightly at the same time to remove the 'Adsense Blindness'... for now!

Experiment!

 

You should try out a horizontal text link unit underneath your navigation menu. Try blending it so it matches the menu.

 

Thanks all, I have taken your advice onboard and will be experimenting over the next few days.

I had never used the link boxes but will give them a go and see if it makes a difference.

Zoe

 

may i know whats the meaning of blind adsense's context?

 

Do you mean AdSense blindness?

 

This just means that once repeat visitors have identified AdSense as "ads", they become "blind" to them, and do not even notice them on subsequent visits. Changing the look and/or placement of the ads can draw the attention of repeat visitors to the ads.

Sam

 

Tips for your article display:

I would suggest using 1 or 2 Large Rectangle Ad(s) (if two then next to each other) below your content. Blend them in with no borders so they look like if they were part of the article.

The Skyscraper ad is easy to spot as ad, I would remove it (you need to anyway if you use 2 rectangles)

Another well performing ad is the Linkblock.
I would suggest using one (728x15) with 5 Links and put it directly below your navigation and try to blend it in as best as possible.

For forum placement ideas you can check my forum if you want at:
http://www.hiphop-battles.com/forum/index.php?styleid=9

It is all about blending in the ads. The less they are noticed as ads the more users click on them.

Good luck

 

Thanks DaStarBug

I've tried a few of your tips on the index page of my site. Let's see how it goes.

www.catsofaustralia.com

 

I find the banner ad just under your own banner works good if it is blended correctly. You can see how mine looks from my sig links.

 

I've had good results with the horizontal adlink unit in this position, as well.

Sam

 

What is your traffic like? You can optimize your ads as perfectly as humanly possible, but without traffic, the earnings will still be low.

 

Hi Zoe,

Jack is right that your traffic will be the most important factor in determining your profitability. Regarding number of ads per page, I don't think having less ads displayed will yield more profitable ads - I believe AdSense always serves the most profitable ads available, which is obviously in their best interests, as well. You may want to use your content to determine how many ads to serve - if you have a lot, then two or three ad blocks can be integrated quite naturally. If you don't, you may be better served with one, as having a lot of ads with little content can be intrusive and offensive to your visitors.

HTH,
Sam