Is Less Really More?

It's always been my theory that you don't have to use up the maximum number of allowed Adsense banners in order to make the most money from your site, that sometimes less is more. But it's hard to convince Adsense noobs of this, as they always figure that the more ads they have, the more money they'll make. So, in an attempt to dissuade them of this notion (or perhaps to confirm it?), let's hear what everyone has done, and rather less is, indeed, more, or the exact opposite?

For myself, as mentioned, less has always been more. I will seldom use all of my maximum ad placements. Anyone else?

 

Less is more! No more than 1 ad block on any of my sites.

 

I've experienced better revenue displaying maximum ads. Yes, there's the possibility they will click on lesser paying ads, however at least you are giving the visitor more chances to get that click. Of course, if the ad inventory is such that displaying too many ads shows many irrelevant ones, then your probably pushing the limits.

 

Type of site has something to do with it as well, of course...

 

also length of webpage too

 

Such as? ...

 

Different sites are geared toward different sets of audiences. If your site caters to people who doesn't know their Adsense from their YPN, then more ads will definitely get more clicks, translating into more revenue, so you CAN get away with, and indeed, it's probably preferred that you pile on the ads. And then there are the sites geared towards more the market savvy people, who you will just annoy with too many ads, but they are more willing to click the one ad you have on your site. Things of that nature.

 

Most of my sites have 1 link unit, and either a skyscraper or rectangle plus a small banner under an article.
So 2 or max 3 ad units is what I use - I cant stand sites that use the max number of ads.

 

The less I have the better I do. I started with ads all over the place, then removed some, then removed the link units, then removed the cleverly blended pictures/ads because I thought they were tricking people. Every time, my CTR went up.

Some of my larger pages I haven't split into smaller pages yet, and still have two adblocks, but I'll get to them soon enough. This approach has worked for several different sites.

Oh and I almost never use the big rectangles/squares ads either - too much, I reckon (although I am testing them at the moment, same as everything else). So one banner or similar unit per page, but more pages (typically not much more than screen size) is best for me.

Plus all this has the extra benefit that sites don't look at all MFA and I guess returning visitor numbers is higher (no hard evidence to compare with though).

It doesn't seem rational - hey why not stick another adblock at the bottom, and another down the side - but give it a try for a week or two, you might be surprised.

 

i don't think it matters whether you have the maximum number of blocks used per page or only 1 block per page.

what matters is how these blocks are placed and blended into the site. if you do it badly, the site looks like an advert stuffed site and people will get put off... if content is good and the adverts are placed well and non-obstructive manner, people may just click on the ads if they see something interesting...

 

I couldnt agree more Jack and none of my sites use the full three Ad blocks but yet earn more than they do when testing with three.

Its either one or two ad blocks and the text units, thats it.

 

if you have more ads atleast you will get income from impressions. reducing the number of ads reduced my income. atleast in my case.

 

Unless your site is a high traffic site, trying to make money off Adsense CPM is really not a sound business choice.

 

This is just my experience.
I have two sites in the same niche. One has just a medium rectangle per page while the other has a small banner a medium rectangle and a link unit. The first site gets good CTR but the CPC sucks (2-3 cents) the second site gets an awesome CTR and not so bad CPC (about 10 cents). Ok, the CTR result was expected (I never intended to really monetize the first site) but the CPC results really surprised me. Their content is different but they are in exactly the same niche and although the second site has a lot more adds which means that lower paying adds are also displayed the average CPC is a lot higher (couldn't be lower than 2-3cents anyway ). So although what you are saying sounds right I don't believe that it is true in all cases.

 

Less IS more (usually) but I think need to consider the following:

1. For fewer ads to yeild higher CPC they must be highly relevant AND attractive. It is a sad fact that some "high paying" adwords ads are awful from a copywriters view - that can mean they "show" but dont get clicked. Also sometimes there are just not enough of the "right" advertisers (in the "exact" niche) and that might make more choice a better option.

2. If you use only one block - it has to be very well placed and that can be site dependent. If your page content is of GREAT interest to your visitor i.e. they READ the article - then a placement at the bottom can be beneficial.

Personally I think its a question of trial and error. Thats not difficult - try a week with 1 and a week with 2.

The logic of fewer blocks is that only higher paying ads show. To use a simple example

1 block may yeild 100 clicks a day at £0.50 = $50

2 blocks may yeild 200 a day at $0.25 = $50

In my OWN experience fewer blocks yields higher $$ total but that was only after a lot of work on placement and relevance. After all if you put MORE ads on the site you are actually INVITING the visitor to exit via a lower paying ad which doesn't make sense in my book. I think a GOOD website gives the visitor what he wants then allows him to make his exit choice via something I will get paid for. I very much take the view that I WANT my visitors to stay on my site - but if they are going to leave anyway it should be via a monetised exit and not the back button. I always use that attitude when applying (or not) adsense to a site.

MORE blocks may be more responsive to newbies i.e. who haven't really given the whole thing a lot of actual thought OR had the time to trial diferent options.

phewwww - the short version is ............. I agree with Jack

 

With my blogs that have very long front pages I use three 160 x 600 skyscrapers to get the maximum number of ads and I think that's best in that situation. CPC doesn't get too low if the topic is good (you know the money topics). The content still extends further down than the ads and I break the ad units up with text links and stuff.

On my free ESL classes, I used to do 160 x 600 on one side and 120 x 600 on the other. I took away the 120 x 600 and revenue stayed the same. I think with ESL it's too easy to get very low paying clicks.

 

I totally feel that less is more. I noticed that when I added more ads to my main page, my CPC went down to as low as .06 or even less. I took off most of the ads I had on there and I just left a link unit and side skyscraper, and now it has gone back to being between .20-.35 cents per click...and some being even higher (.50-.92 cents per click).

For my site and my niche, less is more. For other sites, depending on the number of relevent high-paying ads that can be displayed, it may be better to have more ads and still get a majority of high CPC ads showing up.

 

I agree, when I started I used the maximum allowed and now I am just running one on my site and the revenue has increased.

 

I agree with Jack that less is more.

Depending on the page length and layout, I never use more than 2 ad units on my sites. If the page is long, I use a skyscraper on the right and a horizonal at the bottom. If the page is short, I only use the horizontal.

 

All the SEO guys say that the large rectangle converts better but I have found the opposite. A half-banner - simply one half banner per page - has proven time-after-time the most profitable for me.

Could it be that it's not the lowest amount of ad code blocks but the lowest actual amount of advertisers shown that bring in the most amount of cash to the publisher? ie; one skyscraper block or one large rectangle is for example four advertisers' ads but one half banner is just one advertiser's ad.

On one of my sites, three half banner blocks per page (strategically placed of course) better performed than one large rectangle on another equally popular page. Possibly due to the fact that the visitor has to ignore three small ads rather than one large ad, and three small ads blend better than one large ad.