Killer AdSense Tips - #2 - Position your ads like you mean it!
August 22nd, 2006A lot of people put a lot of effort into designing a good site, writing and posting good content and generate increasing levels of traffic, but they are still only making depressing earnings.
How is this possible? Doesn’t traffic always convert into clicks?
I’ll let you into a secret. The number 1 reason why people who have a good site, good content and good levels of traffic are still not seeing the returns they deserve is that they don’t position ads like they mean it. Let’s take a look at what this means and why people fall into this trap.
Remember the simple equations we looked at yesterday:
Clicks = Cash
More clicks = More cash!
In this equation, the clicks that earn you money aren’t just random clicks anywhere on the page, but clicks on the ads. If you make use of an ad program such as AdSense, this means that visitors to your site actually need to actually “see” your ads in order for them to be able to click on them so that you earn cash. The problem arises when people design a good looking site or blog, but don’t plan on where they are going to place ads effectively (we’ll look at this subject in much greater detail in later posts). This can be because they didn’t plan on having ads in the first place, or thought that they could add them later on, when traffic was at a workable level. No matter what the reason, there comes a point where they want to incorporate ads into their design. At this point, they take the ads and place them at the bottom on the page as an after-thought (usually because this is the easiest spot to place them because it doesn’t require any major redesign). This is one of the worst places to place an ad and it is usually a waste of time. You’re better off not bothering placing any ads. Design your site with the ads in might right from the start. Even if you know nothing about ad placement, take a look at some sites that you visit and see where they place their ads. That gives you a starting point.
There’s a second reason why people hide the ads at the bottom of the page. This is because they are uncomfortable about the fact that they host ads on their site and want to hide them. Placing them at the bottom of a page says “I want to have ads, but I don’t want them to get in your way”. These are what I call “shy ads”, shy because they have been placed almost as though the site owner is shy about having ads on their site.
Don’t be shy about having an ad-supported website or blog! In fact, be extravagant! Never fall into the trap of placing ads as an after-thought or placing them where they don’t get in the way of the reader. Remember, if you are generating quality content that there is a need for, people want access to that content. You’ve generated all that content for free and are providing it to the reader free of charge. You have no reason to be shy about having ads - after all, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. The only way you make money from it is from people clicking on the ads on your website or blog. This means that you want to be placing your ads where people see them and will click on them. You either need to get over the “ad shyness” or get out of the game.
Place ads like you mean for them to be there! There’s absolutely no need for you to be shy about the fact that your site has ads on it. TV has ads. Magazines and newspapers are filled with ads. Movies have trailers. Ads are a fact of life. You are providing free content and in return asking that people put up with your ads and consider clicking on them. Fair exchange. That’s all.
Position your ads like you mean it!
This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006 at 6:15 am and is filed under Adsense Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
