Unintrusive AdSense suggestions

[zmcnulty]

My site is http://www.psp-vault.com.

Right now, I'm averaging $600 per month in AdSense revenues.

Unlike a lot of AdSense users, I'm pretty adamant about the number of advertisements on my pages, and certainly don't want the ads I have to be intrusive. No offense to those who take full advantage of the 3 ad units limitation; different people try to get different things out of their websites, so I fully understand where these people are coming from.

First and foremost, my site has over 4,000 members. The AdSense ads, for the most part, don't appear for these members -- the only ads they see are the the ones in actual article pages (such as this one (http://www.psp-vault.com/Article303.psp)). These ads don't even appear above the fold, nor do I really feel that it's important in this particular situation; if people are going to read an article, they'll typically read the entire thing, so they'll get to the bottom of the article. So that's one thing; members rarely see ads at all.

I'll also mention that I personally don't agree with Joel's position (http://www.adsensechat.com/showthread.php?t=18) that the #1 mistake made by AdSense publishers is that they make ads look like ads. I find several of the techniques mentioned throughout various AdSense guides I've read to be downright deceptive. I want my users to understand that they're clicking on an advertisement, and not on what they think is a link to a different part of my site. That doesn't mean I'll be putting stuff like "shoot the monkey" or popups on my site, just that I think there should be an evident distinction, for the end user, between an ad and actual content.

So with that in mind, I'm looking for general suggestions about my implementation. One thing I'm yet to do is sell my "non-profit" space for when a google ad isn't displayed on the page.

Any ideas? Thanks!

[markp-r]

Hi zmcnulty,

So with that in mind, I'm looking for general suggestions about my implementation.

I had a nice look at your site. I am very impressed.

Bold - Clean - Focused - Really Nice...

I like how you have your 468x60 AdSense ad at the top. The color scheme is nice... it "compliments" your design... and is not at all offensive (to me).

I certainly understand your wishes to limit the extent of AdSense on your website. Believe it or not... it's not All about Money... or at least advertising revenue. I believe each person's site is an extension of what they want to display to the World. And each site creator knows what's right for them.

So, zmcnulty, be totally OK with your choices... they are Your choices!

The only suggestion I would have is perhaps include an AdLinks block on the bottom of your left hand navigation area. It would not seem intrusive (again to me), and actually has a nice look - just 4 or 5 "keywords".

I often times find myself clicking on AdLink ads at sites I visit because clicking on the keyword gives me a chance to see some options of places I might want to go... (my choice). I really like AdLinks for the look and the choice it allows my visitors.

Anyway, zmcnulty, these are my opinions... since you asked.

Keep up the Great PSP-Vault website...

[zmcnulty]

Thanks for the reply, Mark.

I think a lot of people involved with AdSense (particularly ones on boards like this) come from the opposite end of the spectrum -- they learn about AdSense, then choose to make a site to try and make money. I did the opposite; I made a site, then learned about AdSense (more specifically, I learned how to make it work successfully, thanks in part to Joel's ebook).

That being said, I have no arguments with people at the other end trying to make a buck or two from sites that are revenue-driven. In the end, we're all here on this board for the same thing: to learn how to make more money from our websites, regardless of their organizational goals or our own standards for what we consider "over the line."

I've added an AdLinks unit at the very bottom of my sidebar. I gave it a custom channel, so I'll give it a few days to settle in, then I'll report back to this thread with the monetary results. I'm not allowed to share CTR and other non-monetary stats with others, correct?

Thanks for the suggestion and kind words!

[ensode]

I just would like to comment on making ads not look like ads. I don't think anyone is fooled when we make the ads blend in. The way I see it, the reason to blend the ads with the content is to have visitors look at them. If they are obviously ads most people (I know I do), just ignore them completely, I think this phenomenom is called "banner blindness", or something like that. Once visitors have looked at the ad, they can still ignore it or click on it if they are interested in the product.

In any case, based on a poll on this site, if you are making $600/month with adsense, you are above average. Most people stated they are making from $100 to $500 a month on that poll. So keep doing what you are doing, or not, like Mark said, it is your decision.

[markp-r]

I like the AdLink block.

It will be interesting to see if it does indeed generate extra revenue. As a general rule, AdLinks don't pull as well... but they really do offer a nice service for those folks looking for something that you might not offer.

Thanks so much for agreeing to report back with your results. I love that part the best... it's like a big adventure!

[zmcnulty]

Alright, here are some figures from just the AdLinks block:

Friday, September 16, 2005 $4.93
Saturday, September 17, 2005 $2.81
Sunday, September 18, 2005 $1.71
Monday, September 19, 2005 $2.14
Tuesday, September 20, 2005 $2.14
Wednesday, September 21, 2005 $3.06
Thursday, September 22, 2005 $2.03
Friday, September 23, 2005 $2.34
Saturday, September 24, 2005 $3.97
Sunday, September 25, 2005 $5.81
Monday, September 26, 2005 $5.32
Tuesday, September 27, 2005 $2.97
Wednesday, September 28, 2005 $6.58

Total: $45.81

Now let's compare that to my total revenues for the same period:

Friday, September 16, 2005 $29.62
Saturday, September 17, 2005 $19.29
Sunday, September 18, 2005 $19.17
Monday, September 19, 2005 $27.08
Tuesday, September 20, 2005 $27.60
Wednesday, September 21, 2005 $24.88
Thursday, September 22, 2005 $23.88
Friday, September 23, 2005 $28.16
Saturday, September 24, 2005 $33.51
Sunday, September 25, 2005 $32.16
Monday, September 26, 2005 $37.19
Tuesday, September 27, 2005 $37.88
Wednesday, September 28, 2005 $31.37

Total: $371.77

So, just the AdLinks block accounts for an average of 12% of my revenue.

I'm not allowed to share my CTRs and other statistics with you, but I will say that my AdLinks clickthrough is "a fraction" of the clickthroughs from my other ads. Of course this may have something to do with the positioning, but I'm not really willing to move the block, so oh well.

Thoughts?

[golden14]

Smack on the line! Site looks good, wouldn't change a thing! Only thing I'd suggest is using Adwords to up your membership, tried this for one of my affiliate campaigns re: PSP the day they came out in the UK. Had to turn it off after 3 hours @ 600 clicks per hour via adwords!!!!

[zmcnulty]

Quick update on my situation. Here's for this month so far:

AdLinks revenue:

Saturday, October 1, 2005 $9.16
Sunday, October 2, 2005 $8.16
Monday, October 3, 2005 $5.79
Tuesday, October 4, 2005 $7.56
Wednesday, October 5, 2005 $11.36
Thursday, October 6, 2005 $9.95
Friday, October 7, 2005 $9.51
Saturday, October 8, 2005 $8.92
Sunday, October 9, 2005 $8.42
Monday, October 10, 2005 $15.72
Tuesday, October 11, 2005 $3.39

Total: $97.94

Total revenue:

Saturday, October 1, 2005 $47.85
Sunday, October 2, 2005 $50.46
Monday, October 3, 2005 $37.05
Tuesday, October 4, 2005 $40.27
Wednesday, October 5, 2005 $54.33
Thursday, October 6, 2005 $51.84
Friday, October 7, 2005 $51.01
Saturday, October 8, 2005 $51.00
Sunday, October 9, 2005 $42.71
Monday, October 10, 2005 $63.52
Tuesday, October 11, 2005 $33.36

Total: $523.38

So, AdLinks represents 18.71% of my revenue for this period. Things are certainly looking up for this month...