When Google raised the ad block limit from one per page, to two, and then later to three, many marketers decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and max out the number of ad blocks on their pages.
That was not a good idea and many of these marketers have suffered from it.
It is important for you to remember that when you publish Google AdSense ads on your pages, Google is effectively syndicating their Adwords ads, which is a pay-per-click advertising network.
What that means is the ads at the top of the page are there because the advertisers for those ads are paying more (for the better placement) than the advertisers with ads at the bottom of the page.
What this means to you is if you max out the number of ad blocks on your page, you will go from having 4 ads to having 12 ads. This is assuming that you are using the large rectangle ad block. The math: 4 ads per ad block and 3 blocks equals 12 total ads.
At first glance you might consider this to be a good change, one that should be more profitable for you, right? After all, the more ads you have available the more chances you have of getting a click. Seems to make sense, doesn’t it?
Actually, it is not a good thing for you because it can very easily and very quickly cut into your profits.
Why?
My tests in this matter have shown us that not only do we get fewer clicks the more ads we have on a page, but we also earn much less for every click that we do get.
we decided that this only makes sense.
If the top ad on your page pays you $0.50 per click, there is a very good chance that the bottom 4 all pay less than $0.15. In essence, by increasing the number of ads, you are trading higher-priced (higher paying) clicks for lower-priced (lower paying) clicks.
We tested several pages of my own and decided that 4 ads is usually the golden goose. However, this is not a hard and fast rule that must be observed at all times. Occasionally, a 2 ad block pulls the best combination of earning-per-click (EPC) and click-through-rate (CPC) which is exactly what you want.
My advice is if you're using more than one ad block on your page, test that same page with just a single block and careful keep track of the results. Odds are you will make more money by decreasing the ads.
Tip #8: Sell the Click…Carefully and Creatively
Google policy strictly forbids you from writing out, “Click on the links below”. They do that to protect the advertisers, and to keep things fair for each advertiser. However, if you can “suggest” that your visitors click on the links (without actually saying it in print), your CTR will be greatly increased.
Many people have tried many methods of doing just this thing. Some have tried using arrows and other graphics that point to their ads, in the hopes of pulling visitors in, but, be warned, Google seriously frowns upon this type of behavior.
What they don't mind, however, is if an image appears next to your ad block, and if that image just so happens to catch the eye, well…
More subtle, but still highly effective, is to have an unrelated image sitting next to your ads. For example, if your page is about a particular magazine, you may want to include a photo of the editor of that magazine next to the ads. The photo of this editor will naturally draw the eye toward it. At the same time, Google would
not mind this photo being there because it directly relates to the content of the ad.
Another way to “sell” the ad is to place the article below the ads and below the fold so that the visitor does not see immediately see it. Now this is highly aggressive and may cause trouble for you with Google, so use at your own discretion.
If you want to be less aggressive, make sure you include plenty of resources in the article below the ads. Keep in mind what we discussed earlier that the more content and links the lower your CTR will be. In this case, it is very good advice to test, test, test.
The last tip for this section is so simple and easy to use it is nearly insane. When you write your paragraph or two of content, make sure you end the last sentence of the last paragraph with an ellipse.
Like this …
Generally speaking, when people begin reading something they want to finish it. By leaving them hanging with the ellipse, you are inviting them to click on the link to read the rest of the content. It makes it appear as if the article continues on one of the pages being linked to, and many times they will click on the link just to get to the rest of the content.
Tip #9: Avoid the "Advertise on this site" Program
Sometimes what is good for someone else is not good for you. This is one of those occasions.
Google's newest enhancement to their Adsense program is the “Advertise on this site” program. We hate it, and we suggest you not use it.
Here's how it works:
By allowing "OnSite Advertiser Signup" on your sites, Google automatically
posts a link at the top of all your ads. The premise is that a potential advertiser will visit your site, decide they want to advertise on your site, and click that Google link to signup.
On the surface it sounds like a good idea. But when we tested it, it cost us money to tune of a 9% drop across the board.
We're not sure what caused this but we do have my suspicions:
First, it was another link on my sites. As mentioned above, the more links you have, the less money you make. And in this case, the only way to be paid through this link is if someone actually fills out the form and signs up. That does not happen very often, if ever.
The second reason we feel this “enhancement” cost us money is that the ad itself makes my other ads look less like resources and more like ads. It's bad enough that Google still puts that unsightly and annoying "Ads by Gooooooogle" line across the top of your ad block, but adding another "Advertise on this site" link right next to it really pushes it over the edge. People hate advertising when it is in their face. What do they do? They leave. Fast.
Third, very few advertisers, at least those who are serious, are going to be willing to agree to advertise on your site and your site alone. It is simply not good business to be tied to one site (even if that site belongs to you) and most people will not agree to that. We know we would never agree to participate in something like that, something that restrictive. We can’t blame others for not wanting to do it either.
Most of the people we have talked to have also experienced a decline in earnings when the ad appeared on their sites. If you have it on your pages, you should consider dropping it.
"OnSite Advertiser Signup" is activated by default at Google. Unless you tell them you do NOT want to participate in the program, they will turn it on.
It is easy enough to check and to fix. Log in to your Adsense account and click on the "My Account" link. Scroll down to the bottom and look for the line that says: OnSite Advertiser Sign-Up. Make sure this says "You are not currently subscribed to Onsite Advertiser Sign-Up". If it doesn't say that, click the "Edit" button and unsubscribe.
Now, it may take a few days (perhaps longer) for the code to update across all of your pages, but eventually it will vanish, and hopefully your profits will increase.
Tip #10: Get Indexed in The Search Engines.
The best way to get indexed and crawled by search engine bots is by getting links from other websites that are already indexed in the search engines. Then when the search engine bots will crawl the site that is pointing to your site it will notice the link to your site and after a few days will start crawling your site and pages.
There are a lot of ways to get links from other sites and I will mention a few
1) Link exchange with other websites that are on the same theme as your site (link exchange done wrong can get your site ban by search engines)
2) You can submit your sites to search engine friendly directories.
3) You can write articles and submit them toy article directories
There are a lot of other ways to gain links to your sites, the above are very easy to use and implement. Of course you can outsource the link building tasks if you, as we do!
Links is one of the most important things to get to the top of the search engines, if done correctly.
Last Thoughts:
The key to dramatically increasing your profits through Adsense is in the numbers. The only thing separating you from a $20 a day profit and a $200 a day profit is the numbers. If you do more of what you are already doing, the numbers will take of the rest.
But be intelligent about it, too. Be smarter than the next person. Set up and then use your Procedures. Make that Goal List that we explored earlier and then achieve those goals, one at a time. Outsource when it is the smart thing to do. Never be afraid to ask for help.
This business is about volume. You should ask yourself as often as possible, “How many markets are you going into this month?" Your answer to that question, more than almost anything else, will determine your success.
Once you know how many markets you want to open in a given month, sit down and plan out each step that must be taken in order to make that goal happen.
Use the assembly line method we spoke of earlier. Do your work in batches rather than one site at a time. Find good people who can help you with keyword research, website design and maintenance, and other tasks.
Keep a close eye on your results from each site or page. When you notice something has changed, increase or decrease in profits, get in there and try to track down the problem. Testing is the key to success in this business, and it is not something that you only have to do one time and then forget about it. Testing your sites, testing your content, your keywords, your key phrases, all of that is crucial to you staying on top......
