Blogger Hits

Invite friends to draw a heat map of your site

Invite some friends over coffee and ask them to explore your blog like the navigation bars, categories, search, etc. Sit when them to understand what areas on the site grabs their attention and what remain neglected. Also automatically record their mouse movements in background using a free software called Mouse Map.

Once you collect data from 5-10 people, you will get a better understanding of how visitors interact with your site - the areas that receive maximum focus might be a good place for advertising. [Original Idea by Darren Rowse]

Important: To ensure that your friends do not accidentally click on the Google Ads, replace your ads with static graphics or change the value of google_ad_client.

When Content is Variable, Force CPM Ads

The content of your homepage, archives and category pages will vary almost every day and therefore Google may serve ads which are out of context.

Since non-targeted ads have a poor conversion rate, use only “Image Ads” on these page that can are generally CPM in nature and are in available in Image, Flash and Video formats. You may not be making revenue from clicks but the impressions will slowly add up. [Original Idea by Jennifer Slegg]

Remove Adsense from Poorly Performing Pages

Use channels to track the effective earnings from Adsense on your webpage and remove the Adsense code from pages that aren’t performing well.

Similarly, if you own ten different websites, remove Adsense code from sites that aren’t bringing in any revenue. Google uses a concept called Smart Pricing that applies to all sites owned by an Adsense Publisher.

Niche Sites
Targeted niche sites that have a clear theme, tend to generate more advertising revenue simply because it is easier for these sites to achieve decent search engine placement. Be warned though, you want to choose a niche where there is a sufficient number of advertisements available.

Target Keywords
When determining the site's focus, consider how much advertisers pay for the advertisements. If the site is focused on ringtones, like Ringtone Central http://www.ringtones-central.com the payout per-click is going to be very small because ringtones are not high ticket items and advertisers will not spend a lot on pay-per-click advertisements. With less obvious markets use Overture to determine how much advertisers pay-per-keyword. It is usually similar on Google. Search Overture for a keyword then click "View Advertisers' Max Bids" in the top right corner. This will show the Overture inventory and how much is paid per keyword. Because the market has become very competitive, it is difficult to rank well in search engines with a new website that is optimized for the terms that have the highest payout. Consider targeting terms that are moderately priced.

Aged Sites / Time
Over time as a website is spidered by Google, advertisements will generally increase in relevance. In general, older websites will rank better in search engines. The closer the advertisements relate to the webpage's content; the higher the "click-through" the publishers will see.


Optimize each page for adsense

Research competitive keywords using a keyword research tool such as Overture's keyword suggestion tool at http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/ or grab a list of the most popular keywords from various sources and use them in your web site pages where relevant. There is a great article at - http://searchenginewatch.com/facts/article.php/2156041 - which is a great way to find frequently searched keywords. By using these popular keywords, you're opening the door for Google to place higher paying ads on your website. The more popular the keyword or phrase, the higher AdWords advertisers are generally willing to pay per click. This results in much higher rates of commission for you on each of those clicks.

Use Google's Custom Channels for each of the ad units on your site

Google has provided web site publishers with some great tools to help you analyze and tweak your adsense ads. Give each unit a unique name and then analyze the results and keep tweaking them until you get the desired results from them. If they are not working were they are placed, move them. Try changing the colors and integrating them differently into the text and keep detailed notes on the changes you are making and see which one's make the biggest change to your CTR (Click Through Rate).

Blend you Adsense ads into your web pages

This next tip is one of the simplest changes I made but had a huge effect on my earnings. Make links the same color as your existing text links. Don't try and make the ads stand out on the page by using bright colors as all this achieves is making a big warning sign that these are ads and the majority of people will then not click on the links. By making the links the same color as your links, it looks like they are an extension of your page. If you use the tip above and optimize each page for specific keywords then the ads served on the page will be related to the information on the page and you'll see your CTR shoot up.


And finally, a tip that I advise for all aspects of website marketing, not just for adsense purposes is, learn from the masters. There are plenty of people making thousands of dollars in adsence earnings every month and have gone through all the trial and error iterations that need to be done to find the most successful way to maximize your adsense earnings. My advice, invest in their courses. They pay for themselves in a very short period of time.