Got Web Ideas? Fishing for the Answers?
Think Outside The Code First!
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Facts, Thoughts, and Opinions About Web Development and Business Strategy
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It is hard for many, not all, to fully maximize their advertising revenue with Google Ads. Google Ads are a great starting point for
anyone, turn out to be a well-oiled machine for a few, but most will want larger advertising revenue that Google Ads just
cannot provide to Website owners in niche markets for a variety of reasons.
Many Website owners utilizing Google Ads will get to a point one day where traffic numbers are large enough to sustain private
advertising packages that Google Ads cannot compete with. Private advertisers provide steadier income, involve less time playing
around with ads, and offer a more personalized advertising experience for all. You just have to find the advertisers :)
Niche Markets = Narrow Audiences
In recent months, a slew of people online have come clean about the true way to be successful with Google Ads - don't make them look like ads.
Hence, more people will click on your ads if they think they are part of your Website. I do not totally agree with this but
at the same time it is also true. Many people click on the ads not realizing they are ads. As a result, many people will be one-time
clickers and vow to never click again.
You will need a fresh influx of new users to keep those clicks coming. If you are running a Website in a small niche market
then you may find that your content and audience is too narrow for that to happen. Your intention is going to be to build
a following in that niche. That means a lot of return users. You may have a hard time getting thousands of new users at
your Website on a regular basis in addition to getting good ads to display that strongly match your content.
As an example, I started a Website a couple years ago name Empire Hunting.
It is an online community for New York hunters. Obviously, I am an outdoorsman. Traffic has really started to blossom in the last
year. I have used Google ads over that time. As the site began to grow, the click rate was awesome as new people were finding it
via search engines and other links.
As the Website grew and the number of return visitors increased, the click rate began to
drop not to mention they are not worth much anyway. I believe new users clicked on ads when they initially went to the Website not knowing they were ads.
Once they knew, they simply did not click again in addition to the fact that there are very few ads that pertain to hunting in New York. Adding on to that,
people are there to see what other people say and post. They are not necessarily in a free-roaming mindset nor does my Website cater to people in such a mindset.
It is not like my Website is one stop along the way of an Internet user looking for a new pair of shoes. They are there to focus on one topic
that is dear to them.
I also notice that when I change ads or move ads then I will get more clicks for a couple of days. It also seems that when my new
pages get ranked in the search engines or my existing rankings improve then my clicks will also go up for a couple of days. Then
they drop right back off. I can easily tell this by my Website statistics. Once again, when I see an increase of search engines
traffic I will see a spike in clicks for a couple of days.
That is not supposed to happen. As traffic increases then clicks should as well. I believe that in many cases it does. Ads with poor
relevance and a Website with a narrow focus is just
not conducive to clicks. I often wonder if the clicks I see are representative of new users at the Website. It has gotten
to a point where more people in New York know about it than don't. I am on to plan B - finding my own advertisers.
Effectiveness of Ad Placement Seems to Vary
Many people claim that smearing your ads in the middle of your content is the most effective way to get people to click.
I have not found this to be the case not to mention I hate doing that. I hate having ads in the middle of the text on pages and
I hate making people scroll to read things as attempt to have ads at the tops of the pages so people will click.
This seems to work well on blogs but I have had little success doing it on pages with real content such as this one.
Getting back to Empire Hunting, I have actually found that the ads at the bottom of my pages are the best producers.
I know other people who do not do very well with ads at the bottom of their pages. I have. It varies and a Website owner
really has to play around to see what works on their Website. It may not be the same as another's.
I have tried about everything there is to try and I believe my ads are placed in areas where they will be as effective as they can be
without annoying my users or me.
You want clicks or do you want users? What are the trade-offs? Lets make a deal.
I always point out to people that Google Ads are most effective when used on Websites that have a "lets make a deal" mentality but lack
any sort of mechanism to actually make a deal (i.e. a shopping cart). Think about that. Does that make any sense to you? How can people make
a deal without a dealmaker? Enter the most effective Website for getting clicks - the "Made for Google Ads" Website. A Website
with no profound purpose other than to get people to click on ads and often leave the user very few options other than to click on an ad.
If you have spent much time browsing the Internet in recent times you will see many "Made for Adsense" Websites. These are basically Websites
that meet the bare minimum (if that) to comply with Google's Adsense policy. They have no real content. They simply pick a topic,
write a line or two about that topic, and present the user with a list of Google Ads for them to click on since there isn't anything
on that page that is truly beneficial to the user. People have made a fortune doing this and Google has taken some heat for allowing
it to progress but they are responsible for so many clicks that Google has refused to shut them down.
You see, these Websites are more like "Made for Leaving" Websites and are able to capitalize on a mindset of "what's next" that they force
down a user's throat. Chances are your Website is not going to be of this nature. You want people to actually read it and use it.
The purpose of your Website is to have people there and not somewhere else. Is a user
leaving your Website to go to someone else's really beneficial to you when you have no existing personalized relationship between
yourself and the landing spot?
"Hey, thanks for the click buddy. Here is ten cents. Buy yourself something nice."
That is roughly the demeanor of your relationship with the landing spot.
The point that I am trying to make is this - if you want to make a fortune on Google Ads then you have to build a Website that is
primarily for the purpose of people clicking on Google Ads before anything else. Unlike conventional advertising, you are not
getting paid for keeping those ads in the mind of the user. You only get paid when someone actually clicks on them. Your content
may be the best out there in your niche but will suffer some for your desire to get people to click on those damn ads.
A Website where Adsense Makes Sense - SportsCardFun.com
One of my clients who I have worked with for over ten years owns one of the best Websites for Google Ads. Once again we go back
to the "lets make a deal" mentality. Only, Darcy's Website is different because it has dealmaker tools. The fact people can
use SportsCardFun.com to make sports card trades also puts them in the
mindset of making deals and makes them highly attractive to Google Ads.
The ads are another option in addition to the stable options at the Website for maximizing your sports card collection.
It also maximizes the potential of return visitors clicking on Darcy's ads. They are always looking to make a deal when they
go there.
Darcy is doing very well with Google ads but don't get me wrong. He is not sitting on a boat in the middle of the Caribbean making deals
for Derek Jeter or anything. He makes enough to cover his Website expenses with a cherry or two left over. He has not quit his
day job if that is what you are wondering.
How well is well?
You will often see many people say things similar to what I just said, "I have been using Google Ads for 3 months now and I am doing
very well." Well, how well is well? If you are 35 years old and still live with your parents then $10.00 per day may be a lot to you.
Try paying actual bills with that.
You want to be careful when you read this type of stuff because they rarely tell you exactly what they are making. More importantly,
is it consistently coming in like that? How much time have they given it? If the Google Ad campaign is new on a Website with a few
hundred visitors per day then the level of clicks may be very strong in the beginning and then taper off as return users grow. Their idea
of success and your idea of success may be many dollars apart.
Come on Rob, Advertising is advertising
There are probably going to be a few people at this point who would be quick to point out that you could say the same thing about
any kind of Website advertising. Not so in my opinion. Website owners usually only have a handful of advertisers. Not a random
pool with mixed strength relevance. Only showcasing a few advertisers makes your advertising packages effective just by the
remembrance factor. People do not have to keep clicking on it to know what it is. Your advertisers are staying in the minds
of users because users are always seeing their ads. Ask one of your users to name all the Google Ads they saw on your Website today.
You'll be lucky if they can name one.
In addition, you really need your Google Ads in your Website navigation and smack-dab in the middle of your content to get people
to click. Remember, it works best if you can trick people in to clicking. That also make them annoying and distort the way
you want your Website to look. I personally hate putting ads in the middle of my content or right at the top of the body
of the page forcing a user to scroll down to see my stuff. It makes me feel sleazy and I often think, "If that were me I would
probably leave this Website."
Seasonal Websites
This is another niche area to be careful in.
You may have a Website that pertains to a seasonal activity. You are likely going to find that clicks are high
during those seasons and then they taper off when out of season. If you go with your own advertisers then you will not experience this
fluctuation in advertising income.
Remember Darcy from above? He would be the first one to tell you that clicks are better during baseball season. I have also found the
same thing at Empire Hunting. There is more clicking going on during hunting season because people are more active in the community
than in the off-season. I would also tell you the same thing at Empire Hunting. Clicks have been highest the last two years during
hunting season.
Many Move to Private Advertising Eventually
You will often notice that many articles you read about effective Google Adsense techniques are often on Websites that no longer feature Google Ads.
Instead, they have found their own advertisers. That is usually a pretty good indication that these people have found private advertising packages
to be more profitable and reliable than Google Ads. Many of these people are pros when it comes to Adsense and have helped a lot of people get their
Adsense campaigns up and going. But in the long run there are just too many drawbacks such as:
- No telling. You cannot prompt users to click on the Ads and tell people that they ads support the Website.
- Lack of Ads. Many industries do not have a rich enough pool of ads. Low competition = low $$$ per click. If your Website gets 100 clicks per day
but those ads are only worth $0.10 on average then is that going to be your idea of a successful marketing campaign? At first you may say,
"that is $300.00 per month." Then you realize that you cannot live off $300.00 per month and it will not be $300.00 per month anyway.
If those ads were worth $1.00 per click then you may have something depending on your idea of success. Some industries are highly competitive and
clicks do come in at $1.00 or even double per click but usually only on some ads. Not all of them.
- Niche Markets May Be Too Small. As the market narrows the range of ads may become much broader making it hard to display ads
that are specific to your content. If your Website deals with horse back riding in Montana that it is going to be highly beneficial
that all your Google ads also deal with horse back riding in Montana. Ads such as, "Dan's Horse Farm in Nebraska", may be
relative and somewhat interesting but loosely. If it said, "Dan's Horse Farm in Montana" then people would be more likely to click.
They may know Dan. They may say, "Who is Dan?", or they may be looking to buy a horse near their home in Montana to ride on your farm.
- Fluctuation. As we just said, Adsense can be an unsteady revenue stream. Websites generally see their highest activity Monday - Wednesday
of any given week. Then it tapers off.
- Lack of Relationship. Google Ads are truly disconnected from establishing any sort of profound relationship between
your Website users and your advertisers. Advertisers on your Website gain benefit from simply being displayed on your Website, you promoting them
whenever you can, and remaining in the mindset of your users. Plus you know who they are. Advertisers get sales from people who use your Website
because they always see their
ads and they know that their ads help keep one of their favorite Websites up and going.
- No Control Over Ads. You get what you get and many of the ads are only kind-of-sort-of relative in some industries. Google offers a filter where
a user can stop certain ads from displaying but you may spend a lot of time doing that. You may also find that you are pitting yourself against
ads that cost a lot per click vs. removing ads that have little chance of being clicked. Ringtone ads are the most annoying that I have found.
If you build a Website about building toasters then I guarantee you that someone has a toaster ringtone. It is like trying to swat mosquitoes in
a swamp.
- Risky Business. While it does not look like Google Ads are going away any time soon, they could. The business model may change,
the number of ads you display may change, the value may change, etc... No one though eBay would change their price structure with all the
money they were making only to see eBay abruptly skyrocket listing rates for their auctions putting a huge dent in many retailers budget.
You are totally at their mercy and your ad revenue could be gone in a flash.
- Highly Targeted Traffic is Worth More. Advertisers who can put their name in front of users who are highly potential customers will pay a
good buck for that advertising.
But, all that being said, many just care about the money. At least at first. It is only after a few months that these drawbacks
become more prevalant as Google Ads do provide an easy way to generate at-least some kind of ad revenue while a site is new.
Some people are going to do very well with Google Ads in their niche market over the long haul. Most will find some benefit from Google Ads for
a short time before exploring private advertising packages. They are a great starter but as a Website grows and gains more credibility then
Google Ads may leave the serious player a little out in the cold when it comes to personalization and maximizing on ad revenue. It all
depends on your market and your goals. And, of course, on how many people click, how many return users click, how much those clicks
are worth, and whether you can get people interested in the ads themselves or if you have to dupe them in to clicking and your own personal
feelings about that. It is really a lot of instability, which is why I feel most people move away from them eventually.
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• AdSense Ads Disappear/Re-appear
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Wednesday, July 23, 2008
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• A Campaign of Google AdSense Posts
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