Last week I began a mini series of posts on tactics to increase your AdSense Earnings Overnight. In the first post I looked at the tactic of optimizing the position of your AdSense ads and shared my own journey of discovery in this area and the realization that I could significantly increase my AdSense ad earnings by moving my ad from one position to another.
Today I want to look at another simple way to increase what AdSense (and other ad networks) can earn you. It’s the most simple and obvious thing to do – but it’s amazing how few bloggers actually do it.
Put more Ads on your Page!
It’s not rocket science – but one of the quickest ways to increase your blog’s earnings is to add more advertising to your blog. Of course it’s not just a matter of slapping as many ads as possible on your blog – but more on that later in this post.
Let me continue the story I started yesterday on my own journey to higher AdSense earnings.
Remember, yesterday I told the story of how I moved my ads from one position to another like this:
That move led to an increase in earnings of around 50%. Not bad for 10 minutes work.
A few days after making this change I had calmed down after the initial rush of excitement and decided to take things to the next level. I decided that if one ad unit on a page could earn as much as it did that more ad unit might increase the overall earnings.
Why I’d not considered it earlier I’m not sure (from memory there was a time where you were quite limited in how many AdSense units you could use per page – these days the limit is 3) – but I decided to see what impact it would have.
I moved from the above layout to this one with two additional ad units:
What I discovered is that on a blog the positions above comments (at the end of an article) and below them are good positions because they are places that readers ‘pause’.
A reader reads your post and then pauses while they decide what to do next. Web users are wired to ‘click’ in pauses so it’s a logical spot to put an advertisement that pays on a per click basis.
Adding two extra ad units didn’t triple my earnings (the ads were further down the page and got less attention than the top one) but they did significantly increase my earnings virtually immediately.
Try Link Units
Another way to add an AdSense unit on a page is to use the ‘link unit’. These ad units come in two varieties (although numerous sizes). You can see the full variety of units here but here’s how they look.
Here’s one in a horizontal configuration:
Here’s one in a vertical configuration:
Link Units tend to perform best when they are placed in and around navigational areas as they can quite look like ‘menus’. Here’s a couple of logical spots to put them (highlighted in green). You can currently put up to 3 link units on a page.
Link Units convert well on some blogs but not others. Some publishers swear by them others don’t like them at all – it’s worth testing to see if yours is one that they work on.
Mix and Match Ad Networks
The other way to add more ad units on a page is to look at other ad networks than AdSense. AdSense allows you to place other ad networks ads on the same page as theirs as long as the other ads don’t ‘mimic’ the AdSense units. This means you can’t use YPN on the same page but you can use Chitika (I use them very successfully with AdSense), ShoppingAds, WidgetBucks, Shopzilla and others.
A Word of Warning
Keep in mind that more ads might mean more earnings – BUT there comes a point where more ads makes your site look cheap and nasty and can begin to put off readers. It also can get to a point where the ads get in the way of your content. Some bloggers stuff so many ads on their blogs that the content ends up being below the fold on a page – something that might increase earnings per visitor but that doesn’t really encourage those visitors to keep coming back for more.
Different blogs will have a different threshold for how many ads are too many. It’s something to listen to your readers on and to keep a careful eye on.
The other problem with too many ads on a page is that the more ads you have per page the less likely your readers are of clicking any single one of them. More outbound links means the click through rate on any one of them will be lower. While you might increase the overall number of clicks on ads (which in a CPC program like Adsense can be good) if you also run private ad sales on your blog (ie you sell ads directly to advertisers) you’ll be providing those advertisers with less value.
The same thing goes with affiliate programs. If you’re running them on your blog the more ads you have the less CTR you’ll have on the affiliate links.
So do experiment with more ads on your blog as it will generally increase earnings – but keep in mind that sometimes less is more and it can be worth resisting the temptation to have too many!
I’d like to put more adsense ads on my page, but just like you mentioned in your pose. I don’t want my site to look all cheapish.
Gonna give it a try though, and might even ask for my readers feedback, whether they are bothered with all the ads on the blog.
Well, i don’t like when i come on sites that include many google AdSense advertisements. Your ads should be very nicely organized and must fit nicely on your website.
Of course that more quality ads (on quality positions) on your site may receive more click-through rate and by that way more earnings for you. And yes, Link Units are great for this!
Darren, Im still confused.. So do I have more ad units or just one ?
Darren,
This blog series has been very helpful for me. I am seeing an increase in clicks on ads. Thank you very much for your advise.
It is good to see results. Keep up the good work!
PS: I would like to see you post about what the best color scheme for ads on a site is. That must play some sort of roll in marketing.
I agree that stuffing extra ads on a site is a big turnoff, I generally just leave a site if it has an overabundance of ads. I do like the idea of text ads though, I had not thought of that before! Thanks!
In addition, when evaluating blog networks, for Dog’s sake, take in account their reliability, latency in serving content and ad type.
A site with a couple of slow-loading Flash-animated ads that cause my computer to whirr itself into a frenzy will not get a second look, while a site that has more ads, but well-positioned ones that don’t impact the user experience will get a whole lot more love.
Be considerate to your users, it’s pretty simple!
thanks for the tips Darren ..I know that when I tried more ads the number of subscribers decreased … thats why I have reduced the number
Good diagrams explaining the concepts.
However, I have to disagree about placing multiple AdSense ads, because it has been proved through testing that more ad units mean less revenue per click (in addition to being more ugly because of 3 units viz-a-viz 1 ad unit).
While if you are an adsense user, much of this information is old news and you’ve probably already figured out ‘hot spots’ ‘unit sizes’ and ‘color magic’ on your sites ads.
Hopefully reading this/these posts takes you to the next step of adsense realization, keep your ad’s fresh. Just like the old banner ad placement, users become ‘aware’ of the ad’s and just look over them. Mix it up! Change them from text to image, drop in a video or two. You’ll start to see this create an increase in ad revenue because they’re clicking on those ‘new’ items.
Just as pointed out in this blog post: “this change I had calmed down after the initial rush of excitement”
So keep them excited!
http://twitter.com/SIGEPJEDI
Google tells us that it serves up the best paying ads, based on CPC and Click Through Rates – Ad Score. This means that the more Adsense blocks you have on a page, the more likely it is that a visitor will click on a lower paying ad.
You can try to improve this by taking care with your code structure, thus putting the better ads in top positions. The “order” of ads on blocks may be determined by ad score so your lower ads might have worse payoff or less attractive, click-me copy.
So, I have a suspicion that, as with everything else, quality wins over quantity in ads. A well placed, optimised AS block is worth more that 3 badly placed ones.
I kinda get it now..Is there any difference on placing the ads on top center directly above a post against top left beside the content.?
What you say there is right, these tips will definitely increase the blog’s earnings, but I have a feeling that it will look to crowded.
Another tactic I like regarding more ads is to ensure they’re graphically targeted to the content in question. I accomplish this by often tacking on a
PS – speaking about (whatever the topic is)
and then adding an eBay affiliate RSS display for said topic (coffee cups, iphones, unset diamonds, etc).
Ideas,
Barbara
thanks for the tips Darren ..I know that when I tried more ads the number of subscribers decreased … thats why I have reduced the number.
Would this apply to non-google ad schemes?
Alos, I use an ad blocker. I don’t see any google ads anywhere, and a whole load of other ones are invisible as well.
I’d like to see monetization recomendations for tech blogs, since readers there are less likely to click on GA anyway (or have them blocked like I do).
Earnings per click are more if the blog/post is focused on a niche topic.
Also, since my blog isn’t about blogging, i try to avoid words like blog/blogging as these are some of the least paying keywords.
I’ve played with adding more ads and had my CPM and overall income drop. I found that limiting my ads to a few key positions has kept my CPM higher.
@Andrea I’ve found that affiliate advertising works well on tech blogs. There are a lot of affiliate programs out there for web hosting, software, cube toys, etc. You can put up 125×125 images or banner ads, and then you would get a percentage of the sale for people coming from your site. These ads aren’t generally blocked because they don’t use javascript, and you have a total control over the ads so you can choose services that are useful to your readers.
I also link to affiliate programs in posts, but only when it is appropriate and adds actual value to the post.
So far, my affiliate earnings have been more than 10 times as much as adsense.
Some great advice. It’s a fine line between having an ad optimized website and having too many ads on your site, and I think we just have to play around with it a little bit and see what works best. But it’s usually very easy to tell if a site looks “cheap” because it has way too many ads. If your content is below the fold, that is obviously very bad.
Very helpful, some things I knew some I didn’t. I find myself wishing I had a left sidebar on my three WordPress blogs but I don’t.
I would move last ad block [under comments] to left side bar. And test it to see what give better results.
While I agree with some of the comments that there is a point that too many ads can be distracting, but I think the real point planning the design better.
Many blogs have so many chiclets and and do dads that even with out ads they are distracting and look awful (mine may count in this as well).
On the other hand, I have seen blogs that use the full limit of AdSense ads on each page and still look great. Personally, I would like to find somewhere in between, closer to Darren’s example.
Good points, Darren. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of the link unit ads. My question is… do they convert that well? I thought they were cheap looking and are turnoffs to people who are reading the blog they are on. I am currently using rotatee to rotate ads in with Adsense, and think it looks quite good on my blog.
Darren, what are your thoughts on sidebar ads such as the skyscrapers? Some swear that their earnings increased after removing these ads, but I have found that by limiting click opportunities above the fold, these vertical ads in the sidebar look like traditional navigation and encourages clicks. What say you?
Just look at John Chow’s ad space…it’s cluttered especially at the top right side,yet has an appeal at the same time. It truly is a fine line. As for my site,i have ads that work like reference/resource links so its generally NOT percieved as ads. I only run Google ads within and after individual posts.
Give ContextGain a try…. It’s a brand new product by Doclix that lets you create in-text links that open up a sidebar with your AdSense ads alongside related content. Essentially every click (or a mouseover) on a link creates a new AdSense ad impression. CTR is pretty high…
BTW, I work for Doclix but regardless, our beta publishers tell us that they see a significant increase in their AdSense earnings plus it actually adds value to the site and improves user experience…
FYI, Your referring ShoppingAds link is not working. Just thought you’d like to know. :)
Good stuff as always. I have found that the average visitor will never click more than 2 ads per visit. When I added affiliate ads to my already existent Google ads, my overall income dropped. While I still run over ads in addition to Google, I make sure Google ads are in the most prominent places. I would be interested in how to get visitors to purchase products from affiliate ads. While the payout for leads and sales from Commission Junction, Clickbank, i.e. are enticing enough to take a chance on using precious page space, the reality is very few ever buy these products/services. Is there an archived article in which you already covered this? Thanks again for your wisdom and inspiration!
I had never thought of putting adsense below comments…It makes sense though…I am going to give that a try. Thanks for the tips…Loving this series.
Hi, i really like your site layout. I will continue reading here, so i subscribed! Maybe you could check out my site, and even subscribe if you like. Thanks, Zach.
I’m going to try some new ads. Adsense does not do very well on my blog.
Live From Las Vegas
The Masked Millionaire
Darren, have you any thoughts on the irony of the Google-favoured/paid for Firefox allowing something like Adblock to even exist? Or at least them having a quiet word so that the Mozilla boys insist it turns a blind eye to Google Ads. ;)
Google basically pays the bills at Mozilla. Okay, so Google is like the ultra-cool, relaxed modern-day epitome of a firm, but this arrangement is madness. Firefox has a climbing share and it was only a couple of months back I realised that a week of frustration getting Adsense to ‘work’ on Firefox was simply down to my wife having recently installed Adblock! ;D
Give it a year or two when Firefox gets up to 40 per cent or so, and that’s millions and millions of lost revenue for Google – and Adsense users – simply because the visitors will be unable to see the adverts. I tell you – somebody’s head is going to roll over this.
These are some of those classic AdSense tips we all need to see more often. It’s always good to review the basics, especially when it’s so easy to get caught up with writing, promoting, and the like.
-Jason
Darren, I got the best monetization tip yet from your new book – doing a search for my niche + affiliate programs. I’m a crime analyst and have a new crime blog sharing crooks’ tricks and what you can do about it. I never dreamed there would be so many affiliate programs for personal safety and private investigations products. I got so many leads from your suggestion that I’m still scowering over the options. Thanks for the great tip. I’m excited about the earnings potential!
That’s funny. Couple days ago I moved my only Ad to another position and I’m already getting more clicks. Even though the numers are still minimal, it will eventually grow. Just have to hang tight!
I was always under the impression that less is more when it comes to ads and blogging. What I do like is the idea of testing the ads in different places on the page. Thanks for another great reminder!
How it’s done….
Humans naturaly look to the header area for navigation – link units or well placed 468 or 728 units work well there.
Humans naturaly look to the sidebar for more navigation options – tall ads work well there.
Humans naturaly look at the center of the page for content, don’t disturb them… let them have the center of the page. Your goal is to provide them with a path to get to more of your great content OR an exit route that pays you.
By letting visitors have their content you lower your bounce rate over time (a good thing, trust me) and if you ads are mixed in with navigation well enough the site doesn’t feel cheezy…. just don’t expect your site to convert well if your articles are geared to other webmasters… because webmasters don’t click! People who know little about websites DO.
Saravanan – Personally I’d always go with more than one per page. The only exceptions to this is if you had lots of other ad networks on your blog already OR if you only ever wrote very very short posts (which would mean you end up with more than one AdSense ad above the fold). Otherwise I think having one above the fold and one below isn’t too much.
Sumesh – yes more ads will decrease CTR and also the lower ads on the page will earn less. However my own personal use of AdSense has seen significant increases in overall earnings by having more than one unit per page.
On Stage Lighting – you’re right. The ads with their code higher in your source code do pay more so you want them to be in the ‘hottest’ spot on your page.
Vinayak – yes, the better targeted your ads are to your content the better they’ll perform.
Joe – link units do perform well for some. I’ve seen some bloggers who have found them to earn more than any other unit. This isn’t my own experience but I have found them to do better than normal ad units in places like the top of sidebars.
Frugal Dad – I don’t tend to go for skyscrapers. The only time they can work in my experience is when you have advertisers targeting your blog with lots of image ads. They don’t tend to get clicks but on a CPM basis they can do ok.
Caleb – John’s blog is one of the few that I think can get away with stuffing lots of ads on a page. I guess a blog on that topic can get away with more. However I do wonder about the value that the ads give advertisers. I personally wouldn’t advertise on a blog where there are so many competing ads.
Rick – sometimes less is definitely more. Depends on the site – I personally recommend testing different numbers of ads, positions, design etc.
I hardly ever see Adsense on some of the bigger blogs these days, but when I do, they are always very well hidden or blended. Never too obvious.
I’ve also been hearing rumors that adsense seem to be performing less and less. I’m seeing an increase, simple because my traffic is growing.
I think adsense will always be a great tool, as long as it’s used correctly, and blended well. Web users are getting much savvier these days!
Thank you so much Darren for your reply.. That clears a lot of thoughts for me. Long-live Problogger.
Thanks Darren for the tips. Great job
10 minute for 50% wow, awsome.
Well placing adds in the correct place is the most important and typical job that blogger has and it will be definitely gives better money.
Putting the ads around navigation places and where user used to take a pause is a good idea and thank you darren.
I think too much ads will only make the blog look messy.
After all, it’s the 25% of your ads that will generate the majority of the advertising income.
It’s very important for every blogger to put his visitors interest and his own interest into two different equal layers if they are looking for building an ongoing credibility with their visitors.
This should be considered while placing ads. Visitors shouldn’t feel that they are here just here for making clicks. This is a critical point I think.
Thanks Darren for sharing your experience about that.
Darren, great content both in the commentary and post. I am satisified with the number of Google ads on my site not , that I’m reaping in the dollars though. Fact is, AdSense is not doing well at my site but then again mine is not one for ads as such. I may be wrong…
I see you’re a Melbournite like myself Darren, do you know of any local individual or establishment that can advise (and more) in relation to matters blogging and advertising within?
I suspect many bloggers don’t simply do it for the dollars, I certainly do not. But its also true that many a blogger spend a significant amount of time on their respective sites each week. No harm in seeking some financial reward for the effort….Keep up the GREAT WORK here…
Thanks for this quick lesson!! I just placed some more ads on my site the other night and wondered just how many and where I should place them.
On my site I just implemented the link ads at the top of my website because the other day I accidentally clicked on an adsense ad on someone else’s site thinking it was their main navigation bar.
Darren, I’ve been burning to ask this question for months now. Why don’t you have any adsense ads on this site?
Regarding Mix and Match Ad Networks: I highly recommend that you take a look at http://www.rubiconproject.com. We are using it on intothehill.com and it is working nicely.
Definitely the kind of articles I was looking for as I am about to start putting ads on my blog.
Thanks again Darren for a great article.