is PPC Advertising worth it for small websites?

Forsh · 03-10-2007, 11:56 PM

I have been testing google adsense for a few months, and while not a high-traffic site, I do average 300-400 visitors per day but I just can't convert them to clicks! I have made a grand total of $14 for 4 months or so of PPC advertising, so is it even worth perusing at all for a small site?

I'd much rather drop the ads altogether if there's not a gold mine to be had somehow.

charlesgan · 03-11-2007, 01:21 AM

this is far too low. did you improve the ads location and blend it to your site design??

after i read adsense-video.com video tutorial, i start to realise the concept to make the clicks

AnaB · 03-11-2007, 12:57 PM

What kind of site is it? And, have you tested out various ad placements?

I don't use adsense anymore. I never made 10K a month with adsense but I do know the tricks. Personally adsense has not been worth it for me..with $900/month at most...I'd rather go with affiliates and such.

Ana

BingoBalls · 03-11-2007, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forsh

so is it even worth perusing at all for a small site?

Nah keep away from using PPC if your only revenue generator is from Adsense. I'll agree with Ana in preferring to target affiliate programs using PPC.

300-400 daily visitors is actually good and you should be earning a lot more. What I do is break it down using 10%. So for 300 visitors I would expect at least 30 clicks and out of those clicks at least earn $3.

There are a number of things that is hindering your progress and you need to figure out where. Its either the niche you have, the position of your ads or the over all design/content of the site and also smart pricing.

If you don't want to expose your url in public feel free to PM me. I might be able to give you some better tips.

raugusto · 03-11-2007, 01:23 PM

You could be doing a lot more. Can you pm the url or post it here so we can have a look at colors, placemente, content, etc?

Forsh · 03-11-2007, 02:31 PM

Sure, site is in my signature. I have a variety of placements in postings, for example....

http://www.johninjapan.com/info-dire.../iwo-jima.html

This post has over 1600 hits, adsense is placed in a non-obtrusive area at the bottom right before the comments. Maybe the topics just don't relate enough with the adsense results.

AnaB · 03-11-2007, 03:21 PM

That's the thing with adsense...you need to make it obtrusive...which I don't agree with at all. embed your ad in a table next to the article..so the ad becomes a part of the article..you'll get more clicks that way. nobody's going to scroll all the way down there to click the ads

Plus, how many of your 400 visitors read the full article? probably not many so keep that in mind..

Ads always above the fold do much better. Still, I like affiliate programs better myself..

Best,

Ana

Forsh · 03-11-2007, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnaB

That's the thing with adsense...you need to make it obtrusive...which I don't agree with at all. embed your ad in a table next to the article..so the ad becomes a part of the article..you'll get more clicks that way. nobody's going to scroll all the way down there to click the ads

Plus, how many of your 400 visitors read the full article? probably not many so keep that in mind..

Ads always above the fold do much better. Still, I like affiliate programs better myself..

Best,

Ana

Thanks for those tips Ana.

BingoBalls · 03-11-2007, 04:06 PM

Hey that is a really nice site.

Its very bare as in terms of ads which is probably why you are not making that much. For one thing, its a quality site if that content is 100% unique so the last thing you want is to spoil it by going mad with ads.

Ever heard of affiliate program Chitika? If not go check out if your country is supported and join up if it is.

Do you follow Problogger at all? Make sure to read though Darren's blog, he is right in your niche with the Living Room. He gives out some great tips on Adsense and chitika, among other things.

Is the majority of your visitors repeat visitors? If not you could be missing a lot of bounce traffic. These are the people who stumble into your site and jump back out again probably trying to find a specific thing. The majority of them will come in from a Search Engine and do a quick scan looking for that info either on or off your site.

Your regular visitors are not likely to click your ads anyway. Their purpose for being there is catching up on what you have added until moving on to their next favourite site. Even know they don't pay the bills they do bring a lot of value to your site. They make it look busy which gives the site a buzz and in turn attracts popularity.

Look at your traffic stats and find out where people are coming from, what % are repeat but also what pages are the most popular.

More importantly study Problogger.net from the start. I don't think anyone could advise better than Darren as I said, he is in your niche.

*edit*
Sorry I just seen Ana's post...got distracted during my post.