Please help with horrible click-thru

yaotfeng · 12-08-2011, 05:33 PM

Hi guys, I am mostly a lurker on this forum.

Me and my friend started a comic blog for a very popular cartoon, we basically write comics for it.

We are thinking of ways to monetize the website through adsense and CPM advertisers.

We do updates every few days and post a comic strip, the ads are placed at the top and bottom of the posts.

So far the clickthrough rate is absolutely abyssmal. Could it possibly be our website is too new? We started around the beginning of December.

Here are the stats so far.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

yukon · 12-08-2011, 05:40 PM

It helped more to see the layout of the page that includes Adsense.

CTR is based on traffic & If that traffic can easily see an Ad that they are interested in, has nothing to do with how new the site is.

The longer you test different things (layout, colors, etc...) the more data you have to make better decisions that will help you earn more with Adsense.

The key is to keep track of what you've tested in the past.

yaotfeng · 12-08-2011, 09:41 PM

thanks for the reply yukon,

the website layout is pretty simple, i am actually just using the default twenty-eleven theme.

and like i said, the ads are posted on top and bottom of each post. So they are already placed at the prime spots as far as I know.

I suspect the ads might not be as relevant as I want it to be, I mean I am seeing puppy and credit card ads, even though the website has nothing to do with it.

BigNorm · 12-08-2011, 11:06 PM

The problem you have is that your visitors aren't visiting your blog looking for help or with the desire to buy something. Their coming to your site to read your comic strip, there's no need for them to click on an Adsense ad.

My recommendation is try to use CPA ads aimed at similar interests which your readers may have. CPA's targeted at gaming would probably be a good avenue to explore. See if you can join a network which has offers for the latest games about to be released maybe even gaming consoles. You could always try setting up a pop script which asks a simple question aimed at what interests your readers have. Something along the lines of:

Which is your favourite gaming hardware.
1. Nintendo
2. Playstation
3. Computer - Online games.
4. I Don't play games

Ensure to add the fourth option so you get an idea of how many people actually play games and who don't. You can use this method over the course of a month or so to get a general idea of what interests your readers have and then you can better target your audience and even change it around to ask different questions. I would also look at selling ad space on your site as well with the amount of visitors you guys are getting judging from that image.

BigNorm · 12-08-2011, 11:06 PM

The problem you have is that your visitors aren't visiting your blog looking for help or with the desire to buy something. Their coming to your site to read your comic strip, there's no need for them to click on an Adsense ad.

My recommendation is try to use CPA ads aimed at similar interests which your readers may have. CPA's targeted at gaming would probably be a good avenue to explore. See if you can join a network which has offers for the latest games about to be released maybe even gaming consoles. You could always try setting up a pop script which asks a simple question aimed at what interests your readers have. Something along the lines of:

Which is your favourite gaming hardware.
1. Nintendo
2. Playstation
3. Computer - Online games.
4. I Don't play games

Ensure to add the fourth option so you get an idea of how many people actually play games and who don't. You can use this method over the course of a month or so to get a general idea of what interests your readers have and then you can better target your audience and even change it around to ask different questions. I would also look at selling ad space on your site as well with the amount of visitors you guys are getting judging from that image.

12-08-2011, 05:33 PM	#1
yaotfeng Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 63 Thanks: 2 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	Please help with horrible click-thru Hi guys, I am mostly a lurker on this forum. Me and my friend started a comic blog for a very popular cartoon, we basically write comics for it. We are thinking of ways to monetize the website through adsense and CPM advertisers. We do updates every few days and post a comic strip, the ads are placed at the top and bottom of the posts. So far the clickthrough rate is absolutely abyssmal. Could it possibly be our website is too new? We started around the beginning of December. Here are the stats so far. Uploaded with ImageShack.us

12-08-2011, 05:40 PM	#2
yukon SEO Strategist War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 6,534 Thanks: 355 Thanked 1,993 Times in 1,274 Posts	Re: Please help with horrible click-thru It helped more to see the layout of the page that includes Adsense. CTR is based on traffic & If that traffic can easily see an Ad that they are interested in, has nothing to do with how new the site is. The longer you test different things (layout, colors, etc...) the more data you have to make better decisions that will help you earn more with Adsense. The key is to keep track of what you've tested in the past.

12-08-2011, 09:41 PM	#3
yaotfeng Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 63 Thanks: 2 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	Re: Please help with horrible click-thru thanks for the reply yukon, the website layout is pretty simple, i am actually just using the default twenty-eleven theme. and like i said, the ads are posted on top and bottom of each post. So they are already placed at the prime spots as far as I know. I suspect the ads might not be as relevant as I want it to be, I mean I am seeing puppy and credit card ads, even though the website has nothing to do with it.

12-08-2011, 11:06 PM	#4
BigNorm I'm Awesome! War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: New Zealand Posts: 298 Thanks: 12 Thanked 46 Times in 39 Posts Social Networking	Re: Please help with horrible click-thru The problem you have is that your visitors aren't visiting your blog looking for help or with the desire to buy something. Their coming to your site to read your comic strip, there's no need for them to click on an Adsense ad. My recommendation is try to use CPA ads aimed at similar interests which your readers may have. CPA's targeted at gaming would probably be a good avenue to explore. See if you can join a network which has offers for the latest games about to be released maybe even gaming consoles. You could always try setting up a pop script which asks a simple question aimed at what interests your readers have. Something along the lines of: Which is your favourite gaming hardware. 1. Nintendo 2. Playstation 3. Computer - Online games. 4. I Don't play games Ensure to add the fourth option so you get an idea of how many people actually play games and who don't. You can use this method over the course of a month or so to get a general idea of what interests your readers have and then you can better target your audience and even change it around to ask different questions. I would also look at selling ad space on your site as well with the amount of visitors you guys are getting judging from that image.

12-08-2011, 11:06 PM	#5
BigNorm I'm Awesome! War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: New Zealand Posts: 298 Thanks: 12 Thanked 46 Times in 39 Posts Social Networking	Re: Please help with horrible click-thru The problem you have is that your visitors aren't visiting your blog looking for help or with the desire to buy something. Their coming to your site to read your comic strip, there's no need for them to click on an Adsense ad. My recommendation is try to use CPA ads aimed at similar interests which your readers may have. CPA's targeted at gaming would probably be a good avenue to explore. See if you can join a network which has offers for the latest games about to be released maybe even gaming consoles. You could always try setting up a pop script which asks a simple question aimed at what interests your readers have. Something along the lines of: Which is your favourite gaming hardware. 1. Nintendo 2. Playstation 3. Computer - Online games. 4. I Don't play games Ensure to add the fourth option so you get an idea of how many people actually play games and who don't. You can use this method over the course of a month or so to get a general idea of what interests your readers have and then you can better target your audience and even change it around to ask different questions. I would also look at selling ad space on your site as well with the amount of visitors you guys are getting judging from that image.