1,500 Uniques = $9 in earnings? What am I doing wrong ...

RobWynkoop · 01-01-2012, 11:10 PM

I've had the blog (in my sig) for almost a year. It has lots (80+ pages) of original, quality content.

I have been generating about 1500 uniques each month, but last month I only made $9 between adsense and amazon.

I just can't figure out what I'm doing in terms of CTR... I know that 1500 visitors isn't a ton, but surely I should be bringing in more than $9!

I know I have the basics right in terms of good content and SEO optimized posts... I guess I just need to get higher in the SERPs... I'm on like page 16 right now for my main kw (most of my traffic is long-tail driven)

I've put a lot of work into this site and I'm really nervous about spamming it with SEO. I was using BMR for a while and I liked it, but I still am having reservations about using grey-hat methods.

BigNorm · 01-01-2012, 11:20 PM

No, judging from the layout of your site your making pretty much all you pull from that site. I've found in the past Adsense and Amazon don't really work on the same page. If I have a post which has Adsense I won't let it compete with any other advertising and vice versa. Also what is the CPC for your keywords? And just one more quick point, I would do something about your structure and layout. Both look very unprofessional and just thrown together.

InTheMaking · 01-01-2012, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobWynkoop

I've had the blog (in my sig) for almost a year. It has lots (80+ pages) of original, quality content.

I have been generating about 1500 uniques each month, but last month I only made $9 between adsense and amazon.

I just can't figure out what I'm doing in terms of CTR... I know that 1500 visitors isn't a ton, but surely I should be bringing in more than $9!

I know I have the basics right in terms of good content and SEO optimized posts... I guess I just need to get higher in the SERPs... I'm on like page 16 right now for my main kw (most of my traffic is long-tail driven)

I've put a lot of work into this site and I'm really nervous about spamming it with SEO. I was using BMR for a while and I liked it, but I still am having reservations about using grey-hat methods.

Maybe it's because on the first article I read you included 14 Amazon links? We (as visitors) may not see it as spammy because it was an interesting article, but goog may think otherwise.

packerfan · 01-01-2012, 11:36 PM

What value are you offering your visitors? You've got a 50 word blurb and an affiliate link for what appears to be random products.

Focus on helping people, they'll reward you by clicking on your link and buying stuff.

RobWynkoop · 01-01-2012, 11:48 PM

Ok, thanks for the feedback. That main page just happens to be the static post that thought was pretty good.

I have a lot of other articles that aren't so directly promoted. On the site structure suggestion though, I really need to figure out how to best structure the site.

The idea with it was a first-person perspective of cool gifts for men.

I looked around the house and saw all these purchases that I have made and thought, "you know I really enjoy X,Y,Z - here's why it'd be a good buy for your husband/boyfriend/etc"

Do you think the excess affiliate links are harmful in terms of ranking? Should I cut those down to say 3-4 per page?

StoneWilson · 01-02-2012, 02:59 AM

I bet most visitors did't stay at your website for long, right? People don't like sites full of ads in these days, unless you can offer them what they really want, so try to provide them useful information first, and make your ads less visible, I mean don't just add affiliate link to your post, try something else.

outwest · 01-02-2012, 03:39 AM

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Then they talk about how to do mailing lists and they recommend Aweber, of course thats an affiliate link but it fits so well into the discussion and the whole site is so geared towards giving you helpful tips, that I dont think the surfers mind it at all.

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01-01-2012, 11:10 PM	#1
RobWynkoop Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 24 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	1,500 Uniques = $9 in earnings? What am I doing wrong ... I've had the blog (in my sig) for almost a year. It has lots (80+ pages) of original, quality content. I have been generating about 1500 uniques each month, but last month I only made $9 between adsense and amazon. I just can't figure out what I'm doing in terms of CTR... I know that 1500 visitors isn't a ton, but surely I should be bringing in more than $9! I know I have the basics right in terms of good content and SEO optimized posts... I guess I just need to get higher in the SERPs... I'm on like page 16 right now for my main kw (most of my traffic is long-tail driven) I've put a lot of work into this site and I'm really nervous about spamming it with SEO. I was using BMR for a while and I liked it, but I still am having reservations about using grey-hat methods.
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01-01-2012, 11:20 PM	#2
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: 1,500 Uniques = $9 in earnings? What am I doing wrong ... No, judging from the layout of your site your making pretty much all you pull from that site. I've found in the past Adsense and Amazon don't really work on the same page. If I have a post which has Adsense I won't let it compete with any other advertising and vice versa. Also what is the CPC for your keywords? And just one more quick point, I would do something about your structure and layout. Both look very unprofessional and just thrown together.

01-01-2012, 11:36 PM	#4
packerfan Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 1,165 Thanks: 38 Thanked 210 Times in 144 Posts Social Networking	Re: 1,500 Uniques = $9 in earnings? What am I doing wrong ... What value are you offering your visitors? You've got a 50 word blurb and an affiliate link for what appears to be random products. Focus on helping people, they'll reward you by clicking on your link and buying stuff.
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01-01-2012, 11:48 PM	#5
RobWynkoop Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 24 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: 1,500 Uniques = $9 in earnings? What am I doing wrong ... Ok, thanks for the feedback. That main page just happens to be the static post that thought was pretty good. I have a lot of other articles that aren't so directly promoted. On the site structure suggestion though, I really need to figure out how to best structure the site. The idea with it was a first-person perspective of cool gifts for men. I looked around the house and saw all these purchases that I have made and thought, "you know I really enjoy X,Y,Z - here's why it'd be a good buy for your husband/boyfriend/etc" Do you think the excess affiliate links are harmful in terms of ranking? Should I cut those down to say 3-4 per page?
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01-02-2012, 02:59 AM	#6
StoneWilson Advanced Warrior Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 693 Thanks: 69 Thanked 30 Times in 30 Posts	Re: 1,500 Uniques = $9 in earnings? What am I doing wrong ... I bet most visitors did't stay at your website for long, right? People don't like sites full of ads in these days, unless you can offer them what they really want, so try to provide them useful information first, and make your ads less visible, I mean don't just add affiliate link to your post, try something else.
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01-02-2012, 03:39 AM	#7
outwest Lovin Life War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: USA and Asia Posts: 2,690 Thanks: 118 Thanked 180 Times in 161 Posts	Re: 1,500 Uniques = $9 in earnings? What am I doing wrong ... Take a look at this site Get Free Traffic to a Site With These 12 Tips \| Garin Kilpatrick 95 percent 98 percent of what is on the site is helpful. Then they talk about how to do mailing lists and they recommend Aweber, of course thats an affiliate link but it fits so well into the discussion and the whole site is so geared towards giving you helpful tips, that I dont think the surfers mind it at all. To me thats the type of design to aim for