How would you monetize my (very useful) non-sales site?

13 replies
Hi,

I recently launched a website providing hundreds of Tips and Tricks for dozens of smartphones. If you Google "PhoneTipsandTricks" it will show up because that's the domain name with a dot com!

I am slowly getting an increase in traffic (although I stupidly launched with over 1000 tips, ranked highly and now i'm sandboxed...lesson learned!).

My problem is the site is making NO money. Over 6 weeks i've had about 3,500 visits, 8,000 page views. My visitors stay reading Tips for an average of 3 minutes and my bounce rate is around 55%.

I have an adsense Leaderboard, sidebar Skyscraper and a Large rectangle at the bottom of the List of Tips pages (and a big one on the Google organic search landing page). Then I have a few affiliate banners on my sidebar and I've created an Amazon "Top 5 Cell Phone accessories" sales page, with banners pointing to it around the site. I display affiliate banners based on IP address, so US and UK users see different banners (advertisers selling screen protectors, phone insurance etc). For international users I use a large Chitika rectangle block.

My problem is that NO ONE is clicking on any of the banners and i've had a pitiful 19 ad sense clicks out of 8,000 page views.

I want the site to be a quality authority destination for all smartphone users, so I don't think it should be riddled with ads. But I'm stuck as to how to monetise it. What would you experts do? What ads or banners would you place? Where would you place them? Can anyone suggest any other great ideas that i'm missing?

I realise i'm asking something for nothing, so feel free to point me to some kind of paid service / website / product which might help. Or if you're feeling kind, then I would love to hear your feedback

Thanks
Bryan
#critique #feedback #ful #monetize #nonsales #site #smartphones #usehow
  • Profile picture of the author kittyluver
    Nicely designed site!!! But I am seeing no content in the home page. Only pics and facilites of phones.
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    • Profile picture of the author huntr77
      Really? what browser are you using? You should be able to click on the name of the phone or the phone image which will then list the Tips for that phone. Is that not working for you?

      Glad you like the design.
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    • Profile picture of the author PatriciaJ
      I haven't looked at the site but 6 weeks without making money isn't a long time. Probably your visitors already have smartphones and are looking for free tips and tricks so they are unlikely to want to buy another one. Perhaps you should be looking to advertise linking products, apps, ring tones or whatever extras you can get for smart phones.
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  • Profile picture of the author Apollo-Articles
    Put one of the rectangle adsense text blocks/CPA cash 4 mobile offers before the content starts (above fold) on every page (can't remember the exact size off the top of my head). Get rid of the large banner in the header image, also get rid of the "Your Mobile Everything Store" advert and suggest in articles people visit certain appropriate sites (which are affiliate links).

    Do that and I reckon you'd easily have some clicks/sales by the end of next week most likely before (if your visits remain at 83 a day).

    Just be aware most people don't click on banners - do you?

    Go with text ads instead.

    Sam
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    • Profile picture of the author AnilK
      Easiest thing to try is changing your ad placement/ad sizes. If this seems tricky or long winded, just change theme to something which focues on adsense clicks (I have used CTR theme which improved CTR for me).

      Otherwise how about:
      • CPA ads, for example ringtones.
      • Affiliate offers for mobile phone accessories, app creation, phone number tracking and type "cell phone" into clickbank for other affiliate ideas.
      Then test each and see which works best for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author spigven
    As I'm relatively new to all this you probably shouldn't take my opinion too seriously.

    However it appears to me that people are coming to your site for free information.

    My understanding is that to make money with adsense you basically have to bore or frustrate your visitors into clicking on an add.

    One possible explanation for lack of earnings is that you may be satisfying your visitors requiremnts, they are leaving with the information that they came for and have no reason to click an add.

    It is perplexing though as my first site was monetised with adsense, but as I only had a few visitors I removed the adsense it thinking it was a failure however I got more clicks that you have on one percent of the traffic you had, so its making me reconsider adsense when the traffic builds.

    Anyway i'm sure someone more experienced will be along shortly to give you a proper explanation.

    Good Luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author huntr77
    PatriciaJ / Spgiven - That's one of my problems...I'm giving users everything they need! I had considered 'holding back' tips until they register, but that's not what the site's about. Ringtones and Apps is definitely something I will use though. Annoyingly, I was instantly auto-declined on Commission Junction by Jamster who are the leading Ringtone/App provider. No idea why.

    Apollo-Articles - why do you suggest removing the Leaderboard banner? Good point about Banners though...sometimes I think that it's only advertisers who benefit from the branding/exposure effect of banners. I think i'll take your advice and write some blogs with text ads in them and re-position the CPA ads above the fold.

    Anilk - I'll make a note of that CTR Theme. I have actually tried changing the locations to an extent, with little luck. I'll look into app creation and phone number tracking though...good thinking! Also i'm realising because my audience is very international, physical stores might not be the best except for my UK/US/CA customers.

    Thanks so much for your input so far. Happy to hear more if anyone else has anything to say!
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    • Profile picture of the author Zara Marie
      I think your website's main goal is to provide tips and tricks to your visitors. In this case, visitors only enter your website to get information and learn from your content and nothing more. If you want to earn through your site, I think it is good to contact sellers of these phones or sell the information like "how to's", or better to use ad sense.
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      • Profile picture of the author Huug
        Looks like you've already gotten a couple of golden tips here, if I might say so I'll add in my $.02...

        1. Add accessories specific to each model (No general top 5 list) Use Amazon or something like AccessoryGeeks.. Think chargers, cases, batteries but also kits for replacing screens.. whatever. But be sure to target the right people by showing only relevant products.

        2. Become an affiliate or reseller of a site like http://www.unlocking.com (Not my site / no affiliate link) So you can offer your visitors an unlocking solution for almost any model (can get you some big $$$)

        3. Get some more content going in the form of news and add nice images or packshots from cellphones, a lot can be gotten online without having to worry about rights because the images are usually from press kits.

        Best of luck!
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        • Profile picture of the author huntr77
          Huug - Having specific accessories is a good idea, if that is possible with Amazon (without having to do it manually I mean). Screen replacement is something I hadn't thought off. Thanks for that tip! Unlocking.com is a great site too, will definitely give that a go. Do you run a mobile site yourself? Appreciate the advice!
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          • Profile picture of the author Huug
            Originally Posted by huntr77 View Post

            Huug - Having specific accessories is a good idea, if that is possible with Amazon (without having to do it manually I mean). Screen replacement is something I hadn't thought off. Thanks for that tip! Unlocking.com is a great site too, will definitely give that a go. Do you run a mobile site yourself? Appreciate the advice!
            I have only two sites focusing on mobile at the moment, nothing fancy but relatively steady earners

            Hit me up when you implemented your changes, would be nice to see it work for you
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  • Profile picture of the author frans4u
    Add more content that contain informations about the gadget, benefits etc. .
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  • Profile picture of the author arjuna79
    Be patient Hunt
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