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Ads on Home Page: Effective or Tacky?

by creature
7 replies
In today's IM environment, do you think hitting someone with ads (adsense; affiliate links) on your home page is:

a. an effective IM strategy if your home page is your main landing page

b. turns traffic away because they immediately see that you are trying to sell them something

c. makes no difference because people are basically "ad blind" by now
#ads #effective #home #page #tacky
  • Profile picture of the author mikeauton
    two words: split test

    it's the ONLY way you'll know for sure...

    adsense may be good to avoid on your home page and i would consider putting text links onto your home page instead of banners - text links can be even more effective at times.

    truth is, there is no 'right' answer, just split test to see what makes you the most $$$
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Actually, the correct answer is d) it depends...

      Is your home page a squeeze page? Putting potential distractions alongside your offer and opt-in form may prove troublesome.

      Is your home page a typical blog? NOT seeing ads may spook some people, as they anticipate the pitch that's coming.

      Could the ads function like the "magician's assistant", the hot girl in the skimpy outfit that diverts your attention from what the magician is doing? If the ads are in the sidebar, are still going to be on guard against pitches in the posts?

      Which pretty much leads to the answer you just got - test it on your site, with your traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author JennSpencerIM
    I agree with split test. But I'd also add that I don't put ads on my sites...I want to keep the traffic and the visitors, not send them OFF my site via an ad!... so it just depends on your strategy and how you want to make money.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheZafraGroup
    Well it depends on who your targeting. As long as you think the ads WILL provide Value, then by all means add them. Limit your ads though. Too many will only serve as a distraction and would only let people leave your blog/website quicker. I say add at least 3 ads on the home page. More than that, add a recommended resources or recommended tools tab with all your affiliate stuff on it.

    We only have 1 chance to make a good first impression. So always make value come first. Always provide value but don't forget to sell. Balance the 2 out. Build the relationship first before you blast them with something. If your blog/website will look like a wild market place, even if you have the most valuable content/info on earth, people can easily leave your blog and will end up increasing your bounce rate. Just do some split testing like everyone said. I personally have only 3 ads on my site and a recommended tools page. So far, conversion has been going great this way.
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  • Profile picture of the author PhiladelphiaSeo
    I would say its ok if its a affiliate site or blog. I would not put ad sense on my personal marketing blog. I think this is tacky ( IMHO)

    Also keep in mind Google Panda Update really smashed sites with too many ads above the fold. If you're going to do this use them sparingly.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex Kage
    Or just don't use them at all if they are on your homepage. Text links still work though.
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  • Profile picture of the author creature
    Thanks to all who replied. I should have explained myself more clearly as my site is probably atypical of most IM sites. I write mainly informational websites on biological sciences topics (retired professor of biology).

    So, I thought in terms of building success with some adsense and maybe a few select affiliate links, I should first build trust and "authority". I was worried that placing ads of any sort on my home page might make the site look immediately like a sales pitch instead of something providing unique and substantive info and value.

    I am making about 5-10 dollars/day with adsense, but want to add a few affiliate banners on the site which I just did for several other top landing pages.

    But my home page gets twice the traffic of my next best performing page, and the affiliate link (CPA) pays about 100 time as much as a click on adsense. But I thought a large banner might be detrimental to first impression on my home page.
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