how to monetize untargeted traffic

by 21 replies
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I have the "gift" of around 5000 page views a day on some untargeted traffic.

The site is a (legal) aggregator that I built several years ago and forgot about. Traffic is completely unpredictable, but I do have a catagory for the page being viewed, and of course the search term they used in the referrer.

Assuming that adsense is not available here (it's not), how would you monetize this traffic? Or what other good use would you make of it?

so far:
adsense = site doesn't meet guidelines
clicksor = virus infested really grotesque ads that i don't even WANT to use.
kontera = monetizing at around .20 / 1000 (and kontera is giving a decent stat for 'real' visitors (ie they ran the javascript).

Clickbank simply does NOT convert. unless there is some killer clickbank product that I just need to try out.

Any suggestions?
#search engine optimization #monetize #traffic #untargeted
  • My guess would be find something cheap that nearly everyone needs and is willing to buy online. Or try a CPA offer.

  • Everybody wants to be rich & thin. I'd put up CPA ads for dieting & bizz opp.
  • Collect email addresses with opt in boxes to diffrent verticals/nitches let your visitors tell you what they are interested in and then use autoresponders to follow up with them. have like 3-5 different areas and offer a free information packet as a teaser.
    • [1] reply
    • Listbuilding. Brilliant. I never even considered that.

      Thanks guys.
      • [1] reply
  • I agree, you need to find a way to build up an email list. What can you give out for free that people will be willing to sign up for? 5000 people is a lot to be missing out on.
  • Like already ready mentioned:

    Collect emails through optin

    and...

    add CPM to the page(s)
  • At Clicksor, virus or any suspicious activity is strictly prohibited. We always work hard on preventing any virus or suspicious ad leak out through our network. As such, any ad that found violated to our TOS will be suspended immediately and will be not reactivated.

    If you or your users have run into any virus or suspicious ad, please contact your account manager immediately by email, ticket, live support or phone with the following information for investigation.

    1) IP address which viewed the ad
    2) Time of occurrence
    3) Ad format and ad url
    • [1] reply

    • I'm going to be straight up and direct with you: I don't have the time or the energy for that kind of crap. I don't monitor my sites 24x7. At best I can only randomly sample them, and if my limited sampling turned up problems (plural), then I can only assume that the issues are pervasive and widespread.

      Telling me to report specific problems is NOT good enough.

      You have to care enough to make sure that there really shoud not BE any problems, then you should to tell me, honestly, that I should not HAVE any problems.

      THEN and only then is it acceptable that if ONE problem should happen to get through your precautions that I should raise it to you for immediate and decisive action.

      I work long hard hours to establish authority and credibility, and it takes months to build page rank, build a following, build a brand image, build a reputation. Yet it only takes one single nasty incident to destroy months of hard work. Just ask Toyota or Tiger Woods how fast brand equity can crumble.

      Using your publishers for your Quality Control is a philosophical problem. And it will prevent you from ever achieving the degree of quality assurance I require.

      If you are serious about solving this problem and are unable to do so on your own, I'd recommend hiring a management consultant.

      But honestly, the scent that reaches my nose here smells more like a commitment to PR than a commitment to quality.
      • [1] reply
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  • try adbrite and do the full page ads
    • [2] replies
    • I'm on adbrite now, but they require "keywords" to create an ad zone.

      The traffic is untargeted, because the keywords are buried in the content and vary from page to page.

      Does adbrite have a "crawl the page and look it up" method for keywords ala adsense?
    • Zack, Next time I'm down south, or you're up north, I owe you dinner.

      Adbrite full page ads are the bomb.

      They were a royal pain to set up, but monetizing verrry nicely.
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  • I'm in the same situation as with OP. More advice the better.

    So how are you going to monetize this type of site?
  • I agree wholeheartedly with the "listbuilding" advice. 5000 folks leaving your site without monetizing is like throwing money down the drain!!

    If you can get them to opt-in for something, and then get hooked up with a good autoresponder, you can capitalize tremendously with that list, and its fairly easy once you get it hooked up and running. My recommendation is aweber for autoresponse. They do a great job with it.

    As far as, "giving away something free" goes, just make sure it has some sort of value to it. Free is great, but you will get a lot more opt-ins if that "free" something really has some sort of value to it. Once you've got them on your list, you can market to them again whenever you like, and that is totally worth the effort!!

    Have you considered some sort of affiliate program? Getting an affiliate relationship as well might give you that "hook" you need for the opt-in. Good luck with it!
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  • try sending traffic to a page with a interesting (clickable) media that contains Adsense or other ads.
    one option you can find in my signature
  • I wouldn't recommend waisting time with list building. If the traffic is completely un-targeted then you have no way of knowing what they like and what to offer in order for their email address. And even if you build, what will you use it for? You're supposed to promote products to your list, but if you don't know what they're interested in you can't just promote what comes to mind. It just won't work that way and they will unsubscribe faster than you can think.

    You can try promoting an email offer through a poll. That used to work like a charm, and everyone, no matter what they're interested in, can answer a simple question. Try it. Also, an alternative to AdWords is Chitika. You might have some luck with them.
  • re-build you meta data, in order to gain targeted visitor...
    then you can add adsense code
  • I use http://cpxinteractive.com for CPM ads, and they often pay at .20 per 1000, which i think is decent for non targeted traffic.

    I also agree about clicksor, I have tried them a couple times, and each time had to shut them off due to complaints. And how am I supposed to get the info out of my user to send to clicksor. With CPXinteractive, I just tell them I dont want ads with sound playing, and thats that. Dont have to worry about viruses.
  • OK, adrite is up and seems to be monetizing well. Running around $1.50 / 1000 so far. We'll see how it goes long term.
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    how to monetize untargeted traffic

    I have the "gift" of around 5000 page views a day on some untargeted traffic. The site is a (legal) aggregator that I built several years ago and forgot about. Traffic is completely unpredictable, but I do have a catagory for the page being viewed, and of course the search term they used in the referrer.