by chakik
43 replies
  • SEO
  • |
Hi,

I read on another forum that after panda deploying, google is penalizing CTR theme and IM are switching to HeatMap and Dragons themes.

They also report 80% down in their adsense CTR !!!

Anyone can confirm or suggest which is the best converting theme to use for adsense, clickbank, amazon IM business ?

Thanks,

-Fadi
optimizing.se
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  • Profile picture of the author tadco
    Good questions: I am interested in the answers or any help too!! I bought CTR and read peeps getting banned by Google....truth or fiction?

    Thnx

    Tom

    Originally Posted by chakik View Post

    Hi,

    I read on another forum that after panda deploying, google is penalizing CTR theme and IM are switching to HeatMap and Dragons themes.

    They also report 80% down in their adsense CTR !!!

    Anyone can confirm or suggest which is the best converting theme to use for adsense, clickbank, amazon IM business ?

    Thanks,

    -Fadi
    optimizing.se
    Crédit Rapide Sans Justificatif et Crédit Sans Justificatif
    Keynotes and Speakers | Search Engine Optimization - SEO/SEM/SMO 2011 Forum and Workshop
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    TADCO

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  • Profile picture of the author johnnyflex
    Very interesting.. i was planning on using the CTR theme on my new niche. I hope this is not true.
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  • Profile picture of the author JamesGw
    I've never heard anything like this. Wat?
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  • Profile picture of the author tadco
    Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post

    How are they getting banned? I would hazard a guess that using it directly underneath the title as can be done in that theme would get you banned because it is against TOS.

    But used in another way, it looks great and clean and not misleading and I don't understand how they could even spot the theme as their are no footprints, that's how clean it is.

    Here is the post on the thread where you can buy the CTR Theme here on WF



    "Originally Posted by PPCJunky
    I just got a message from adsense saying I'm violating their terms using CTR theme

    VIOLATION(S) FOUND:

    FORMAT MIMICKING: Publishers may not implement Google ads in a manner that disguises the ads in any way. For instance, publishers may not format
    neighboring content to look similar to the ads, or make ads look like games or forum posts. More information about this policy can be found in our help center"



    I have not used the theme yet --- and was wondering if there is any truth to his statement.....
    I also see Eppie responded to this -- go read and see if it makes sense

    I honestly do not know at this time
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    • Profile picture of the author JamesGw
      Originally Posted by tadco View Post

      Here is the post on the thread where you can buy the CTR Theme here on WF



      "Originally Posted by PPCJunky
      I just got a message from adsense saying I'm violating their terms using CTR theme

      VIOLATION(S) FOUND:

      FORMAT MIMICKING: Publishers may not implement Google ads in a manner that disguises the ads in any way. For instance, publishers may not format
      neighboring content to look similar to the ads, or make ads look like games or forum posts. More information about this policy can be found in our help center"



      I have not used the theme yet --- and was wondering if there is any truth to his statement.....
      I also see Eppie responded to this -- go read and see if it makes sense

      I honestly do not know at this time
      That's been their policy the whole time. This isn't anything new.
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  • Profile picture of the author clickstrength
    There's definitely no CTR Theme penalty by Google in the SERPs. My sites are still ranking #1 for a bunch of terms. Remember that correlation does not imply causation -- just because CTR Theme is the theme used on a site that gets a penalty, doesn't mean the penalty is because the site is using CTR Theme. It's WAY more likely that somebody got whacked for their link-building approach and decided to blame the theme instead.

    As for the format mimicking issue, a text divider between the ad block and menu items should be more than sufficient to solve this problem. Just label your menu (or recent posts widget) as a menu (or "Important Information" or anything else you'd like and you should be fine). If you're really uptight about it, use the custom CSS option to change the color of your sidebar links. The theme will let you be as aggressive (or safe) as you'd like to be in optimizing your AdSense.
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    • Profile picture of the author yukon
      Banned
      Originally Posted by clickstrength View Post

      There's definitely no CTR Theme penalty by Google in the SERPs. My sites are still ranking #1 for a bunch of terms. Remember that correlation does not imply causation -- just because CTR Theme is the theme used on a site that gets a penalty, doesn't mean the penalty is because the site is using CTR Theme. It's WAY more likely that somebody got whacked for their link-building approach and decided to blame the theme instead.

      As for the format mimicking issue, a text divider between the ad block and menu items should be more than sufficient to solve this problem. Just label your menu (or recent posts widget) as a menu (or "Important Information" or anything else you'd like and you should be fine). If you're really uptight about it, use the custom CSS option to change the color of your sidebar links. The theme will let you be as aggressive (or safe) as you'd like to be in optimizing your AdSense.
      I was going to say the same thing, all they need is a divider between content & Adsense Ads. It's up to the webmaster to make sure everything is seperated.
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    • Profile picture of the author macrdee
      I am still waiting for a reply it has been 2 weeks or so and no support has responded please explain.

      macrdee
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    • Profile picture of the author blessedmarketer
      Eppie,

      Thanks for chiming in. I read about that on another thread about CTR Theme. By the way, I have also purchased the theme but have not built it yet.
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  • Profile picture of the author mesmerist
    I'm just wondering, when google bans a site, do they give a warning first or do they just ban the site without any prior warning? Does anyone know this? Someone who got banned before can you let us know?
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  • Profile picture of the author xylement
    I'm agree with clickstrength... I've been using CTR theme for most of my sites without any problem. As for mesmerist, they do not give you warning. They ban you straight away! =(
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  • Profile picture of the author packerfan
    Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post

    How are they getting banned? I would hazard a guess that using it directly underneath the title as can be done in that theme would get you banned because it is against TOS.
    I don't believe this is against the TOS. It's certainly aggressive, but the folks at adsenseflippers.com have spoken specifically about this with a Google rep and were told it was fine. You can't encourage clicking on the ads, so you're title can't be "Hey, click on these links down here" but A normal title should be fine.

    And I've had no problems using CTR theme, but I do have the word Pages between the side bar ads and the page navigation. And I don't use any link units, FWIW.
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  • Profile picture of the author themesplice
    I am using adsense pro ultimate and all my sites are working perfectly fine, still ranking well in google search terms...
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    • Profile picture of the author blessedmarketer
      Originally Posted by themesplice View Post

      I am using adsense pro ultimate and all my sites are working perfectly fine, still ranking well in google search terms...
      Just wondering is Adsense Pro Ultimate also a WP Theme? Thanks.
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      • Profile picture of the author themesplice
        Originally Posted by blessedmarketer View Post

        Just wondering is Adsense Pro Ultimate also a WP Theme? Thanks.
        Yes its a wordpress theme. Price is $39 USD... Pretty reasonably for most of us and had helped me made some good money. Highly recommended!
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        • Profile picture of the author heavens9002
          Originally Posted by themesplice View Post

          Yes its a wordpress theme. Price is $39 USD... Pretty reasonably for most of us and had helped me made some good money. Highly recommended!
          Thanks to themesplice, I bought this theme last week and now getting very good results from it. Its pretty easy to customize and work with....

          Thank you themesplice....
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          • Profile picture of the author iouri
            The CTR theme that is installed on my sites creates the colors to blend the ads with site links. And looks like Google doesn't like this, so they point in their policy,- "publishers participating in the AdSense program may not format ads so that they become indistinguishable from other content on that page."
            The question- Is it possible to disable this blending function in CTR theme to have different add and site links color?
            And how to do it?
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  • Profile picture of the author Rukshan
    I use CTR theme and running all WP sites without any problems. Recently pad update was happened. That can be a reason for some web masters.
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  • Profile picture of the author outwest
    Get the clickbump theme
    no badmouthing by webmasters and good CTR with this theme
    not free but worth the price
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  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Egan
    I've implemented CTR theme across all of my AdSense sites POST Panda.

    And my average CTR across all sites went from 8% to about 13%. The theme has been installed on all of them for about a month.

    I'd highly recommend the theme, and put the violation above down to somebody getting a little too comfortable in encouraging users to click ads.

    I've always made AdSense ads blend with site design colours and never had an issue. My ads and articles are coloured the exact same and there has always been no dramas. Touch wood.

    Aaron.
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    • Profile picture of the author pdrw07
      Originally Posted by Aaron Egan View Post

      I've implemented CTR theme across all of my AdSense sites POST Panda.

      And my average CTR across all sites went from 8% to about 13%. The theme has been installed on all of them for about a month.

      I'd highly recommend the theme, and put the violation above down to somebody getting a little too comfortable in encouraging users to click ads.

      I've always made AdSense ads blend with site design colours and never had an issue. My ads and articles are coloured the exact same and there has always been no dramas. Touch wood.

      Aaron.
      Hi Aaron, what is the CTR theme that you use for your site? Could you share the name to us? thanks in advance.
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      • Profile picture of the author outwest
        Originally Posted by pdrw07 View Post

        Hi Aaron, what is the CTR theme that you use for your site? Could you share the name to us? thanks in advance.
        That is the name of the theme, its called CTR Theme for Adsense
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    • Profile picture of the author JoeUK
      Originally Posted by Aaron Egan View Post

      I've implemented CTR theme across all of my AdSense sites POST Panda.

      And my average CTR across all sites went from 8% to about 13%. The theme has been installed on all of them for about a month.

      I'd highly recommend the theme, and put the violation above down to somebody getting a little too comfortable in encouraging users to click ads.

      I've always made AdSense ads blend with site design colours and never had an issue. My ads and articles are coloured the exact same and there has always been no dramas. Touch wood.

      Aaron.
      I read the opening post and got a little worried since I'm planning on using CTR for my next sites but your post has put my mind at rest a little
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Wilson
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    • Profile picture of the author blessedmarketer
      Originally Posted by Daniel Wilson View Post

      Not only that! Many adsense accounts are being closed possibly due to high CTR and "Made For Adsense" websites. Google wants quality!
      I don't understand why would Google close an account for having a high CTR [assuming their methods are not either gray hat or black hat?] I thought Google also received a cut from the Adword.
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  • Profile picture of the author outwest
    The theme has nothing to do with the quality of the site
    if google is closing accounts because of quality its not because they used a certain theme, its because of content
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  • Profile picture of the author barneystinson
    google has been recently been blocking accounts with adsense on service sites(as opposed to content ones!)
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  • Profile picture of the author ravi2011
    heatmap theme is quite good for the best ctr
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  • Profile picture of the author TryBPO
    We've been using CTR Theme and haven't had any problems with the theme, specifically. Any problems we've experienced we don't believe are theme related at all.

    I would say, though, that the previous theme we were using was performing better than CTR Theme, even though I LIKE the look of CTR Theme much better. (Even more than the Clickbump theme...and we own both!)

    I think John (XFactor) had mentioned something about having the ads right below the title and setting a dividing line and people ran with it saying it's "not allowed"...although I'm not sure that was his intention...I think he just meant that it's safer. It's PARTICULARLY safer if your titles are something like "Best Deals, Click Here" as that would be going to far and encouraging clicks on the ads, I think.

    Either way, the AdSense rep that reviewed our sites didn't have any problems with placement of ads below the title. She'd also mentioned you can either wrap the text or don't wrap...not wrapping is a bit more aggressive, but both are ok. Still...remember that's from the AdSense team...not the search quality team...totally different departments with different goals.
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  • Profile picture of the author lovboa
    Banned
    I guess CTR is getting targetted, just like sites that used Blue Sense theme.
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  • Profile picture of the author Barry Unruh
    Let's look at this with the eye of an investigator.

    If you are using a theme which is intentionally created for higher Adsense CTR it is unlikely to cause your site to be banned, but it may be likely to get your site reviewed. First, it would depend on whether your site is even announcing which theme it is using...

    If I were on an investigative path to reduce Adsense abuse and to find sites which were violating the terms of service I'll guarantee one of my first search criteria would be to look for sites using "optimized for Adsense" themes. This would not mean the site gets penalized for use of the theme, it just gets scrutinized sooner and closer.

    It is kind of like watching drivers leaving a bar to see if they are drunk....the odds are higher, so you watch closer. 95% of the people walking out the door are fine, but those 5% who are over the limit are going to get nailed, and then will probably scream "entrapment"....or was that "it's the theme's fault"...
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  • Profile picture of the author Zeb
    Looks like Eppie's wso thread for ctr theme has been locked?
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    • Profile picture of the author yukon
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Zeb View Post

      Looks like Eppie's wso thread for ctr theme has been locked?
      Maybe because he was selling the same theme on BH forums for $20 & selling the same theme here on WF-WSO for $27?

      A WSO price is supposed to be the lowest price on the net, last I read.


      [source]
      3. A Warrior Special Offer Means The Price You Give Must Be Better Than The Price The Public At Large Can Get. (This is not a "buy my product" forum, it is a "Special Offer" forum)
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      • Profile picture of the author Zeb
        Originally Posted by yukon View Post

        Maybe because he was selling the same theme on BH forums for $20 & selling the same theme here on WF-WSO for $27?

        A WSO price is supposed to be the lowest price on the net, last I read.


        [source]
        I've just double checked and it seems that Eppie is pricing it lower here at $27. The BH forum one goes for $37. Unless there's another BH forums that he's offering it at.
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        • Profile picture of the author yukon
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Zeb View Post

          I've just double checked and it seems that Eppie is pricing it lower here at $27. The BH forum one goes for $37. Unless there's another BH forums that he's offering it at.
          That's because he keeps changing the price all over the internet, depends on the site (CB, WF, BH-forum, etc...).

          I just now checked & see the price was bumped up for the black haters now, it wasn't always like that, I've seen lower and/or same prices (on his site) outside of WF while the WSO was live.

          I think he tried to counter the Black haters giving away free cracked copies? Which you can't blame the guy for trying, I mean nobody likes cracked copies of their product being given away for free.

          No disrespect to eppie, the CTR theme is a very nice/clean looking theme, which is what works well for Adsense (simple/clean).

          My advice, forget the black haters, they'll get a cracked copy regardless of what you do. It only takes one guy to spread the cracked copy all over the net.

          Target customers that are willing to buy, you have a good product.

          [edit]
          Also keep in mind, just because a WSO is locked doesn't mean something bad happened. If eppie did sell the theme/business maybe the new owner asked to have the WSO locked.
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  • Profile picture of the author ex9to5guy
    last i heard eppie sold the ctr theme. I still think CTR theme works. It is just some of the adsense layouts may be far to aggressive. Lining up two 336x280s side by side or underneath each other may be too much. But there are other options with this theme which can make it worth your wild
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  • Profile picture of the author dagaul101
    I am afraid it's a case of trail and error, some themes work better with others, and some jus depend on the mindset of the visitor and the ad they see at that particular time
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  • Profile picture of the author bleepli
    I would suggest to use magnum ctr theme.... it works best for me
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  • Profile picture of the author setiyawanheri
    I think using CTR theme will potentially violate TOS of google adsense..It's clear..Because this theme have adsense code too blend with site's content..

    Google have told us "Publishers may not implement Google ads in a manner that disguises the ads in any way"..That's way many people get their adsense account banned/disable..

    And in my opinion..using CTR theme has nothing to do with google banned(google ban your domain/site from search result)..Just share my opinion..
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  • Profile picture of the author JefPlanet
    This may sound like a stupid question but there is something i don't really understand in CTR Theme

    How come it allows us to display 4 sets of adsense ads on the same page? Aren't we allowed 3?

    (i mean the 728 x 15 ad links should be considered as an ad, no?)
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  • Profile picture of the author K Mec
    Originally Posted by chakik View Post

    Hi,

    I read on another forum that after panda deploying, google is penalizing CTR theme and IM are switching to HeatMap and Dragons themes.
    It is not like that. Google is not concern about which theme you are using, it concerns about whether you are following their TOS or not....
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  • Profile picture of the author juntenx
    may put too much advertising?
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