I use both CTR and Clickbump across my sites and find that, as is the case with everything related to AdSense, your click through rate will vary according to your site's niche, keyword selection and on-page placement, etc. of the ads.

I've done split testing on sites using both of these themes and found that the ctr percentage isn't significantly different. Like anything else, you just need to experiment and find what works best for each site.

In my own opinion, Clickbump is a better product due to its SEO-friendly coding, options for customization and Scott's excellent customer service. As I said though, if you don't have the other ingredients already in place, it won't magically help a weak site become a big earner.

Regardless of whatever theme your running, it all depends on what you do with the theme.

I've seen both CTRtheme & Clickbump themes that get butchered by the webmaster.

I understand everyone wants a custom looking WP theme, but I don't understand why someone would spend money on a theme & then add so many distracting images, with low quality content. Makes no sense to me.

Adsense is about simplicity. Simple themes tend to get higher CTRs because the traffic isn't distracted by huge images with bright colors.

The theme developers that target Adsense create simple looking themes because that's what helps increase CTRs.

Ad placement matters, but distractions and outbound links do too. Also consider your keyword. Is it one where they're looking to buy, or seek more information? Are the ads directly related to the exact keyword the person used (or the article)? When those line up you get better CTR.

Also note that discussing your adsense CTR is against their TOS and is enough to get you a ban if you'd had your site URL in your signature. You've not so you are in the clear, but I'd be stunned if google didn't surf every adsense post on this forum - so be aware of that folks. This is a multi-billion dollar company that has to protect its advertisers and hence why so many people whine about getting banned from adsense yet do so having failed to follow the TOS they signed up to. Indeed many people do not realise talking about CTR is enough to get a ban. Not being a killjoy, just stating facts

Hi,

I have been using Clickbump and have small success with it...what i have learnt is that CTR replies on many other factors other than the themes itself...what most important is are you giving what your readers is searching for in the first place?

No point having a nice looking themes with junk content right?Hope you understand my point of view..

Regards,
Owenlee

noob question about clickbump, the adsense is showing up on all the posts, but not the pages, in particular the homepage, is there a reason to not try and monetize the homepage?

I would go with Adsense Pro Ultimate (CTR Wordpress Theme). Recently bought the theme and simply lovin it! Does anyone had success like me with Adsense pro or any other CTR Theme?

Clickbump theme FTW, for more reasons than one - higher CTR, stronger/better/easier on-page SEO, flexibile, easy to work with, etc. - very much worth the price.

I've had a lot of bad luck with CTR special themes. Personally, I say find a general looking theme and add AdSense to it yourself. Test different placements, colour schemes, etc. All of my sites have a 5%+ CTR without using any special themes.

I find it interesting that people use special themes for Adsense. You do not need to do this. I have tested this over and over again and with hundreds of themes and the same things keep happening and I will share my experiences with you. First off:

1) Some niches will have extremely LOW CTR no matter what you do. I have a blog that has under 1% CTR no matter what I've done (large ads on top, text links where the navigation links should be, etc., etc.). This is life. Once you find these niches, don't bother trying to fix the theme, just find another niche.

2) Some niches will have seasonal clicks. You need to have your site at least 12 months to watch these trends. Some niches are obviously seasonal, while others are not.

3) Look at Google's heat map. The "hottest" zone is in the middle of the page. So, put your ad there. My best placement has been the following: Short header (120px height), sidebar on right with no images. Post text on left with Adsense block right justified and on top just below the post title.

4) Making the Adsense block push the article text down looks real spammy and people I know have been warned by the Adsense team not to do this so I don't recommend it.

Also, useful and relevant content works wonders, but only up to a point. Structure your article so as to complement the ads so a person is subtly guided to that click. I had a friend who put up sites with good keywords and content that bashed the very items that appeared in the ads that showed up on his site!

I have never tried click bump (intending to do so) but with the CTR theme I find the average CTR is about a consistent 2%+; it depends on your niche as well.

I have had times where the CTR was 30% and days where it was less than 1% so it really varies but I guess primary depends on the niche and site content.

I personally use WOOthemes (certain themes) and Thesis on all of my Adsense sites and my CTRs are great. It does largely depend on your keyword/niche selection as well as how much time you put into optimising each site for adsense. But optimisation I mean this:

1. Placement. My best performing ads are below the fold. Use clicktale.com to help with this.

2. Ad color/style. Make the ads blend into your site/content. Spend some time customising your ads, seriously.

3. Placement again. Try things like placing a (medium square) picture ad side by side with a (medium square) text ad. The picture ad helps draw more attention to the text ad. This often increases CTR.

One more vote for ClickBump Theme. I was a CTR theme fan as well

I bought professional banners for my sites and my AdSense CTR doubled. Increasing the comfort of your site will actually increase your revenue.

adsense pro ultimate works for me well...