[webgal]

Originally Posted by SlightlyShadySEO

Also remember that adsense returns vary wildly based on niche.
For example, running a site on a popular movie, I get about 10% CTR.
Whereas on a Search Engine Optimization/techie blog, I get 0.01%
Large demographics of users have become adsense-blind. The only way to monetize them is with a properly placed in content affiliate link. But even that won't convert too great.

This is very true. There are many factors that dive in and take it one way or another. There are sites that make great adsense sites and others that don't.

[richrf]

You may also want to consider putting a Google Custom Search Engine (CSE) on your site. I have three on my site, and they pull in some additional revenue. I built some custom engines for TV, Video, and Social Bookmarking sites. They are actually more heavily used than I expected.

Rich

[SlightlyShadySEO]

Originally Posted by richrf

You may also want to consider putting a Google Custom Search Engine (CSE) on your site. I have three on my site, and they pull in some additional revenue. I built some custom engines for TV, Video, and Social Bookmarking sites. They are actually more heavily used than I expected.

Rich

One thing I've seen done that is similar to this(granted, it was by a pharmacy blackhat guy, but whatever)
Is building in a search that searches either
1)Through your own affiliate links/offers
or
2)Via a PPC program less picky than adsense. Some allow you to search through an XML feed of ads, and returns them to you. You can display them however you wish; so displaying them as if they're search results typically does quite well.

[CurlyBrace]

SlightlyShadySEO (or anyone else), could you mention other PPC programs and how they worked on you? I know there are lots of them, but I would like to know how they have worked.

BTW JazzyJay did your AdSense balance reflect the change?

[JazzyJay]

Yes it has, I noticed the total was not displaying at the top but underneith all of my click/view rates. at $2.53 :-D

[richrf]

Hi,

I can't remember all of the programs I tried, but I tried most of the popular ones.

Since I get a relatively good amount of traffic on my site, I can quickly tell whether the click-thru-rates (CTR) and payment per click is going to do better or worse than Adsense. So far, adsense does the best. And it is not because Google is being generous. On the contrary. However, what adsense does better than all of the others is pair up the ad with the content of the page. Google is way ahead of everyone else.

I thought of selling fixed placement ads on my site, but the money still isn't as good as what I get from adsense. When, and if, I develop a reasonably interesting site, I might be able to demand more for an ad, but until then, Adsense continues to do the best.

Hope this answers your question,

Rich

[SlightlyShadySEO]

Originally Posted by CurlyBrace

SlightlyShadySEO (or anyone else), could you mention other PPC programs and how they worked on you? I know there are lots of them, but I would like to know how they have worked.

BTW JazzyJay did your AdSense balance reflect the change?

AdSense is by far the highest payout.
I'm currently working on being able to play with Yahoo's version, but the application is a slow process.
The other lovely alternative that I personally use is peakclick. However, it's intended for professional blackhat SEOs...if you can drive the traffic, they'll take it though(they allow many tactics that adsense will ban you in a heartbeat for).
It has a 2 level feed. The first level pays dirt. The second level though, is nice. .15-.25 for many longtail search terms on random products. Things like pharmacy can pull in up to $4.55 per click.
Also, they have an XML feed that you pipe the user's search into, and it gives customized ads to match the search as best they can.
The catch is you need to prove you can supply volume of searches, and have a high CTR(about 15% or more). AND you can only search their feed for exactly the search the user had.
The combination of this makes them not as usable for standard websites. However, if you have substantial volume(300-500 searches per day could do it), you could use their searchable feed for the "search engine" component. Just make sure to try and get upgraded as quickly as possible.

I'm not a huge supporter of adsense though. I'd prefer a well targeted affiliate program anyday. The companies paying for clicks on adsense are turning a profit from them, or they wouldn't be doing them(and many advertising on it are affiliates themselves). So if I can, I like to cut out as many middlemen as possible annd just use my own site, or an affiliate program I signed up for myself.
Try using that tactic with adsense, and you may be pleasantly surprised.

In addition, using NeverBlue ads for SilverTag auctions, or Commission Juntion's EBay affiliate program can do wonders as a supplement. Especially if you set a script to scrape ebay for the pictures/titles of the relevant products, and display that on a side bar. They're quite generous in their commissions.

[CurlyBrace]

Nice to know all that info.

What I'm really scared of is Google cutting down the comission they pay to adsense users, though I also think that it's a good place to start. When the content of the website is good enough and there is a good userbase, I guess it's good to find your own affiliates.

BTW JazzyJay, why don't you remove the "www." on the links on your signature? I think they would look better being a subdomain without www

[The Stealthy One]

CurlyBrace,

You are very right. Google has really been dropping AdSense payouts as AdWords keywords are bid higher and higher. Of course, this is their prerogative, but it is very scary to see for Websites that rely on AdSense as their sole (or primary) source of revenue. This is something we used to do, as well. Now, we are trying out an audio ad program (link in my signature, if your are interested) which seems like it will make us much more than AdSense did. Of course, it won't launch until February 1st, so I won't know until then.

The real challenge is finding a good replacement for AdSense. Many folks recommend Bidvertiser (which I've never used) and AdBrite (which I used and was unimpressed with). As you seem to mention, high-traffic sites may be better off acquiring their own advertisers directly. If the audio ad program does not work for us, this may be what I try next.

[webgal]

Adsense checks aren't what they used to be. They've separated out that content bidding and some clicks can be .02. I can't say my target has lots of those but I see one every once in a while.

One thing that can skew your click through rates is the social bookmarking. If you have submitted a site to stumble at night and there's tons of traffic with few click throughs, then it's just people responding to the click through and aren't really taking in the content. So on days like that, your click through % would be lower.

[nppro]

if your CTR is decent, which for 400 hits its not since you havent converted. You would of converted something by now. Redo your ad spots.