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Blending Adsense into your site…
By Gil | April 20, 2008
Going by the title, you might think this post is about blending Adsense ads into a website. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. While doing some research, I came across a forum about making money online. I read post after post on how to increase your click through percentage and revenue by blending in your adsense ads into your website so that they look like just another link, or part of your content. While this might sound logical initially, it will actually work against you in the long run.
How so? Data shows that the conversion rate for advertisers are lower when the person clicking the ad thinks they are clicking a link to more content, rather than an ad. As a result, this de-values the price a link is worth to the advertiser, and thus means less revenue for the site publisher. You might have a higher click through ratio, but Google is looking is for results. Want some proof? Here is a quote from the Google Adwords site:
We are constantly analyzing data across our network, and if our data shows that a click is less likely to turn into business results (e.g. online sale, registration, phone call, newsletter sign-up), we may reduce the price you pay for that click. You may notice a reduction in the cost of clicks from content sites.
This is what Google refers to as smart pricing, and I would bet that the reduction is not going to come from Google’s share of the revenue… which leaves the publisher to take the hit. How many forum posts have you read where a publisher is averaging $20 or $30 a day, then BAM!… 5 or 10 bucks a day overnight? Sure, this could be some fluctuation in the market, but most likely, this is smart pricing in action. Now, even though the publisher is an important part of the adwords/adsense equation, can you really fault Google for protecting their source of revenue, which ultimately comes from the advertiser?
How should Adsense ads be displayed?
Google essentially tells you how they like ads displayed in their terms of service. They want the ads to appear as ads. This is why they DON’T want images bordering too close, and DO want titles like sponsored links. At the same time, you don’t want them to stick out like a neon sign in the middle of the night - they should match the look and feel of your site, while still being recognized as ads. Google doesn’t want you ads to stick out either, so they give you the capability of customizing the ad’s features, such as link colors, background colors, borders, rounded corners, etc… I personally don’t mind ads on a website, especially when they are related to the content that I am reading about. And yes, I have even purchased from some of them.
Going against the stream
Just a caveat here… I am not an Adsense guru. In fact, most Adsense experts tell you blend in your adsense ads to look just like your links and content, so maybe there is something to that. My opinion is based off the Adsense terms of service, the Adwords site, many observations from various forums, and a little personal experience…
The search for help for Roxie
Yep, that’s Roxie to the left. When she was just a very young pup, she got parvo before her immunization. If your not familiar with parvo, it has a mortality rate of about 50%. I was searching all over the net for others that have battled the illness and won, and what they did. There are plenty of content sites out there on dogs and parvo. Many sites I visited had links that looked like links to more content, but were acutally adsense ads. I was still doing research, so I wasn’t ready to buy anything, so I left the site to look for other ones that had better content. I did find some very good content out there, and did find a nutritional product (from an ad) that many had success with. Roxie racked up about $400 in bills and a couple of nights at the animal hospital, and I’m happy to report that she a very happy, healthy, and fiesty dog today.
Conclusion
With Google hiding their pay out percentage, and with smart pricing, its hard to tell exactly what works best. However, one thing to keep in mind is that Google wants what is best for the advertiser, because they are the ones paying out the money. If you were an advertiser with Google, wouldn’t you want the same thing? So, it stands to reason that better conversion rates for the advertiser means continued business with Google, which means more revenue for them. It also stands to reason that Google would want to reward the publisher that provides better conversion rates, or, it you want to view it in reverse, penalize the publisher - by reduced earnings - for low conversion rates. By the way… as a side note… pets are a good niche topic. People like to spend money on the pets.
Topics: Adsense, Web Design |