Using Adsense on your blog

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 at 11:41 am

I have been adding more content here and less answering questions so back to the questions.

Today’s question:

Mike, Two quick questions: What is the name of the drop down menu RSS subscribe plugin that you are using on this blog? I like it. The BIG one: I saw your wonderful interview with Liz Tomey. You said that you test different Adsense placements with different WP themes. In your testing, have you found that a certain theme and/or placement combination works well. So well, that you use it as a benchmark to start your other sites? Example: I got the Revolution Magazine theme (not cheap) and it is beautiful. Great content, good traffic – but the Adsense click thru is so very bad. Pretty ain’t always the best. Many thanks, and keep up the good work. Robert

The first part is easy. I use Subscribe Me plugin for the drop down feed buttons. I like it because it makes a one click to add to the reader’s preferred feed reader. For example I use Google Reader and if I click the Google button it adds it to my reader in a click (as long as I am logged in which for me is almost always).

The second part is much harder.

My best results for ctr on Adsense usually come from having the ads embedded in the post itself. There are plugins that will do that but I prefer to hard code the Adsense into the theme itself.

Sidebar Adsense has never done well for me for click throughs compared to having it in the article.

Now I don’t intentionally create Adsense blogs as a primary monetization. They come about by testing.

I start with Adsense and if that is converting I will start to test affiliate offers. As I am converting over though I will move the Adsense to the bottom of the post until I have proved out the affiliate promotions.

I use Adsense primarily for testing new niches as it does give me a good idea of how profitable it is. Adsense is never the primary monetization unless the niche does not prove out for affiliate marketing or my own products.

If it proves out then I switch to affiliate offers or create my own product as that is more profitable in the long run and the Adsense goes away. I will keep it up with Adsense only if it makes more that way than with affiliate offers.

If it is a dud I kill it and let the domain expire.

Hope that helps explain it better for you.

As always your questions and comments are welcomed.

Mike Paetzold