Forum Moderators: martinibuster
Just as an example - amazon does this with the old "add this to cart to see the price". I know their goal is to get you to add to cart. But it also registers and extra page view or three.
If I can make a few site-wide changes that will no doubt increase page views, is that the best move? Is it possible that more page views will yield LESS clicks?
(is it possible that more page views will lead to less $/click?)
Hubes
Straight up: Does your CTR going down lead to less $/click?
This answer would solve a lot of my questions...
Straight up: Does your CTR going down lead to less $/click?
straight up: unless a google rep feels inclined to answer your question, then you may as well ask the wind.
factors would be:
going down by how much?
what is the overall traffic are we talking 10's, 100's, k's, 10k's of pageviews.
... then you may as well ask the wind.
Wonderfully put!
In very general terms, it is often the contention that if you recieve a large number of impressions which result in few clicks, Google may penalize your earnings through a "Smart Pricing" algorithm.
In a perfect world (or perfect system) I would agree with you, however, there is still no real understanding as to how Google might track conversions.
There is a option in the AdWords system (I'm told) that can be set to track conversions but I've heard AdWords users say they don't use it.
If that is the only method that they have to track conversions then they would be getting a fairly incomplete picture and would likely have to capitalize on other available metrics such as CTR.
IMHO
Chapman
However, several people have reported a useful technique. If you have pages that get high traffic but unfocused traffic--just people arriving, looking around a bit, and leaving, then clicks on ads on such pages may not convert well for advertisers, and thus not only won't earn well but might hurt your earnings overall. So offer visitors to that page links to OTHER pages on your site with more focused information that they might be looking for. Then when they choose a page, they are going to a page with content and ads more likely to be of interest. And the clicks you get on THOSE pages may be good for you and for smart pricing.
To use a "widgets" example: you get a lot of traffic to a widgets information page. People arrive, read, and leave, and generally ignore the widgets ads too. You have very general information about widgets on that page. But you also have detailed information elsewhere. So offer links to your pages on green widgets, on red widgets, on striped widgets, on rainbow widgets, on oversize widgets, on luxury widgets, on widget crafting, on widgeting, etc. etc. Of course, do NOT have any pages or links for bargain widgets or (even worse) free widgets.
It is true, though, that you can direct traffic to higher paying pages from lower ones - in fact you're better off not placing ads on certain low-paying pages, and directing them to higher.
As with anything, and any site or audience, you need to test it yourself to find out. Our experiences are just a starting point for you to measure by.
