how do I not screw up Adsense stats?

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how do I not screw up Adsense stats?

unata

9:06 pm on Jun 22, 2008 (gmt 0)

I have a local events site where I run both direct sales ads (when available) and Adsense. The ad location is on the top right of the page. I tried two things:

1. display direct sales ad on top and run Adsense underneath - the CTR on Adsense drops to virtually nothing
2. run direct sales ad when available and turn Adsense off for that time.

So, I make additional money when direct sales ad is running, but I lose money from Adsense, and what's worse, after direct sales run is over, the Adsense earnings take about 7-10 days to come back up - I think it's because Google gets confused of why the good performing ads all of sudden stopped performing and starts trying all kinds of other ads.

Does that sound right? Should I just turn the Adsense off for that time? Would 0 impressions with 0 CTR do better for keeping good ads on the site than hundreds of impressions with low CTR?

netmeg

11:14 pm on Jun 22, 2008 (gmt 0)

I use PHP to randomly run affiliate ads and AdSense ads on various pages; if one or the other isn't performing well, then I remove it.

unata

11:38 pm on Jun 22, 2008 (gmt 0)

thank you for your reply. What I am asking is - would removing Adsense all together for a while negatively affect the future Adsense performance?

If Adsense competes with direct sale banner ad, Adsense earnings drop - and not just during banner ad running, but LONG AFTER.

The "long after" part is what's confusing to me. I think it's because Google stats get all screwed up and Google decides that ads that used to work well are not working anymore, so they need to experiment and try other advertisers.

Would it be better to simply turn Adsense off for a while? How is it working for people that turn Adsense ads on and off? Do you notice decrease in revenue after you turned them back on?

farmboy

2:22 am on Jun 23, 2008 (gmt 0)

By "direct sales" do you mean affiliate type ads or do you mean you've sold ad space directly to advertisers?

FarmBoy

unata

2:39 am on Jun 23, 2008 (gmt 0)

I sell ads directly to advertisers. I am selling them by a week - we live in a small city and per-impression sales are way over people's head.

Every time direct-sale banner ad runs for 1 week, Adsense is moved down right below it, revenues drop dramatically, and don't return until about 2 weeks after direct-sale banner is finished running.

I think that's because well-performing ads stop performing as well during that one week and Google system tries to put other ads in their places to fix it. Then it all shakes itself out after a while.

So my question is: would it be better to simply turn Adsense off for that week? What does Google system do in this case?

netmeg

3:21 pm on Jun 23, 2008 (gmt 0)

Nobody can give you a definitive answer for that, because it's not going to work the same for any two people. All you can do is try it.

farmboy

4:03 pm on Jun 23, 2008 (gmt 0)

I sell ads directly to advertisers. I am selling them by a week - we live in a small city and per-impression sales are way over people's head.

I live in a small city also. I wouldn't make the mistake of assuming this is unique to people who live in a small city. If you do, it can be reflected as arrogant in your attitude and it can hurt your sales efforts.

Proportionally, there are probably as many potential advertisers in large cities as there are in small cities who haven't yet been introduced to the concept.

Every time direct-sale banner ad runs for 1 week, Adsense is moved down right below it...

Have you tested layouts other than moving AdSense right below the banner?

So my question is: would it be better to simply turn Adsense off for that week? What does Google system do in this case?

If I were you, I'd work towards having AdSense running all the time.

FarmBoy

unata

4:44 pm on Jun 23, 2008 (gmt 0)

I would not call my attitude arrogant - I am well aware that per-impression sales concept was way over MY head 4 months ago. As for small cities - there are less national businesses here and therefore less awareness of national and international advertising methods. Pay per click is also a lot more attractive to small businesses.

In fact, this is a good time to run a small city local site with Adsense - I have started seeing local Adsense ads for bed and breakfasts, photographers, nail salons and even sidewalk sales. Good paying ads too, up to $2 per click. I delete all the real estate agents though. :)