Forum Moderators: martinibuster
Impressions are about the same, but the CTR and therefore the ECPM is way down.
This made me think that my ads were not as relevant, but when I look at them, they are relevant for the most part. Always get an ad here and there that could be better.
Why do you think that visitors are not clicking as much as they normally do?
It is really terrible, we are struggling to survive and have tried numerous ad implementations and positions throughout the website. Is so bad I had to get a part time job cause the site is barely making enough to cover operational costs.
Really desperate situation here, despite the enormous traffic (and server costs) increase. Also CTR is down to 0.5% from 4%...
It would be interesting to see if we can have a comparison of Adsense performance versus YPN or other network ads for those that use them. Clicksor for example has provided a good alternative (had to scrap some of the google ads for them which made us breathe a bit).
With other programs numbers are also lower. Advertisers are cutting back, leaving, or lowering bids.
signor_john: IMHO, this is a good time to build for the future. When the economy recovers, publishers who have focused on improving and expanding their sites will be in a better position than those who have spent their energies on trying to squeeze every last drop of blood out of a drought-stricken turnip.
I'm seeing traffic increase on my sites (I also have two more sites) still, making slightly equal or less income than before with less sites. So, I guess by now:
Despite what the economic experts say, I still think eternal expansion and growing of any system is impossible. This would happen anyway (and maybe will get worse). It is very normal to grow, reach a point of zero growth (stop expanding) and then perhaps implode.
The big opportunity and challenge here is to stay alive, keep on growing (positioning your website) and wait. When this (IF) is over, the remaining stronger sites will have more opportunities.
I think that's always been the case. Cookie-cutter affiliate sites, click arbitrage sites, scraper sites, SEO-driven "user-generated content" sites that mine long-tail search, etc. have all come on the scene to exploit opportunities caused by weaknesses in the search engines or in AdSense. The first-generation opportunities make money while they can before selling up and/or moving onto something else; the second generation consists of wannabe opportunists who arrived too late, along with people who realize that there's more money to be made in e-books about how to get rich than in following their own advice.
During all the ups and downs of the business models du jour, user-focused sites with real content have been able to adapt profitably instead of throwing their work away and starting over each time a new fad or temporary business model comes along. Affiliate links, AdSense ads, display ads, and other revenue sources can be mixed, matched, added, or discarded without affecting the site's raison d'être. By thinking like real publishers (not just like "AdSense publishers"), site owners can continue to build on their successes instead of having to reinvent themselves every two or three years.
