I'm Back Into The Pay-Per-Click Game, Thanks To The Yahoo! Publisher Network Beta Program (YPNBP)
It's seems like yesterday, but it was in fact some months ago when I was having a very interesting online conversation with some folks over @ The Digital Point Forums about the use of images to enhance the visibility of text ads, specifically: Google AdSense text ads. I had visited the website of forum member "ALANG" where he was employing a clever image coupling technique that I had never seen before. Basically, he positioned a small graphic above a small AdSense unit. The AdSense unit had an invisible border, but there was a thin border surrounding the two parts (part one being the small image, part two being the small AdSense unit) and the resultant effect was great: it got my attention right away; remove the small image, I thought to myself, and I probably wouldn't have paid any attention to the AdSense ad unit.
I was inspired by what I had seen, and I had an idea to take the technique one step further. So I constructed a simple, 4-celled HTML table above a 728x90 ad unit, and added 4 small, generic and uniform images to each of the cells. This enhancement to the original technique, I thought, would not only get my ads noticed without going overboard, but it would also be more efficient (because I would be able to display up to 4 ads on a single ad unit.) I noted a nice increase in clicks on the sites where I had put this technique to work, and, after re-reading the AdSense Terms of Service to make sure that I wasn't breaking any rules, I got to work implementing the technique on more sites within my network.
It was at this point that Digital Point Forum member "CRITTERS" started a thread about how his average click-through rate increased by 400% (that's right: four hundred percent) after he implemented this technique on his popular "Draw a Pig" website (needless to say my student credit cards website has been getting non-stop traffic from this particular Digital Point thread ever since!) This thread grew very quickly, as webmasters from around the globe--folks with all kinds of websites--reported meaningful to incredible increases in click-through rates after trying the technique on their sites. As you might have guessed, "CRITTERS" became an instant forum celebrity for sharing his experiences with the technique, and I'm glad that he did (he's a cool guy.)
Now I see this technique being used all over the place; the word has been propagated (excuse the geeky term!) across the Internet, as folks who blog about contextual ad programs spread the news around the blogosphere and beyond.
I'm now starting to use the technique with Yahoo's Publisher Network Beta Program (YPNBP). I'll only be adding the YPNBP code to a handful of my developed websites; after my experience with the other popular pay-per-click program, I think it would be wise for me to start slow and see how it goes (placing AdSense code on too many of my websites may have been the reason for my account getting "disable," but, alas, I shall never know for sure, as I never did get a full explanation as to why the program managers decided to kick me to the curb.)
FYI: if you try the technique, just remember to email the Google AdSense Team (or, if you are in the YPNBP, then you should call the toll free number provided) and make sure that they are OK with your implementation of the technique, just to be on the safe side. Also, try to use the most generic (and legal!) images related to your website or blog that you can find. If the images are too specific, then it may seem like you are trying to trick surfers into clicking for something that may not be delivered once they reach the destination website. You don't want that, and neither do the advertisers who are paying for those ads.
Earlier today, I placed 3 phone calls to the YPNBP toll free support line (the last call was to get approval for the image coupling technique that I had implemented on my nascent Debt Forum website as a test.) Not only did they answer on the second ring each time I called, but they were also patient, efficient and reassuringly straight with their answers. I think this may be the beginning of a beautiful relationship! Kudos to you, YPNBP; I'm looking forward to doing a lot more learning--and maybe even some more earning--with this new partnership.
I was inspired by what I had seen, and I had an idea to take the technique one step further. So I constructed a simple, 4-celled HTML table above a 728x90 ad unit, and added 4 small, generic and uniform images to each of the cells. This enhancement to the original technique, I thought, would not only get my ads noticed without going overboard, but it would also be more efficient (because I would be able to display up to 4 ads on a single ad unit.) I noted a nice increase in clicks on the sites where I had put this technique to work, and, after re-reading the AdSense Terms of Service to make sure that I wasn't breaking any rules, I got to work implementing the technique on more sites within my network.
It was at this point that Digital Point Forum member "CRITTERS" started a thread about how his average click-through rate increased by 400% (that's right: four hundred percent) after he implemented this technique on his popular "Draw a Pig" website (needless to say my student credit cards website has been getting non-stop traffic from this particular Digital Point thread ever since!) This thread grew very quickly, as webmasters from around the globe--folks with all kinds of websites--reported meaningful to incredible increases in click-through rates after trying the technique on their sites. As you might have guessed, "CRITTERS" became an instant forum celebrity for sharing his experiences with the technique, and I'm glad that he did (he's a cool guy.)
Now I see this technique being used all over the place; the word has been propagated (excuse the geeky term!) across the Internet, as folks who blog about contextual ad programs spread the news around the blogosphere and beyond.
I'm now starting to use the technique with Yahoo's Publisher Network Beta Program (YPNBP). I'll only be adding the YPNBP code to a handful of my developed websites; after my experience with the other popular pay-per-click program, I think it would be wise for me to start slow and see how it goes (placing AdSense code on too many of my websites may have been the reason for my account getting "disable," but, alas, I shall never know for sure, as I never did get a full explanation as to why the program managers decided to kick me to the curb.)
FYI: if you try the technique, just remember to email the Google AdSense Team (or, if you are in the YPNBP, then you should call the toll free number provided) and make sure that they are OK with your implementation of the technique, just to be on the safe side. Also, try to use the most generic (and legal!) images related to your website or blog that you can find. If the images are too specific, then it may seem like you are trying to trick surfers into clicking for something that may not be delivered once they reach the destination website. You don't want that, and neither do the advertisers who are paying for those ads.
Earlier today, I placed 3 phone calls to the YPNBP toll free support line (the last call was to get approval for the image coupling technique that I had implemented on my nascent Debt Forum website as a test.) Not only did they answer on the second ring each time I called, but they were also patient, efficient and reassuringly straight with their answers. I think this may be the beginning of a beautiful relationship! Kudos to you, YPNBP; I'm looking forward to doing a lot more learning--and maybe even some more earning--with this new partnership.
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posted by Steve Brown | Wednesday, October 12, 2005
1 Comments:
That is fascinating about the images having such a dramatic effect on the clickthrough rate, I'll try that on one of my Adsense websites. I haven't looked at Yahoo Publisher Network, maybe I'll give that a look.
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