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Are ad placement and size a factor in PPC revenue?

Hi Dave. I've been talking with some friends about how to make money as a blogger and they're split. Some say that Google AdSense is the way to go, while others wax enthusiastic about the Chitika network. What they all say, however, is that it's critically important to pick the right size ad and put it in the right place to get the best results. I'm skeptical, though: how important can that be on a Web page?


Dave's Answer:

First things first: if you don't yet have a Chitika.com account, please click here to sign up.

Done that? Good.

Now, think about advertisements in any venue, whether it's TV spots, newspaper ads or even promo spots from sponsors on your favorite podcast. I would hope that it's obvious that some are better than others. A :30 spot during the Superbowl is going to cost quite a bit more than a :60 during the 3am-4am insomniac time period. Why? Because there are lots more people watching the Superbowl ad and the ad is more likely to be successful (depending on the product and audience, of course. I'm guessing a ShamWow won't do very well during half-time. :-)

Perhaps a magazine is an even better example, because it's the same publication read by the same people, but the very first page people see when they open the magazine (the "inside cover") is going to be far more effective in attracting potential customers than a 1/4-page advert six pages from the end of the publication.

In a very similar way, the size and placement of ads on a Web page are critical too.

The first thing to consider is "the fold" (so named for newspapers where the top half of the page is "above the fold" because so many people fold their newspaper in half when reading).

I have a great, great example from the Chitika network to illustrate this, an example that comes from this very weblog.

My first attempt at adding Chitika ads looked like this:

chitika old placement

A fairly good position (though not as good a placement as the Google AdSense ads on this page) but the results were fairly lackluster at best:

• average $0.11 eCPM (that is, revenue per 1000 ads displayed)
• an average of $2.74 per day from the site
• a grand total of $85/month in ad revenue

With some input from Chitika's team, we made a few tweaks to the size and style of the advert and moved it up just a wee bit on the page so it looked like this:

chitika new placement

The results? Pretty amazing considering how little effort was involved:

• an average eCPM of $2.24 eCPM (a huge jump)
• which is now pulling in about $62.37 per day
• which calculates out to around $2000/month

Nice, eh? Yes, I think we can conclude from this experiment that size and placement of the adverts are very important to your success with online pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

Oh, and if you're thinking that $2.24 eCPM is a nice multiplier for your own Web site traffic, then I encourage you to consider joining the Chitika ad network too.

Oh, and it's not just me finding good results with Chitika. Darren Rowse ("problogger") says that it's a top revenue source for him from his own popular, must-read Web site too!

Disclaimer: The Chitika sign up links are affiliate links: if you sign up for the program through these links, you'll not only help yourself, you'll help me keep the lights on in our offices. Thanks for helping out!

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Categorized: Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising   (Article 8877, Written by )
Tagged: chitika, google adsense, online advertising, ppc, problogger
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Reader Comments To Date: 10

Steve said, on May 6, 2009 2:46 AM:

Hi Dave,

What is the best way to get into CPA a network
if you don't have a web site already that is producing traffic ?

I know that when you say you are new to CPA, they
don't look at you as a serious marketer, but
everyone has to start somewhere.

Steve

Jehzeel Laurente said, on May 15, 2009 10:22 AM:

I also tried their Mega Unit and it really increases my CTR! I think I should add all mega units in my websites. I only tried it to one site. :)

Jadeb said, on May 23, 2009 8:25 AM:

The modification of your original chitika ad involved removing the border around it which usually results in improved performance. This option does not seem to be available to the rest of us on the control panel so our results may be less stellar than yours.
Will email the chitika guys about that. Thanks.

Jim said, on May 27, 2009 12:48 PM:

Hey,
I used chitika a few years ago, before the premium ads were available, the difference is an increase in my ctr which is a good thing.

Before the Premium ads my ctr was so bad I stopped using them altogether. The trick, you need traffic to be successful generating substantial income.

Cheers,
Jim

jessie said, on June 13, 2009 7:32 PM:

hi dave!

i was really amazed with the figures you've mentioned here. i just wish one of sites will be able to replicate your income from chitika. i've put the mega unit code in only one site i own so i think i'm gonna have to wait for a while before i can say how this ad unit will perform.

Jordan McClements said, on June 16, 2009 6:19 AM:

I had some success with Chitika in the past, and in respect of publisher support that are a million miles ahead of google.

But less than half my traffic is from the USA so it is never going to be a serious rival to Adsense until they support traffic from more countries for their premium ads..

aarti lamba said, on July 23, 2009 10:22 PM:

sir, you site is very informative. i have visited many pages of it. but pls let me know average per click revenue from chitika ads?

DaveZatz said, on August 7, 2009 4:31 AM:

Nice job, you snuck the referral code in there 4 times. Yet, you don't actually appear to be running their ads at this time.

DT said, on November 16, 2009 3:54 PM:

That is a significant jump in revenue. I'm new to the ad thing and don't want to over do it for my clients, but I'll be looking into chitika.

Thanks

Rajiv said, on September 25, 2010 6:07 AM:

Your figures are stunning, and though, I am new to chitika, I am still unable to get the right idea about the ads placement, but I feel,the ad placement just above the article title is the best option.

Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!











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