Wanted: Website Review Where/How to add adsense to this established site

[mally]

Hello all, I'm after any advice from you reference adsense placement suggestions

Here is my site

Online Petition

Currently I have a small adsense box on the right menu, which has generated very little over the last couple of months I've had it on.

My ultimate goal is for viewers to sign or start a petition, but as its free to do that there's no way I can earn money from that so I'm a but stuck and need to add adverts.

Any advice appreciated!

If you do a search on google for "Petition" you will see about 4 or 5 other websites in the google ads wanting people to start a petition with them, I've looked at them all but again most have no obvious income generation method.

 

[accelerator]

My own theory on AdSense is that you need to stick it right under people's noses, i.e. within the main body text, towards the top of the page, and colour code it to match the body text. I'm saying put it after the first few sentences and integrate it well so that it matches the rest of the text and doesn't look like ads. This is just a theory, I've never tested it thoroughly. I've moved away from AdSense.

I wouldn't think that a Petition site was that easy to monetise anyway. If your main goal for the site is monetisation (is it?), then you would probably be better off dropping the site and starting a more consumer orientated site rather than this politically motivated site.

Rgds

 

[dashu1]

Hello,
don't know if this will help or not.

My most successful stint with adsense was on my scrap gold site.

The reason I think it worked well was that people could find good solid info on the site about gold prices, working out how much their gold was worth, etc, etc

However, once they'd read the info they were still no nearer selling their gold, since we didn't buy it.

The natural thing for them to do was to click one of the google ads that took them to someone who did buy gold.

So, perhaps the way to go on your site is not to give them a method to fill in a petition (which is essentially giving them a way to leave your site without earning you anything), but instead to give them oodles of information about how to fill in a petition correctly, why do a petition, etc, and have adsense ads on those pages that lead to sites where you can submit a petition.

In other words, you're providing them with the information, and then giving them a method to go to another site to fill in a petition which earns you money when they click it.

Maybe?

 

[mally]

thanks for your replies, I agree and understand that to succeed via I want people to leave my site which long term is probably not the best way to continue to build the site.

I've just checked the stats and it gets roughly 1,000 people a day looking at it which is double last year at this time.

I'm going to play around over the next few weeks and try some different ads/ad types.

I dont want to look my viewers to competitive petition websites so will block them from the adverts, and hope that the page relevance produces appropiate adverts, i.e this petition http://www.petition.co.uk/bringing-the-bmw-4x4-5-series-to-the-uk which is about BMW cars will (and currently is when I look) display BMW related adverts.

I think its made about £10 in ads since October which shows the current ads shown arnt working lol

 

[Ashton]

Your adverts are in the little box on the right and they will be mostly glazed over. Whilst you don't want to scare users off by having a load of advertising - you want the revenue.

I would say put a horizontal text link add right under your current menu. Everyone will view it and if interested click it.

Next I would say put a horizontal banner above the 'sign / tell everyone / contact author'

Also another suggestion I thought of whilst looking at it - Get people to login with facebook, means they are auto linking their profile for you to spread the word about their petition with.

Looking a page on one of your competitors sites: http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/savebarrysfield

You cant miss that top banner

 

[peacock]

I don't know if they are still there but there was a few affiliate offers that might work at affiliate future... e.g. there was something about fighting animal cruelty that was paying approx one quid per lead... Just an email sign up.

 

[orchardapple]

I dont want to look my viewers to competitive petition websites so will block them from the adverts, and hope that the page relevance produces appropiate adverts, i.e this petition http://www.petition.co.uk/bringing-the-bmw-4x4-5-series-to-the-uk which is about BMW cars will (and currently is when I look) display BMW related adverts.

I think its made about £10 in ads since October which shows the current ads shown arnt working lol

Try sticking a large ad block, 350x250 directly under the heading of the article.

The sponsored advert box is far to small, only prob it fits in with the site so could only suggest moving that box to the top of the right hand column.

also try at the bottom of each post sticking a 450x60 advert, they convert quite well for me.

 

[scrizzle]

Install a heat map!

 

[snooze]

Hi Mally,
This is my take, first you need to be aggressive about it and don’t be ashamed about it. How things are at the moment they are not visible enough.

First you might need you ads to be configured to what I called “reactive”, meaning they are in different places based on where on the site the visitor is i.e front page, single page.

For your site, I think you should move the ad at the bottom of the page to somewhere in the middle i.e between the list of names and the sign up box or between the petition and the sign up box preferable text.

I also think you should put a text skyscraper under the petitions categories.

For the front page I would only put a 250x250 beside the sign up information and move the summaries on the right, and put one under the latest petitions.

Hope this helps.

 

[mally]

Thanks all for your help. I've added a large 720x90 banner under the header and a smaller banner at the bottom of the page 468x60.. This has so far increased income in a week to just under a tenner. I've tried to insert the smaller banner imbetween the petition contents and the signatures, not managed it yet but will continue to work on it!

I think a template redesign is on the cards, once done I'll let you guys know,

 

[richrf]

Thanks all for your help. I've added a large 720x90 banner under the header and a smaller banner at the bottom of the page 468x60.. This has so far increased income in a week to just under a tenner. I've tried to insert the smaller banner imbetween the petition contents and the signatures, not managed it yet but will continue to work on it!

I think a template redesign is on the cards, once done I'll let you guys know,

As others have pointed out, a petition site is very difficult to monetize and Google is not giving much to Adsense publishers any more (that is how they keep growing their own earnings). I would try to put an image only ad at the top of the page. Something that will stand out. The type of ads that will appear will depend upon the content you put on the pages.

The right sidebar might be better utilized by one skyscraper ad that really stands out. The smaller ads will probably be ignored. They are too difficult to read.

Also, you might want to try out Commission Junction or something similar, though ad revenues are going to pretty low where ever you go nowadays.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[mally]

Just wanted to update the thread.

I ended up adding a large 728x90 banner at the top and a 468x60 banner at eh bottom of each petition. Results have now improved to between £3 to £4 a day.

I'm sure that can be further improved but I'll be lookings at a redesign at some point improving the layout, graphics and ads.

Thanks for your input.

 

[orchardapple]

i'd look to change the 728x90 banner to a text only advert, that group*n one is very annoying and i've noticed a large increase since ditching image ads