PPC on forums...
 

where is the best place to put ppc ads in a forum? On top of the boards or in posts? has anybody tried either place? what has the best click through rate?

Forums, traditionaly has very bad CTR, try placing a leaderboard ad below the first post, and before Quick Reply, those two places have worked somewhat decent for me in the past.

Forum members usually become ad blind after they are used to the template, therefore you won't get really good CTR. Also do not place lots of ad blocks because most users are annoyed because of ads and might cause them to run away.

I agree with Brian, ads do fairly well if they're placed right below the first post. That way readers are somewhat forced to glance at the link titles at least. Leaderboards work better than link units on my forum. I've placed 2 leaderboards: one below the site banner and one at the bottom of the page - the one below the site banner receives more clicks.

If you have good search engine traffic to your forum, then that may increase your CTR a little. But most forums users would be ad blind as mentioned above. I wouldn't put the ads in the actual posts as that annoys me that does and would just turn me around, but putting it below the first post or above the last is not so bad.

Ads between posts work out the best in forums, but dont ever put more than 2 ad units of ads, users will get fed up and eventually run away.

I have seen PPC ads on several forums in between posts as well. Some place it somewhere on top for easier visibility during loading time.

IMO, PPC on forums which have a huge member base and has lots of targeted traffic could work out.

As said above, PPC ads between posts work the best but because of low CTR it might be better to look into some CPM advertising. I'd suggest experimenting alittle and see what works best for you.