One of the best Google Adsense tips ever

ZachH · 04-22-2005, 07:25 AM

I just launched a site called Statbrain.com, it is a free service that estimates the number of visitors any site has.

When I launched the site I put it into a couple of forums for reviews in order to get some feedback. This was very helpful and I got tons of feedback. I made a lot of changes some of them right away and other changes were a bit more low priority.

One the low priority changes was changing the look of my Adsense ads. I’ve had several posts saying that the ads looked bad, because the ads were not in the same colors as the rest of the site. The ads were default Google Adsense colors.

Making sure that the Google Ads are an integrated part of your site and look like the rest of the site is not revolutionary news. It is an old Google Adsense tip and you might have heard the tip before, but I think this is interesting because this is an example of the exact result that a minor change like this can do. I have nothing to hide so I’ll give you the exact numbers of the effect of this very small change.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/google-adsense/84392-one-best-google-adsense-tips-ever.html

The numbers are based on 4 days before the change and 4 days after the change. Here are the numbers:

Before:
Pageviews 882
Clicks: 1
Click through rate: 0.11%

After:
Pageviews 1125
Clicks: 8
Click through rate: 0.70%

The numbers are not huge because the site was just launched, but I think they are large enough. This was amazing to me. A minor change like this increased my earnings 7 times – pretty wild.

I’ve attached screenshots. So that you can see what it looked like before and after without having to visit Statbrain.com.

I hope you can learn something from this, I certainly did. Let me hear your comments or if you have similar stories. It would also be interesting to hear if 0.70% is high or low compared to others.

Regards,

dc1pop · 04-22-2005, 08:23 AM

Have to agree. A member on here when visiting my site for review commented on the couls i used and recommended the ones i have chosen and ever since i have done it my clickthrough has been alot better and i do mean alot better!!

Great tip!

mediaspree · 04-22-2005, 09:24 AM

Yes, I think visitors are becoming more aware that google ads are, well, ads. When they "stick out" too much it becomes obtrusive to their viewing experience and they become less likely to click. its like when when your favorite song is on the radio and then an ad comes on you immedietly tune out the radio and conctrate on other things. Now I'm not saying I approve of this but if your favorite song had, say, the lyrics "Buy Coke" integrated into it you may subliminally think "hey, coke is good!"

IAmAllanShore · 04-22-2005, 12:53 PM

TOS still doesn't allow CTR #'s methinks, just FWIW.
I've also had similar, but also different, results.
My domains for sale page wasn't doing so hot with the ads, despite many visitors.
Changed one block of the ads to an obnoxious color that folks couldn't help but notice, and I got much much better results.
-Allan

Brian · 04-22-2005, 02:18 PM

Originally Posted by IAmAllanShore

TOS still doesn't allow CTR #'s methinks, just FWIW.
I've also had similar, but also different, results.
My domains for sale page wasn't doing so hot with the ads, despite many visitors.
Changed one block of the ads to an obnoxious color that folks couldn't help but notice, and I got much much better results.
-Allan

i had a similar experience, on a site where the ads kinda blended in, they weren't doing to great. changed it around to have them stick out with very wild colors, and the clicks more than trippled.

nicedomain4sale · 04-27-2005, 09:57 AM

Yeah, I would agree to you. It makes the site prettier so visitors don’t feel disturbed.

lovelylovely · 04-27-2005, 10:05 AM

Can u name me few places where i can get reviews of my site too
its a forum basically

brianfast · 04-27-2005, 08:06 PM

I heard you want the ads to stand out but cant you just change the color of them?

ZachH · 05-05-2005, 02:57 PM

To Brianfast

I'm not sure I understand your questions....

Regards,

armstrong · 05-06-2005, 07:01 PM

Google should allow a transparent background.

ZuraX · 05-07-2005, 04:44 AM

Now I have heard both sides, make the ads stick out and make the ads the same colors so they dont... anyone have a better example of what does good?

What I mean is a higher amount of views for both before and after?

Parma · 05-14-2005, 09:45 AM

You have to experiment and see which works best on your site.

ZachH · 05-22-2005, 01:21 PM

Agree - experimenting is the way forward.

alizarki · 05-23-2005, 01:04 PM

Good Tip

deu12000 · 05-23-2005, 06:04 PM

I found that making it blend into my sites gets me a very high click through rate. Sometimes the ads are so on the money that they actually blend in seemlessly with my actual content.

sunken · 05-23-2005, 06:43 PM

Blending the ads for the most part helped in my CTR, but I am still experimenting.

dabb · 05-23-2005, 11:39 PM

The ads on my main site blend in with the colors and style of my pages. However, most of my pages are have a white background and I recently made the background of the ads a very, very light blue just to make it stand out a tiny, tiny bit and make them more noticable. The CTR almost doubled immediately.

alizarki · 05-24-2005, 01:19 AM

Ok good

04-22-2005, 09:24 AM	#3 (permalink)
mediaspree NamePros Regular Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: FLorida Posts: 254	Yes, I think visitors are becoming more aware that google ads are, well, ads. When they "stick out" too much it becomes obtrusive to their viewing experience and they become less likely to click. its like when when your favorite song is on the radio and then an ad comes on you immedietly tune out the radio and conctrate on other things. Now I'm not saying I approve of this but if your favorite song had, say, the lyrics "Buy Coke" integrated into it you may subliminally think "hey, coke is good!" __________________ RetiredMingle.com \|GothMingle.com\| ParentMingle.com \| CowboyMingle.com \| OutMingle.com \| MotorMingle.com \| MarriageMindedMingle.com \| PlusSizeMingle.com \| CougarDream.com \| RunToLove.com \| STDMatch.net

04-22-2005, 12:53 PM	#4 (permalink)
IAmAllanShore NamePros Expert Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Esse quam videri Posts: 8,332	TOS still doesn't allow CTR #'s methinks, just FWIW. I've also had similar, but also different, results. My domains for sale page wasn't doing so hot with the ads, despite many visitors. Changed one block of the ads to an obnoxious color that folks couldn't help but notice, and I got much much better results. -Allan __________________ Something Witty This Way Comes...

04-27-2005, 10:05 AM	#7 (permalink)
lovelylovely NamePros Expert Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: LovelyDirectory.com Posts: 5,593 Follow @lovelynlovely	Can u name me few places where i can get reviews of my site too its a forum basically __________________ Search Engine Optimization and Internet marketing-DigitalTraffic.com Property For Sale UK \| Breaking News \| electronic cigarette Orbitz promo code\| discount hosting \| Seo Service Buy Guaranteed Facebook Fans

05-05-2005, 02:57 PM	THREAD STARTER #9 (permalink)
ZachH New Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 14	To Brianfast I'm not sure I understand your questions.... Regards, __________________ Zach Highknee www.statbrain.com FREE Tells you how many visitors any website has.

05-06-2005, 07:01 PM	#10 (permalink)
armstrong Man from Manila Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: The Net Posts: 6,025	Google should allow a transparent background. __________________ Apollo's excellent 3-letter .BIZ auction; $1 starting bid!

04-22-2005, 08:23 AM	#2 (permalink)
dc1pop Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: UK Posts: 1,893	Have to agree. A member on here when visiting my site for review commented on the couls i used and recommended the ones i have chosen and ever since i have done it my clickthrough has been alot better and i do mean alot better!! Great tip!

04-27-2005, 09:57 AM	#6 (permalink)
nicedomain4sale Account Closed Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Singapore Posts: 673	Yeah, I would agree to you. It makes the site prettier so visitors don’t feel disturbed.

04-27-2005, 08:06 PM	#8 (permalink)
brianfast Account Suspended Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 319	I heard you want the ads to stand out but cant you just change the color of them?

05-07-2005, 04:44 AM	#11 (permalink)
ZuraX Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Pennsylvania USA Posts: 2,683	Now I have heard both sides, make the ads stick out and make the ads the same colors so they dont... anyone have a better example of what does good? What I mean is a higher amount of views for both before and after? __________________ Been a NP member for 5 or more years? PM me to join the Social Group!

05-14-2005, 09:45 AM	#12 (permalink)
Parma New Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 11	You have to experiment and see which works best on your site.

05-22-2005, 01:21 PM	THREAD STARTER #13 (permalink)
ZachH New Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 14	Agree - experimenting is the way forward. __________________ Zach Highknee www.statbrain.com FREE Tells you how many visitors any website has.

05-23-2005, 01:04 PM	#14 (permalink)
alizarki Account Suspended Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 171	Good Tip

05-23-2005, 06:04 PM	#15 (permalink)
deu12000 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,452	I found that making it blend into my sites gets me a very high click through rate. Sometimes the ads are so on the money that they actually blend in seemlessly with my actual content. __________________ Low Priced Turnkey Websites , Free Forum Software , Electronic Cigarettes Wholesale and Dropshipping , Find your Future Home

05-23-2005, 06:43 PM	#16 (permalink)
sunken Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,279	Blending the ads for the most part helped in my CTR, but I am still experimenting. __________________ juegos juegos \| Your Hotel in Austria psicologo valencia

05-23-2005, 11:39 PM	#17 (permalink)
dabb NamePros Regular Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 343	The ads on my main site blend in with the colors and style of my pages. However, most of my pages are have a white background and I recently made the background of the ads a very, very light blue just to make it stand out a tiny, tiny bit and make them more noticable. The CTR almost doubled immediately. __________________ Berlin Stock Market Quotes - Low Float Stocks - High Short Interest Stocks

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05-24-2005, 01:19 AM	#18 (permalink)
alizarki Account Suspended Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 171	Ok good