Test Monitization, Review, Adjust, Start Again
Right now I’m in an interesting position with MacTips because it’s reached the point where small changes make big impacts.
The site isn’t huge by any means but we’ve reached our first week where traffic hasn’t dipped below 4,000 pageviews per day. I’m that much closer to reaching my short-term goal of 5,000 pageviews per day.
Inconsistent Google AdSense Numbers
I have mixed thoughts about Google AdSense. On one hand it’s nice because it’s guaranteed ad dollars that actually produce a decent amount.
On the other hand my numbers from day to day vary drastically. I can’t specify exact numbers, but eCPM varies by a few dollars every day. I’m not sure if this is normal–but I haven’t seen activity like this previously.
Tweaking Google AdSense
In attempt to bring some stability to my numbers I’ve began tweaking AdSense. I’m doing 2 different things currently with some initial success.
Competitive Ad Filter
The AdSense Competitive Ad Filter allows you to block certain ads from displaying on your site. For the most part this is used for blocking competitor ads, but I’ve also found this useful to block un-related ads.
Google does a good job selecting ads most of the time, but a little help never hurt anyone. In my case it’s actually helped me by bumping my eCPM up $1. I’m not sure how permanent this is however.
Note: I see Google has added a “Ad Review Center”. I just signed up–I’ll let you know how this goes.
Rich Media Ads
The other thing I’ve begun experimenting with is non-text ads. This means images/videos/flash. So far it’s doing OK but nothing amazing.
I’m going to continue tweaking AdSense as small changes like this can produce big results.
Monetizing with T-shirts
I’ve dabbled in affiliate programs but there just aren’t many good Mac related affiliate programs out there. The ones that do exist just haven’t performed very well. Infact they’ve performed awfully.
But part of being a webmaster is continually trying and improving.
I have a hunch that T-shirts will sell better than most affiliate programs I put on my site. The problem is, there aren’t any Mac related t-shirt affiliate programs. I’ve contacted the companies–they’re not interested.
I want to sell their products and they’re not interested, unbelievable!
I’ve decided to create a few t-shirts of my own and see how those sell. I’ve started a contest at MacTips for ideas with mild success.
This whole thing is a big experiment so I’ll be sure to report on my results. Nonetheless it’s not a very big investment with companies like CafePress and Zazzle doing the dirty work.
Continuous Improvement
As the title suggests, improving your site follows the basic steps of:
- Test: No sure if an idea will work? Try it.
- Review: Record and review your results.
- Adjust: Adjust your test trying new ideas.
- Go to #1: Start the whole process again.
Never stop tweaking, never stop trying new things, never stop improving.
