Big Foot Web Marketing

You may have noticed something odd going on in your Google AdSense reports- Your CTR (click-through-rate) has dropped, a lot.
Many AdSense users are reporting heavy drops in the AdSense earnings the last few days. It may be because of the new way Google displays its ads.

The only part of the ad that is clickable for a user is the TITLE- not the whole ad. The change started a few days ago and does NOT affect all ads.

AdSense Ads Without URL’s

The two ad unit sizes without URLs are:

The 468×60 Banner

and the
234×60 half banner

You may want to switch to these size ads if you have notice big drop and see if it helps. Give the new ads their own channel and track. ( Which you should be doing anyway) . If you are using Google AdSense Deluxe Plugin then it will be very easy for you to do- just replace the old code with the new in options.
I would be curious to know if you were affected if if switching ads helped- please let me know.

Increase AdSense Performance and Make Other AdSense Ads More Clickable

If it is more practical to stick with your current ad- you can give this a try:

If you have not all ready done so- make your ad “blend” with site. Use the same background color on the ad and border as you have on your site. ( You can check your theme’s stylesheet in Wordpress -Presentation/Themes/Edit/stylesheet to see the hex code for your color if you don’t know it)

You can also try keeping the TITLE of AdSense ad same color as the other anchor text on your site ( the color of a live link on your site that tells users this is a link) and then making the TEXT and URL same as color of text on your sidebar or header- depending on where you are placing the ad.

I have also tried making the TEXT and URL a light color-Anchor text on site red and text black, make TITLE of ad red and TEXT light grey, making the TITLE more prominent.

Tags: Blog For Money, Google Adsense by Lisa Stewart
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Google has implemented a change in the way ad clicks are counted. Only by clicking on the actual link or title in the text Adsense ads will it click through to advertisers site.
Previously, site visitor could just click anywhere on the ad. The hope is for fewer accidental clicks- which is a good thing for advertisers.

New Google Adsense Reducing Income for Some Sites

Publishers are expecting drop in income.
I have noticed the past week that my CTR has dropped. One of my blogs had increased but less targeted traffic- it had a link off of CNN.com last week and traffic has skyrocketed and caused CTR to plummet.
Some of my sites are quite seasonal and Fall and Spring there is lots of changing and shifting.

Many of my sites PR has been devalued because of posting PPP ads on my personal blogs. I won’t know if income dropped for a few more days at least- but I can see a slight shift in CTR.
The move is happening over next couple of days- some sites still have the old clickable backgrounds there and others have newer appearing. The move is automatic and you will have to change any of your coding.

Tags: Google Adsense by Lisa Stewart
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Problem with Google Adsense

No- You are NOT seeing things. There is a problem with Google reporting and channels.
I noticed problem yesterday but didn’t have time to investigate.
Initially thought something was wrong with Google Adsense plugin – but nope. It’s Google- not you!
You may have noticed some or all of the following problems with your Google Adsense reports:

Showing URL channels only
No channel information
Unusual CTR on your Google ads
Stats not updated
Unusual Impression numbers
Lower earning than usual on your Google Ads

Official Google response to the reporting problem

Our engineers are aware of this aggregate/channels reporting discrepancy and are working on resolving it as quickly as they can. I’ll let you know when I know more.

More Info on Current Google Adsense Problems:
Webmaster World:http://www.webmasterworld.com/google_adsense/3484611.htm

Tags: Google Adsense by Lisa Stewart
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What Theme Should I Use in Wordpress if Using Adsense?

Now there is the million dollar question. Which theme will get you the most money? Call me a purist, but in my opinion the answer is none. No out of the box wordpress theme will help you make the most money from Google Adsense.
There are some themes that will help you make more money than others INITIALLY . Some themes like, Prosense or MW- Monetizing the Web are samples of the many themes available that make it easier to automate the Adsense process.
These types of themes will save you some of the hassle of setting up your Wordpress blog for AdSense- but is the few hours of time saved worth it in the end? Nope.

The absolute KEY to getting the most money you can from your site is by tracking channels and content. Find out what ads are working and what are not. What topics are making you money ? The only way to do that is to set up your ads using channels and track their performance. The better your CTR the closer you are to the mark. Is is better to put your AdSense code below or above the post? Can depend. Shorter posts tend to better with ads above. Longer posts and article I have found get better CTR with ads are at the end of an article.

Setting up your blog INITIALLY you really should take extra time to format your ads yourself- not just plug in your Google publisher code and go. You won’t get a clear picture of what people are looking for. After you get comfortable and have a feel for what works Wordpress Adsense plugin can be a time saver. I wouldn’t suggest it for new blog or some one new to blogging and coding if they are trying to earn revenue from their site.

As far as themes go- I use this one often- Gila Wordpress Theme . I know it backwards and forwards and it is simple and clean. I am sure there are other themes that work just as well. I also like Light CMS Wordpress Theme .

Picking The Best Theme for Your Site

I always look for a 3 column design- 2 sidebars work better and are more flexible when it comes to adding Adsense, advertiser images, and other widgets .

Don’t get hung up on the colours- look at the layout. You can change colours fairly easily in the CSS file. It is not as intimidating as it may seem . It will be good for you to learn!

A word of caution- it is better to spend your time writing valuable content than to sit and play with themes. Pick a theme and build on it. If you are new to blogging or inexperienced with code then a simple theme is the way to go- less can go wrong and you will pick up PHP script faster and more easily- you can switch up later if you feel the need.

If you aren’t sure about the theme you are choosing- feel free to ask me for my opinion. Just post in comments section or email me.

Tags: Google Adsense, WordPress Blog, Wordpress Themes by Lisa Stewart
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