Tell me why I should continue with MNS

loclhero · Nov 30, 2011

So I'm about making money. I've made some amazing money over the years but decided to give MNS sites a shot.

So I got an EMD with another 75 or so keywords that were related to the niche. The EMD has about 18,000 local and 27,000 global searches/month.

The site went live on Sept 1, since then, with the expense of numerous backlinking resources, the following has happened and it all happened in about 6 weeks

#1 on g00g for my EMD
#2 for 2 other keywords directly related
#3-7 for about 5 others.

My awstats results are skewed so I won't post them. The reason is that many of the images I had on the site got quickly indexed in g00g images file so a lot of my page views were for people searching for an image but here are my adsense results since Sept 1.

Pathetic in all aspetcts in my opinion.
0.18% CTR? And thats having used the CTR theme most of the time.
And the CPC is NOWHERE near what go0g keyword tool estimated.

Since then, I've changed themes, changed adsense layout etc.

So do I keep throwing money at this site? I have all the tools needed but also pay for some backlinking services as well. My goal was the same as many, i.e build a handful of MNS to generate some income but if I'm spending all this time for less than $10 in 3 months....?

Kennen · Nov 30, 2011

Bad luck.

Kikerinka · Nov 30, 2011

Probably you have chosen a bad niche (where the CTR is very low, as a consequence of bad or little number of advertisers or people simply not clicking on ads), or you really suck in marketing

One or another, it must be it...
PS: I really do not understand why people use this CTR themes and similar shits. It not only makes the site looks like shit but also is NOT good for good CTR.

thedon23 · Nov 30, 2011

Damn! That sucks bro. What is the advertiser competition for the keyword(s)?

I have a MNS, much less searches than yours, but I ended up ranking for many keywords. Over the last month, I've had a CTR 0.78%. And I certainly know it's not the theme. Why?

I'm using the same theme on a site with literally the EXACT same search volume, and that MNS is pulling me in $100 a month (just broke $100 yesterday).

The difference? Advertiser competition for the second site is high, while the advertiser competition for the first keyword is low. I've noticed that the ads on the site with low CTR are somewhat related, but not related enough that someone would click on it.

Personally, I'd sell the site and move on.

The way I look at it, some projects end up working, others don't. The important thing is to realize which one's aren't work, and after a certain amount of time, just move on. $10 in 3 months is definitely not worth it bro.

ramdom · Nov 30, 2011

CTR Theme is crap for me also. I went with thesis and it worked much better i get at least 7-10%. Maybe you ad placement is not so great? Change it up and see what happens. good luck

crazedspyker · Nov 30, 2011

2 of my MNS sites is experiencing the same thing, about 0.02% CTR on one, 0% on the other. They are using CTR theme and clickbump. I am considering switching to thesis and see how it does. All my other sites are thesis/other premium themes and they seem to get me 10%+ CTR.

I wonder, maybe people are tired of seeing these CTR themes? It's wierd because I have another amazon site using CTR theme and the CTR is high on that one (low conversions though), it follows the CWS blueprint.

themidiman · Nov 30, 2011

I have found this same thing with many MNS that I have built.
The traffic is there, but earning pennies in Adsense.

I personally wouldn't put any more money into it, just experiment with more monetization methods/ad placements.

Have you tried two ad blocks next to each other after the first paragraph?
I have gotten CTR of up to 15% using that with 250X250 ad blocks.

Abstroose · Nov 30, 2011

I think it depends entirely on the niche/keyword. I have 10 MNS sites. One of them has been sat at #1 for months, gets about 150 uniques a day and makes something petty like $10 a WEEK. I switched to CTR theme a week ago, and no change. My CTR is something ridiculous like 1%.

Then, on the other hand, I have a MNS that is #4, gets about 10 uniques a day, yet makes twice as much as the first one. It's all about keywords.. there are some niches where people have to be stupid to click an ad.

crazedspyker · Nov 30, 2011

I'm actually gonna give this a shot right now, I saw this recommendation somewhere else before too but never tried this particular placement.

themidiman said:
I have found this same thing with many MNS that I have built.
The traffic is there, but earning pennies in Adsense.

I personally wouldn't put any more money into it, just experiment with more monetization methods/ad placements.

Have you tried two ad blocks next to each other after the first paragraph?
I have gotten CTR of up to 15% using that with 250X250 ad blocks.

nam6641 · Nov 30, 2011

The niche you have chosen does not entice clickthroughs.

Example: if your niche is Watching Movies Online and the display ads are all about 'watch movies here' 'see live streaming movies there' etc... then you will get clickthroughs, ESPECIALLY if you leave your visitors unsatisfied. What i mean (and this works very well for me) is they come to your site wanting/needing something but your site doesn't give it to them, so they can exit your site or click on an ad. This is a great strategy to entice clicks.

If your niche is not something that the display ads will help fulfill your visitors then no one will click, or if your site already provides the visitor with exactly what they needed then they will have no reason to click the ad.

In the example above, I get consistent clickthrough rates between 10%-28% on my sites that I've implemented this "leave them unsatisfied" strategy. And before someone asks, no, Google has not banned my sites that get a 28% clickthrough rate and I've had it up and running for about a year.

flx89 · Nov 30, 2011

well....i think the CPC you are getting is not bad.....as for the CTR...there's lot of room of improvement. Really depends on the niche very much.

Maybe your niche isn't good enough for adsense

Catt Mutts · Nov 30, 2011

nam6641 said:
The niche you have chosen does not entice clickthroughs.

Example: if your niche is Watching Movies Online and the display ads are all about 'watch movies here' 'see live streaming movies there' etc... then you will get clickthroughs, ESPECIALLY if you leave your visitors unsatisfied. What i mean (and this works very well for me) is they come to your site wanting/needing something but your site doesn't give it to them, so they can exit your site or click on an ad. This is a great strategy to entice clicks.

If your niche is not something that the display ads will help fulfill your visitors then no one will click, or if your site already provides the visitor with exactly what they needed then they will have no reason to click the ad.

In the example above, I get consistent clickthrough rates between 10%-28% on my sites that I've implemented this "leave them unsatisfied" strategy. And before someone asks, no, Google has not banned my sites that get a 28% clickthrough rate and I've had it up and running for about a year.

hope g staff is not reading this

loclhero · Nov 30, 2011

Thanks to all. I'm convinced that CTR theme is utter shit however I will try themidiman's suggestio of the 2 blocks above the content (although I thought that would be too much like mfa for g00g).

As for the niche, it's health related but one in which the ads are very relevant for products related to the niche.

I'm going to change the theme, not sure to what, leave it be and see what happens but no more money to it. I can make $100/day easy using BH methods, was just trying to get more into WH.

ytterium · Nov 30, 2011

OP: Is your site informational one? If yes, is the information too good they are satisfied to look for further information somewhere else hence low/no click? What about the bounce rate? Do they stay for a while to even notice the ads they might possibly click? I know others will argue that high bounce rate favors high CTR since visitors are in a hurry to leave the site hence do it by clicking the ads.

For the answers you have above, try to go opposite of what you have and see if you have any changes. If there is no change, you can flip the site and try to recuperate any money invested in. That's the way MNS are, they either work or not, try to run 10 at a time when starting with MNS in order to increase the chance of at least one having good revenue.

Cheers,
ytterium

Isis · Nov 30, 2011

What blackhat tactics would you be using (if you wanted to do so)?
Just curious.

I would be too chicken to do very much BH with adsense but you are probably a seasoned expert.

ytterium · Nov 30, 2011

Isis said:
What blackhat tactics would you be using (if you wanted to do so)?
Just curious.

I would be too chicken to do very much BH with adsense but you are probably a seasoned expert.

BH techniques is relative here...do you mean to up your CTR with invalid clicks (unethical IMHO) or playing with ads to deceive visitors to click your ads or BH on site to move up the serp? Better be specific to get a good response to this.

Cheers,
ytterium

nam6641 · Nov 30, 2011

loclhero said:
Thanks to all. I'm convinced that CTR theme is utter shit however I will try themidiman's suggestio of the 2 blocks above the content (although I thought that would be too much like mfa for g00g).

As for the niche, it's health related but one in which the ads are very relevant for products related to the niche.

I'm going to change the theme, not sure to what, leave it be and see what happens but no more money to it. I can make $100/day easy using BH methods, was just trying to get more into WH.

In my experience I just use one block above the content, 300x250, text only links.

If you use multiple blocks you will most likely lower your CPC earned. Let's say the first 3 ads pay in the $2 range per click, but the next 3 ads pay in the $1 range per click, now you won't be averaging $2 per click but closer to $1.50 per click. (numbers are for illustrative purposes, but I'm sure you see my point). Just something to consider.

kboxer7 · Nov 30, 2011

OP: My health niche adsense sites did horrible CTR wise even though the CPC was good. Might want to shift focus on the niche a little. I've found these two things to work the best:

1. Sites focused on Med-High cost products (I did well in the home improvment sector for things like ladders, air compressors, kitchen remodels, etc.)

2. In general, focus on a need/problem of the user. Then tailor sites around information on that problem without directly offering a solution. As it was stated above with the movie example, people will click on ads that offer the solution to what they need.

Good luck man!

0zzy · Nov 30, 2011

I've seen many guys doing it wrongly. Just because its a micro niche site it does not mean that it should be used with Adsense only.

Here is what I've done previously in simple steps

A) Find a problem which needs to have a solution (example side effects of a drug)
B) Find a product for it (clickbank or else). Why should you get $0.2 per click when you can get 30-40 % per sale?
C) Unique content / good seo and get first page rankings
D) Cash in!

I had a site about water aerobics, it had 6600 exact matches per month but besides Adsense I was also selling an e-book on Water Aerobics via Amazon and was making 2-3 sales per day!

Sky is the limit mate, just because its a micro niche site doesn't mean there isn't demand for it, its just a way of wrong monetization imho.

Respect!

loclhero · Nov 30, 2011

kboxer7 said:
OP: My health niche adsense sites did horrible CTR wise even though the CPC was good. Might want to shift focus on the niche a little. I've found these two things to work the best:

1. Sites focused on Med-High cost products (I did well in the home improvment sector for things like ladders, air compressors, kitchen remodels, etc.)

2. In general, focus on a need/problem of the user. Then tailor sites around information on that problem without directly offering a solution. As it was stated above with the movie example, people will click on ads that offer the solution to what they need.

Good luck man!

Excellent suggestion. +rep.
I have another health related mns that is just building up in the serps and it too has super low ctr.

Tell me why I should continue with MNS

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