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Increase your Click
Through Rate
We all want to increase our click through rate, right? It would be great to sit back and just watch the money flow in. Obviously, this doesn't happen too easily, but there are some ways to help increase your CTR and make more money, and they're pretty easy. Use the navigation above to find out more.
What Are The Best Ad Formats?
Really, there's no "best" ad format. But some are better than others. The first thing you want to consider before picking an ad format is what will fit your layout best. Don't try to cram in huge ads if you really don't have the space, but try not to have too much space around your ad. Some ads, like the 468x60 banner, can be easily built around and fit nicely into most any layout while other ads, like the 160x600 skyscraper, may be a bit harder to integrate. If you can easily integrate any size into your layout and have it look fine, go for the ads that can blend in with your content. Most likely, a 160x600 ad will not blend well with your content, and will appear obviously to be an ad. However, if you have a long article, text wrapped around a 250x250 ad will actually help the user by giving him ads relevant to the article. So in summary, there really isn't an ad format that has a much higher CTR than the others, but some will work better than others on your site.
What's Wrong With Borders?
Borders are a really bad idea when attempting to increase your CTR. Why? Because when you have a border, the ad unit actually looks like an ad, and most likely when the ad unit looks a lot like an ad, people won't click on it. Now obviously you don't want to be tricking people into click on your ads, but when they click on the ads, there's a good chance that they'll benefit from the information they receive, or they'll end up buying a product from the advertiser, in which case everyone wins. The advertisers want their ads to be clicked on, so if the user is interested in the information displayed on the ad, you aren't tricking them at.
All that to say, when ads look like ads they aren't as effective, and borders make ads look like ads.
We all want to increase our click through rate, right? It would be great to sit back and just watch the money flow in. Obviously, this doesn't happen too easily, but there are some ways to help increase your CTR and make more money, and they're pretty easy. Use the navigation above to find out more.
What Are The Best Ad Formats?
Really, there's no "best" ad format. But some are better than others. The first thing you want to consider before picking an ad format is what will fit your layout best. Don't try to cram in huge ads if you really don't have the space, but try not to have too much space around your ad. Some ads, like the 468x60 banner, can be easily built around and fit nicely into most any layout while other ads, like the 160x600 skyscraper, may be a bit harder to integrate. If you can easily integrate any size into your layout and have it look fine, go for the ads that can blend in with your content. Most likely, a 160x600 ad will not blend well with your content, and will appear obviously to be an ad. However, if you have a long article, text wrapped around a 250x250 ad will actually help the user by giving him ads relevant to the article. So in summary, there really isn't an ad format that has a much higher CTR than the others, but some will work better than others on your site.
What's Wrong With Borders?
Borders are a really bad idea when attempting to increase your CTR. Why? Because when you have a border, the ad unit actually looks like an ad, and most likely when the ad unit looks a lot like an ad, people won't click on it. Now obviously you don't want to be tricking people into click on your ads, but when they click on the ads, there's a good chance that they'll benefit from the information they receive, or they'll end up buying a product from the advertiser, in which case everyone wins. The advertisers want their ads to be clicked on, so if the user is interested in the information displayed on the ad, you aren't tricking them at.
All that to say, when ads look like ads they aren't as effective, and borders make ads look like ads.
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Should I Design My Layout For Ads or Fit the Ads in Later?
This is a challenging question, and there isn't any one definite answer for everyone. Although having obvious set spots for ads might be convenient in the long run, the positioning might look "spammy," and appear as if you're only making the site to put ads on it. However, it can be quite a challenge to later to make room for the ads if you don't have the right sizes or shapes of open space in your layout. But remember, you can always put ads in your articles, at the bottom of the page, or above all your content. Ads should most of the time be well integrated with your content, so if you're saving room for that huge 160x600 skyscraper on the left side of the screen, it might not end up attracting as many clicks as you thought. Let the ads flow with the content, don't make the content flow with the site.
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