The contest question was this:
"This is going to be a short comment contest 5 days only. I've been blogging for 5 years now and just about to get my very first adsense check in a few weeks. Now, it took me that much time to earn a few dollars. 5 years....
I must be doing something wrong right?
Can you tell me how I can improve my blog revenue and traffic?"
By: Danny Garcia
Here was Dain's entry: clicking on the picture will take you to the actual comment he made on my blog:
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"Danny,
Placement and traffic are the biggest factors in generating revenue. I am constantly working on placement; it is a fine line between a placement that gets you the most clicks and one that is non-obtrusive.
Getting the ad in the post in a sure fire way to increase views and therefore clicks. Take a look at RWW's placement of an in-post ad; recent post http://goo.gl/RVKTs. Most people will focus on your post only, so anything outside of it will be scanned over. I tried the way you have your top ad, but found it better to get it a bit smaller and just above the date (http://goo.gl/V54wy). Dragon Blogger has one above and below. You want the ad to be as seamless as possible. If you can place an ad just above a post, in the middle, and at the end you will get more revenue.
Ads are like sales. Numbers, numbers, numbers. Successful sales people not only know how to sell (placement) they talk to more people and cover more ground (traffic). Keep posting quality posts and your traffic will rise.
I used to try to get my post out to every social network and blast it across the world, but have found if I focus on few networks I will get more and better quality traffic. In addition I can spend more time writing instead of promoting. Focusing on a few communities and interacting on content other than yours will enhance your place in the community. Pick three or four networks and only work and promote within those. You can certainly use more, but be active on their sites. To help drive more traffic try to get your primary social share buttons at the top of the post. Adding a Facebook Like/Share button would be good too.
As for what networks to use; focus on two to begin with. You want to spend your time writing and driving traffic, not managing ad programs and networks. I currently use Adsense and sprinkle in some Amazon Associates. Your ads are reflective of your blog. It may cut my revenue, but I try to exclude gambling and adult oriented ads on my blog through the Adsense settings. It is totally up to you. Amazon can be powerful; once you direct someone there they get cookied and purchases they make in the future could be associated to you. Drive traffic there!"
Why I chose Dain's Answer
- He's also a blogger and from his profile I saw that he's been blogging since 2005 - Dain is your blogger's blogger therefore has the right expertise on the matter.
- I perfectly agree with him because what he said is exactly what Google has been saying. It's an often overlooked and very simple answer. I believe in Ockham's razor - that the simplest answers are often the best. Traffic and ad placement are indeed the most crucial factors in generating blog revenue. I mean it's so obvious that everybody is ignoring it and thinking up of complicated solutions that eventually all go back to these two.
- More than simplicity, Dain took the time to analyze the sample I provided in the post - Beyond Adsense. I love analysis and research! As a matter of fact, I'm currently experimenting with some ad formats based on the analysis that he made. Unobtrusive and seamless are the keywords here and we'll see how that will work out.
If you would like to connect with the awesome Dain Binder, you could follow him on Google Plus. He blogs over at http://www.dainbinder.com.
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