Forum can often be a great way to generate a lot of traffic. However, in many cases it is hard to monetize your forum and make decent income. Below are a few tips on how to best use Google AdSense on your forum.

Most forums have a welcome message on their homepage that encourages users to register. Since this message usually gets visitors attention it is a great place to display a AdSense unit. It is recommended using a 336×280 or 300×250 unit next to your welcome message.

You will also want to display AdSense units in forum posts. Do not just place a ad unit above the first forum post but instead place the ad units in between forum posts. For example, place a unit in between the first and second post. This way as readers are reading through forum posts they will be forced to look at the ads. This will also help AdSense to show the most relevant content. You can also mix in another ad in between posts farther down the page.

You will also want to make sure that you blend your ads with your forum posts by making sure that they have the same color border and font color. This makes sure that your ads do not stick out and will look similar to forum posts.

Another great way to get more relevant ads on your forum is to use section targeting. In most forums the most relevant content is in the first post. Section targeting will tell Google that the content in the first most is the most important and they will serve ads based on that content.

Following these simple steps will help make sure that your forum ads are relevant to the content and will help increase your click through rate (CTR). For more information on using AdSense on a forum check out what Google has to say at their AdSense Blog.

              

The #1 question when it comes to AdSense is “What is the best placement and size for the highest click through rate (CTR)?”

I have been doing some testing on one of my AdSense sites for the last couple of months and trying to determine what achieved the best CTR.

Well, the results are in. Below you will find the results of my testing. I was actually quite surprised by the results.

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Test #1: 336 X 280 - Set to the left of the text = 12% CTR

—–>Screenshot——–>

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Test #2: 300 X 250 - Set to the left of the text = 14% CTR

—–>Screenshot——–>

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Test 3: 300 X 250 - Set above the text = 20% CTR

—–>Screenshot——–>

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So as you can see the best results were the 300 X 250 ad unit which was set above the text instead of put within the text.

I was surprised by the results because I would have thought that putting the AdSense unit inside the text would have achieved the highest click through rate.

That is why you test. I have almost doubled my income from this site by simply doing a little testing. I went from a 12% CTR all the way up to 20%.

Please understand that the point to take away here is not that you should use the format that I just showed had the highest CTR. Instead you should take away the importance of testing different ad units and different placement.

No two sites are the same and therefore every site will have a different optimal AdSense placement and format. But the only way to find that out is to TEST, TEST and then TEST some more. It is the quickest and easiest way to increase your AdSense income immediately.

You can easily do testing within your Google AdSense account by using the Ad Channels. Set up a different ad channel for each new ad unit and placement and test to see which has the best CTR. Then try another and see if you can beat the last result. Keep doing this until you reach the highest CTR.

Make sure to always test similar ads. For example, do not test a 336 X 280 ad unit at the top of a page against a 250 X 250 ad unit at the bottom of the page. The ad at the top of the page with get a better CTR than an ad at the bottom of the page because of its placement not because of the ad unit size. You need to compare apples to apples to get true results.

Go Start Testing!

              

Here is a basic overview of using search engine optimization (SEO) on your AdSense sites.

First off, when you write content for your site you want to focus each page on 2 or 3 keywords that you found when doing your keyword research. You will want to mix in your keywords early in your article and also at the end. Don’t worry about counting how many times you use a certain keyword, just write naturally and you will be fine.

Keyword density is largely overrated and there is no need to aim for a certain percentage. But you do need to make sure you are using your keywords in your articles.

You are also going to want to include your keywords in the title tag and your H1 tag. You can also utilize the H2 tag also. Using the title tag and H1 tag are two essentials for on-page SEO and you should ALWAYS use them. But do not just use your keywords in the title and H1 tag. Make sure to mix in some other filler words to avoid looking like you are trying to game the search engines, even if you really are

Throughout your content make sure that you are using variations of your keywords. If I was writing an article on “golf tips” I would want to use “golfing tips”, “tips on golfing”, “golf tip” and so on. Make to use variations and plurals of your keyword through out your article.

Once you have completed several article pages on your site you will want to start utilizing in-site links. To do this simply link related articles to one another by using anchor text that is your keywords.

For example, if I have an article page about “golf tips” and another about “putting tips” I could link from the golf tips page to the putting tips page by using the anchor text “putting tips”. This will help build link reputation for your pages.

And thats all there really is to it. Just write quality, informative articles that are based around keywords that you found through your keywords research. Make sure to include your keywords in the title tags and H1 tags and also within the anchor text that link to those pages.

This may seem simple and it really is. However, on-page SEO does not have a huge effect on your search engine rankings. The majority of your work should be on getting links to your site using anchor text that matches your keywords, as this will have the greatest effect on your rankings.

              

Here is a couple tips on how to properly optimize your AdSense ads. I have tested these AdSense placement tips and they are the ones that work best for me. You always want to be testing on your own site to see what works best.

Side note: You can not encourage your visitors to click on your ads or give people an incentive to click on your ads. And of course, never click on your own ads.

First, you want to make sure your ads are above the fold. Basically this means that people should be able to see your ads without having to scroll down the page. Simple enough, but it makes a HUGE difference.

Secondly, you want to have your ads match your website. If the background on your site is white, then you would want to make your ads have a white background and border. If you sites links are blue, then your AdSense ad links (Title) should be blue. And of course match the text of your ads with the text of your site. I will also make the AdSense ad URL also match the text on my sites.

Third, don’t make you ads look like ads. What I mean by this is do not stick your ads off by themselves where they do nothing but scream THIS IS AN AD! What you want to do is set your ads next to, or even better, within the text of you site. Below is an example I pulled from a website that shows what I am talking about:

To achieve this you want to make your ad float to the left. You can use the html code below:

<div style=”float: left; padding: 3px; margin: 0px; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: white; background-color: white”>Your Adsense code here</div> Then start your text here…..

For this type of ad you would want to use the 336 X 280 ad size or you can also use the 250 X 250 or 300 X 250 sizes.

There you go. Implement those 3 tips and I can almost guarantee you will see an increase in your AdSense CTR.

I should also point out that Google no longer allows you to put ads next to pictures. Now Google is very vague on this rule and leaves much room for interpretation. They say that the pictures can not look like part of the ad. Hmmm. I will let you make your own conclusions.

              

One of the most often asked questions I get from my subscribers is
how to make professional looking AdSense sites.

Well, most of the ways to improve the quality of your site design
requires a lot of geek talk, HTML codes and such.

But no one really wants to read about all of that, they just want
to know how to do it easily and quickly.

Well, you are in luck….

I came across an awesome product that I bought and am now using
daily for web design.

It’s called the Design Dashboard and it is basically the best thing
since sliced bread.

Really, It Is!

You point. You click. You follow the big blue numbers. What could
be simpler?

It’s A to Z. All step-by-step screen caps supported by videos where
needed. It’s a MASSIVE time saver and literally takes the pain out
of the learning curve.

Here’s what it does for you:

End Result:

a. Your own custom web site graphics that are a cut above

b. You will do your own header graphics faster than you could imagine

c. You will know how to do special effects like scanlines ( I
didn’t even know what these were before!) and handwritten notes

d. You will be able to trick out templates you buy or create your own

e. You save costs (No Photoshop CS or Dreamweaver needed)

f. You will get step-be-step instructions on ftp, getting your
shopping cart up, hooking up your autoresponders, stick letters,
fly ins, and every other detail we could think of.

g. Saves you the costs of design fees. At $150-$300 per header,
just ONE and you’ve paid for this product.

h. Even if you still use a designer, there are times when you need
it NOW, not later. You 100% can do it yourself and be surprised at
how good a job you DID!

i. You can create your OWN templates just as good as many of ‘em
you buy — and do it fast, once you learn the steps.

j. Most templates are NOT designed for “our type” of sites. So
they’re never quite right. You can do it yourself, get a better
result AND save.

Alright already…go check it out:

==> Design Dashboard

Enjoy