(Ads) List places with very high CTRs

[ThorstenA]

I start this list of very high Click Through Rates with

phrase cookieclear (login.php) its the message when you logout. any ad is great
template ad_showthread_firstpost_start (showthread.php) best seems to be not-contrasting 336x280

[Mazinger]

<phrase 1="faq.php$session[sessionurl_q]" 2="register.php$session[sessionurl_q]">$vbphrase[first_visit_message]</phrase> (forumhome for guests) is also an intersting place.

[ThorstenA]

<phrase 1="faq.php$session[sessionurl_q]" 2="register.php$session[sessionurl_q]">$vbphrase[first_visit_message]</phrase> (forumhome for guests) is also an intersting place.

Which ad unit (Rectangle / Skyscraper ...) do you put there? I have updated my #1 post which banners I put there.

I am also curious if you target your ads for specific audiences, age / browser / display settings?

[Wayne Luke]

Moved to the appropriate forum.

[Mazinger]

Which ad unit (Rectangle / Skyscraper ...) do you put there? I have updated my #1 post which banners I put there.

I am also curious if you target your ads for specific audiences, age / browser / display settings?
Rectangle. I remember a blog post in the AdSense blog about a success of a forum doing so.

I personally haven't optimized my ads yet, don't have extra time to spend it on improving them.

[ThorstenA]

If you optimize adsense ads you can double and triple your income.

I think a rectangle directly on frontpage brings a very great cpm but is damaging too much my forum value as its the first page most users see and index.php is not that much used like forumdisplay and showthread. Only outstanding position is #1 post. A Great cpm on Forumhome is not bringing me that much money. Putting google rectangle ads in first post is best place there is.

[Nick]

I actually put a banner on the header and footer of my archive, and it has the highest CTR and eCPM of all my ad locations... in less than a week.

[ThorstenA]

I actually put a banner on the header and footer of my archive, and it has the highest CTR and eCPM of all my ad locations... in less than a week.

I deactivated archive for better seo. Where in "normal" forum do you have good ctr?

[Nick]

Ads are only displayed for guests, but the next highest CTR is with the ads after the first post in a thread. That certainly does appear to be the best place ;)

[Mazinger]

From AdSense Official's: https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=43868

[ThorstenA]

From AdSense Official's: https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=43868

I know this showthread study but have made different experiences:

ads on top and below #1 post have much higher ctr than ads on left side
ads below #1 post have much higher ctr than ads after last post
ads beside title have much worse ctr

Did you notice same experiences?

[Mazinger]

I agree with that, however I put a rectangular ad next to the first post (<div style="float:right;">) and it seems to be the best place there from what I experience.

EDIT: Just noticed we are in a new forum (not the chit chat I was expecting :D)

[MRGTB]

Ads are only displayed for guests, but the next highest CTR is with the ads after the first post in a thread. That certainly does appear to be the best place ;)

I agree, I always thought the ads in archives was a good location. And they blend in well too there

[ThorstenA]

I agree with that, however I put a rectangular ad next to the first post (<div style="float:right;">) and it seems to be the best place there from what I experience.

EDIT: Just noticed we are in a new forum (not the chit chat I was expecting :D)
Putting ads on right side looks far more professional. But after putting my ads right to #1 message like float:right I noticed a 75% drop in ctr (I used a table for arranging my ads right to post title & message). Its far better for my ctr to just display ads between post title and post message.

[David Grove]

Its far better for my ctr to just display ads between post title and post message.
Are you using the ad_showthread_firstpost_start template for that?

[ThorstenA]

Are you using the ad_showthread_firstpost_start template for that?

No as with this template I can not display my ads right to title & message, only next to message.

[David Grove]

No as with this template I can not display my ads right to title & message, only next to message.
Would you mind attaching a screenshot of your ad placement for this location?

[ThorstenA]

This is ad location on #1 post with lowest CTR I ever had :D

Highest CTR is displaying ads that fit exactly in background with black text and completely blue (#00ffffff) links and grey domain names directly on ad_showthread_firstpost_start. Just put this ad in this template, do not put it in <div style=float:right> or something like this.

[David Grove]

Thanks!

[ThorstenA]

Template ad_showthread_firstpost_start is the best CTR place for forums I found until today, regardeless placing adsense or third-party rectangle ad banners.

Another good place is the Rectangle above-the-fold on FORUMHOME on a sidebar.

Logout pages also do give a nice ctr place if you frequency cap (FC) your users up to 1 / Lifetime.

Do you use FC and how does it work out?