# Very Very Low CTR



## smartali89 (Nov 29, 2010)

Hello friends,

I am currently running a website iLyke (*http://www.ilyke.net*), I get about 2-3k Hits a day, and on lucky days Hits are around 10k-15k, The problem I am having is, that my Google AdSense CTR is very very low (*0.07%* average for this month  ). So my earnings are very low. 

I've placed the ads according to what Google suggests. 

Please guide me how can I improve my CTR and improve the earnings. 

Thank You.


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## Yukikaze (Nov 29, 2010)

Your page is excruciatingly slow (and I am currently sitting on a corporate internet link). It takes me more than 30 seconds to load the main page, which is absolutely horrible.

If your page takes more than 3 seconds to load, you're gonna be losing a lot of views from people who wait, then just close the browser window because it takes too long to load. Depending on how your hit counter works, you will register a hit, but in reality, the user saw nothing of your page except for the ad and background theme and just got annoyed and left.


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## smartali89 (Nov 29, 2010)

I am unable to analyze what is causing the delay, the Inside pages open faster then this, 

http://www.ilyke.net/?i=1255


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## Yukikaze (Nov 29, 2010)

smartali89 said:


> I am unable to analyze what is causing the delay, the Inside pages open faster then this,
> 
> http://www.ilyke.net/?i=1255



Well, it is your page, you're gonna have to figure it out. The inner pages do load faster, yes, but having your categories pages load in 30-45 seconds is abysmal.

I just asked a buddy at another major corp to access the page, same result. Too slow.


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## smartali89 (Nov 29, 2010)

Thank You, I will resolve this issue soon, But considering the Inner Pages, is the Ad Placement Correct?


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## Salsoolo (Nov 29, 2010)

seconded. its slow.
ps you could make the facebook twitter digg etc buttons smaller, they are too big


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## Yukikaze (Nov 29, 2010)

smartali89 said:


> Thank You, I will resolve this issue soon, But considering the Inner Pages, is the Ad Placement Correct?



The top ad seems well placed. I do not like having the second bunch of ads force me to scroll down to the content, though. It makes the page look like an ad trap, rather than a content page (and lets admit it, this is an ad trap, but it shouldn't be obvious).


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## smartali89 (Nov 29, 2010)

I've placed the ads according to google

https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=17954

If it is making my visitors go away, then what placements do you suggest?


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## Yukikaze (Nov 29, 2010)

smartali89 said:


> I've placed the ads according to google
> 
> https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=17954
> 
> If it is making my visitors go away, then what placements do you suggest?



It isn't the presence and the location of the ads, it is their size. The ads which are directly below the header of the content page are just too big. If they were more banner-like, rather than large boxes, it wouldn't push the start of the content down and out of the browser window. I am on a 1440x900 screen at the moment and when the page loads the only thing I see is ads, plus the navigation bar on top and the title of the content page.


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## Mussels (Nov 29, 2010)

waited 2 minutes so far, page still hasnt loaded. you're gunna need to slim down that front page.


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## smartali89 (Nov 29, 2010)

Placing the entire ad box below the content is better?


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## smartali89 (Nov 29, 2010)

Yukikaze said:


> It isn't the presence and the location of the ads, it is their size. The ads which are directly below the header of the content page are just too big. If they were more banner-like, rather than large boxes, it wouldn't push the start of the content down and out of the browser window. I am on a 1440x900 screen at the moment and when the page loads the only thing I see is ads, plus the navigation bar on top and the title of the content page.



I've now repositioned the ads, fixed the home page (It was a query that was causing too much delay). The pages load much faster now.


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## Mussels (Nov 29, 2010)

that loaded near instantly for me this time, will try with a cleared cache.


edit: less than 10 seconds with a cleared cache.


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## Yukikaze (Nov 29, 2010)

http://www.ilyke.net/index.php?cid=15 for example still took forever to load for me. The main galleries load real quick now, though.


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## smartali89 (Nov 29, 2010)

The page loading is quick now, I am hoping visitors won't have to wait much long.

What about CTR now?


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## brandonwh64 (Nov 29, 2010)

Your page also looks like a malware or spam site, making your site look more professional would help as well


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## smartali89 (Nov 29, 2010)

brandonwh64 said:


> Your page also looks like a malware or spam site, making your site look more professional would help as well



Can you elaborate more?


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## Yukikaze (Nov 29, 2010)

smartali89 said:


> The page loading is quick now, I am hoping visitors won't have to wait much long.
> 
> What about CTR now?



Making the page load quick is already a good boost to your CTR potential - People who enjoy using a site are more likely to click on ads on the same site.


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## Mussels (Nov 29, 2010)

smartali89 said:


> Can you elaborate more?



if you google for something popular with the word download or torrent added in, i bet you'll find a thousand websites looking just like yours.


it looks like a dodgy site for downloading porn or something.


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## smartali89 (Nov 29, 2010)

Yukikaze said:


> Making the page load quick is already a good boost to your CTR potential - People who enjoy using a site are more likely to click on ads on the same site.



Thanks, please check the internal page if possible and let me know if the ad position is now better?



Mussels said:


> if you google for something popular with the word download or torrent added in, i bet you'll find a thousand websites looking just like yours.
> 
> 
> it looks like a dodgy site for downloading porn or something.



You mean buy changing the look of the site will help gain more visitors?
I guess, Just the background looks Odd. What you suggest?


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## scaminatrix (Nov 29, 2010)

I agree with Mussels, it looks like a porn site or an ad rotator.
I would suggest putting something there that lets everybody know that it's a place to find funny pics and vids. "Funny and Amazing stuff" doesn't really do it for me.
I would make the "Latest" font smaller and the font next to the thumbnails on the "Latest" listings smaller. I would either get rid of the "Popular Tags" or put it further down, with the "Awesome Galleries" closer to the top.


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## brandonwh64 (Nov 29, 2010)

This is how your site should look, nice frames and good coding will go along way

http://www.ar15.com/


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## Mussels (Nov 29, 2010)

smartali89 said:


> Thanks, please check the internal page if possible and let me know if the ad position is now better?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



simpler is better. have a nice clean interface, dont bother with fancy.


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## Brilford Wimley (Nov 29, 2010)

I just checked it out and in addition to it being slow, (I have fast cable internet) the first thing that I noticed is that there's no WOT (Web Of Trust) rating. WOT is an add-on for Firefox that helps people steer clear of bad sites. 

In addition to the slow connection and lack of WOT rating, it just looks like a site that I wouldn't trust. It's hard to explain...it just looks kind of cheap. Keep working on it though.


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## smartali89 (Nov 30, 2010)

Made the design simple, I hope it doesn't looks like a porn site any more..


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## Brilford Wimley (Nov 30, 2010)

WOW! Major improvement! Looks more professional too! Great job!


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## francis511 (Nov 30, 2010)

Hella funny videos


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