content mini sites not performing

[jeqq]

Hi,

I have the following 2 websites: www.euroemu.net & www.coarseanglers.co.uk, built around adsense using google adsense.

Page CTR is 2.04%, Page eCPM is £2.15.

These websites both receive 1000+ unique visitors per day, is something going wrong somewhere?

I imagine they should be performing slightly better, there is no instruction when using contentminisites.com to setup the ads in your google adsense account, I think this maybe related to the issue.

Let me know your thoughts.

Regards,

David.

[Nathan King]

Where is the traffic coming from? You may also want to look into affiliate options as there are many for video games. Perhaps an amazon widget showing relevant video games for the various categories of the site? Or a gamefly affiliate ad? There are many options out there other than adsense.

[GeoOwners]

You mean other than the fact that they're ugly as hell?

[Nathan King]

The ads being shown on the main page of euroemu are Nintendo ads. If they were ads for emulation I bet you'd get a lot more clicks.

---------- Post added at 10:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:18 AM ----------

You mean other than the fact that they're ugly as hell?

I don't know why your so bitter nor do I care...but design isn't important. The site is getting plenty of traffic and return traffic is probably not the goal. The idea is for people to click on the ads (like any parking or cookie cutter site). The design definitely works and is not unbearable so I wouldn't worry about that.

[Gerry]

Looking at the sites, all I see is one big ad...ads everywhere.

Plus, I was under the impression that Yahoo and Google could not appear in the same space, per Google TOS.

Beyond that, a couple of things I noticed:

It would be nice if the left menu of items appeared on every page. I clicked on a couple of articles and they would take me to a new page but left me stranded. In other words, other than physically clicking the back button, there was nothing to keep me within the same site. To me, this is crucial...each page to be part of the site rather than a separate page. I see no menu on the side and none at the top to take me back to the site's content or keep me in the same site. There is no consistency and no flow to the site...click on a link and you're out there on your own.

Frankly, I would rather keep the viewer on my site.

If you don't have Google Analytics installed, it would be a great idea to get this into your sites. My guess is that time the viewer spends on your site is rather low - or not. There is just no consistency.

[Nathan King]

If you want to keep the viewer on the site, you need quality content. If all you have is cookie cutter content, then you should reach for the users that don't know any better. And hope they click the ads.

[David G]

The fact they may be ugly (or good for that matter) is usually not the problem with content minisites making money.

The main issue is that (assuming they already get traffic) the CTR will be SIGNIFICANTLY lower vs a parking page. I have been writing about that on forums for years with very little if any response from others.

For example, a 2% CTR is actually near normal with most minisites however the same domain when parked (and well optimized too) can achieve roughy a 10% or even better CTR, or about 500% or greater vs a minisite. That means you will need at least 4 or 5 times more minisite traffic for the same revenue as the parked domain.

That is why I always find all the talk and advertising that minsites are the domainers salvation so amusing. The fact is a ministe in and of itself will not get more revenue, at least in the short term and without a large increase in traffic and clicks, especially with a low CTR.

Basically, if the domain makes no money when parked it will also earn no money as a minisite, and if it makes say $10-mo parked it will make maybe $2 as a minisite, possibly even less. If the domain earns say $50-mo when parked its revenue will decline to less than $10-mo as a content minisite (as rough examples).

P.S. That does not mean I am negative about minisites and think if you are patient and wait for the traffic to slowly buid-up over time they are much better vs a parked domain, especially if the domain name is a good keyord name with some typein and natural traffic and a popular search term, and good SEO work was done.

[Nathan King]

The main issue is that the CTR will be SIGNIFICANTLY lower vs a parking page.

Do you have any idea why that may be? Adsense offers way higher CPC in my limited experience, and I would think a minisite would benefit from search engine traffic as well. So one would have to look at earnings, and not just CTR when determining which is most effective. Any experience with earnings differences between parked sites and mini sites?

[David G]

Do you have any idea why that may be? Adsense offers way higher CPC in my limited experience, and I would think a minisite would benefit from search engine traffic as well. So one would have to look at earnings, and not just CTR when determining which is most effective. Any experience with earnings differences between parked sites and mini sites?

IMO, several reasons including the more good content the site has results in the visitor not looking elsewhere for what he is seeking such as going to the ads and links on the page.

[PokerPie]

The fact they may be ugly (or good for that matter) is usually not the problem with content minisites making money.

The main issue is that (assuming they already get traffic) the CTR will be SIGNIFICANTLY lower vs a parking page. I have been writing about that on forums for years with very little if any response from others.

For example, a 2% CTR is actually near normal with most minisites however the same domain when parked (and well optimized too) can achieve roughy a 10% or even better CTR, or about 500% or greater vs a minisite. That means you will need at least 4 or 5 times more minisite traffic for the same revenue as the parked domain.

That is why I always find all the talk and advertising that minsites are the domainers salvation so amusing. The fact is a ministe in and of itself will not get more revenue, at least in the short term and without a large increase in traffic and clicks, especially with a low CTR.

Basically, if the domain makes no money when parked it will also earn no money as a minisite, and if it makes say $10-mo parked it will make maybe $2 as a minisite, possibly even less. If the domain earns say $50-mo when parked its revenue will decline to less than $10-mo as a content minisite (as rough examples).

P.S. That does not mean I am negative about minisites and think if you are patient and wait for the traffic to slowly buid-up over time they are much better vs a parked domain, especially if the domain name is a good keyord name with some typein and natural traffic and a popular search term, and good SEO work was done.

Making a mini site out of a domain that gets traffic is kinda dumb IMO - though making them on keyword rich domains that get little-or-no traffic I think is a good idea. This way you get ranked in search engines and can make some money on them. What can it hurt? They make nothing now...

[Acro]

Happy reading

[Adam Dicker]

Making a mini site out of a domain that gets traffic is kinda dumb IMO - though making them on keyword rich domains that get little-or-no traffic I think is a good idea. This way you get ranked in search engines and can make some money on them.

This is correct, minisites work best on domains that are not making much revenue and want to build traffic and eventual revenue. You can't put up a ministe and expect it to increase revenue over a parked domain right away, this just won't happen. Minisites need a good few months to see results.

-=DCG=-

-=DCG=-

[impactadmin]

You also have to remember that going from a parked page to an actual website no matter what type of website may cause a decrease.

Parked pages show strictly ads. They work for domains that are already receiving traffic. They have no potential to rank or keep bring back visitors. They strickly show ads and provide your traffic with no other means of doing anything on the site for the most part they just click.

With an actual website you are giving readers a lot more information and a variety of different options on your site. In the long run you will build more stable traffic by bringing back old visitors, natural search engine traffic and referrals.

Its up to you in the end to decide what you want to do. Park and make a few bucks more or develop and build a domain property you can profit from in the long run.

[PokerPie]

Happy reading

Again, you are forgetting about domains that get little-or-no traffic. Where domains that get traffic are concerned, I agree with you 100%, unless you put effort into it or the mini-site is uber-targeted to that traffic.

See www.newyorkstocks.com

It gets a couple of type-in's a day and I don't harbor any dreams of ranking highly for 'new york stocks' anytime soon. Though the mini-site is producing over $1.00 per day as the CPC is so high and the content is well targeted for people who type that in. As a parked page it made less than $10 per month.

[impactadmin]

Again, you are forgetting about domains that get little-or-no traffic. Where domains that get traffic are concerned, I agree with you 100%, unless you put effort into it or the mini-site is uber-targeted to that traffic.

See www.newyorkstocks.com

It gets a couple of type-in's a day and I don't harbor any dreams of ranking highly for 'new york stocks' anytime soon. Though the mini-site is producing over $1.00 per day as the CPC is so high and the content is well targeted for people who type that in. As a parked page it made less than $10 per month.

Yes and you are right.

We do not promote these sites as get rich quick websites. They are complete content mini sites that will allow you to develop domains that dont have traffic or you are looking to build traffic and revenue around. We believe in development which is why we promote these sites. They are cost effective, attractive templates that integrate proper SEO. They provide you with the opportunity to develop a community and a property around your domain rather then placing a domain without any traffic on a parked page that does not give you any hope or advantage of ever building a great site.