How to Increase eCPMs

Increasing your eCPMs means more revenue from your sites.

eCPM is an important metric for web publishers who participate in Google's AdSense program. According to Google, eCPM refers to the advertising revenue you earn for every thousand impressions you get. Increasing your effective cost per thousand means AdSense advertisers are paying more per thousand ad impressions they receive from advertising on your sites. You would calculate your site's eCPM with the following formula: (Advertising earnings/Total page impressions) x 1,000. So if you earned $1.5 from 250 impressions, your eCPM is ($1.5/250) x 1,000; or $4 in this example. Several strategies can help you increase your eCPM while participating in AdSense.

Things You'll Need

• Blog or website
• Google AdSense account
• Computer with Internet access

Instructions

1. 

   Compare the performance of the same ad in different places.

   Analyze the placement and performance of existing AdSense ads on your site. Since Google measures the click-through rate of ads in its calculation of how to compensate publishers, you should publish ads where your users notice. Click on them. As Keith D'Souza advises, you can analyze this behavior by using AdSense Channels to monitor the performance of different ad positions, ad sizes, and ad formats. AdSense allows you to show both display and text ads. Experiment with each format to see which leads to more user interaction. Display those ads.

2. 

   Give your existing audience more enjoyment.

   Incorporate strategies to make your site "stickier" for existing readers. this will create more impressions from the same audience. Noted blogger Amit Agarwal suggests adding a search box to the top and bottom of every page on your site. Similarly, Darren Rowse of Problogger suggests you offer conspicuous subscription options to your readers. Rowse also suggests increasing interactivity by adding a subscribe-to-comment feature and by responding to comments yourself. This will create increased impressions from people following the conversation. Further, consider incorporating a related content section on each page so visitors easily can find more content that they enjoy.

3. 

   Make it easy for your audience to share your content.

   Get increased traffic and, therefore, increased ad impressions by promoting your site. Integrate social networking links that allow your audience to share content they enjoy with their network. Also consider unconventional sources of traffic. As Amit Agrawal points out, if you publish some content to sites like Flickr, YouTube, and Twitter, you can garner new audience members for your content.

4. 

   Car dealerships spend more on ads than cafes.

   Increase your ad revenues by targeting a more lucrative audience. All audiences are not equal, and since advertisers bid for ad placement on websites through Google, those advertisers with higher profit margins are able to bid more. For example, a car dealership makes much more per new customer than does a cafe. So if your content targets people shopping for new cars, your eCPM will be higher than a site targeting people looking for the best local coffee.

Tips & Warnings

• Use professional services like Crazy Egg and Google Analytics to more fully understand the specific patterns that your audience follows when interacting with your sites and content. This will guide you to place ads where they will most likely be noticed and clicked. Google Analytics is free.

• If you artificially inflate the number of clicks on AdSense ads you have published, Google considers this click-fraud. Google reserves the right to cancel the AdSense accounts of publishers who engage in this behavior.

References

• Google: AdSense Help: Effective CPM
• Google: AdSense Help: What is Effective CPM?
• Techie Buzz: Useful Tips and Tricks To Grow Your AdSense Income; Keith D'Souza; October 25, 2008
• Techie Buzz: Using Multiple CPM Ad Sizes To Increase Your Earnings; Keith D'Souza; March 10, 2011
• Digital Inspiration:Google AdSense Optimization Tips -- Presentation; Amit Agrawal
• Pro Blogger: 10 Ways to Improve Blog Traffic in 30 Minutes or Less; Darren Rowse; April 13, 2008

Resources

• Google: AdSense Home: Overview: Google AdSense for Content
• Pro Blogger: 21 Ways to Make Your Blog or Website Sticky; Darren Rowse; July 18, 2008
• Crazy Egg: Home
• Google: Analytics