Advice on Ads | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Advice on Ads

SkapePhin

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Hey guys.

I think you guys need to figure out a better ad strategy. As a webmaster myself, I realize ads are what keeps this site afloat, but I think the ad networks you are using are not effective. I increasingly see more ads invade the layout of the forums. I assume this is happening because the revenue you are getting out of it is low.

The ads I see on this site are not relevant at all. For the most part, they are either spammy credit report ads, weight loss ads or netflix ads. It doesn't matter how many ads you put on the site, people still won't click them because they simply aren't relevant.

Now I am starting to see adsense text links ABOVE the content on the first thread posts. This really detracts from user experience, and the only reason I can think of why you would place them in this position is because you are hoping for accidental click-thrus or want to make people desperate enough to join VIP.

Ultimately, this strategy will backfire as Google now penalizes sites with too many ads above the fold, and users will eventually leave a site that is overwhelmed with spammy ads.

I think the best strategy here is to actually cut back on the amount of ads, but use an ad network with highly targeted ads to improve click-thrus and ROI. I have seen research that shows that sites with fewer ads actually improves CTR because the eye isn't overwhelmed with ads, so it moves to the most interesting visual imagery on the page (which would be an ad, if there is only 1 or 2 in a good location).

Try out an ad network that focuses on products for males age 18 - 40. You could also open up new revenue streams by selling merchandise and premium content via sites like gumroad.com.

You could also reach out to local businesses to pay for monthly advertising on the site. I am sure they would love to hop on board when they see the kind of traffic and engagement your site gets.

The key is to be creative. Ultimately, putting irrelevant ads upon irrelevant ads in every nook and cranny on the site will be detrimental.

Hopefully this advice is somewhat helpful. Just my two cents.
 
I was also thinking that a good way to generate some revenue would be to sell custom graphics.

$1 for an avatar with your name on it
$5 for custom signatures

By "custom" I mean simply adding the users name. You could have 10 or so unique "premium" graphics users could choose from, and then slap their name on it and sell it for a small price.

You could use a site like https://gumroad.com which makes the transaction process simple and easy.

You could also team up with CK and Universal Draft guys to create a Premium Draft Guide that you could sell and then split the profits. I know people would pay for things like that.
 
Sell finheaven merchandise. Most people dont care about vip, but i bet people would buy decals, shirts , hats etc. im sure you could find good deal with a print company , they are pretty competitive with rates. Im always looking for rare , unsaturated dolphins items, finheaven products would be great.
 
Sell finheaven merchandise. Most people dont care about vip, but i bet people would buy decals, shirts , hats etc. im sure you could find good deal with a print company , they are pretty competitive with rates. Im always looking for rare , unsaturated dolphins items, finheaven products would be great.

I agree.

VIP doesn't offer anything new for the user, other than removing ads and a VIP user board. But if everyone started buying VIP, then suddenly the VIP board would be useless as it would turn into the regular board. So essentially, FH right now is charging $20 to remove ads. People are more likely just to get a no-ads FireFox plugin or leave the site before $20 to remove ads from a forum. There needs to be a value proposition.

Selling merchandise makes more sense. Or even a opening an affiliate store and pushing that during the preseason especially. I am sure dolfans would love to use the FH shop to buy Phin gear knowing that a portion of that would be going to FH.
 
I agree.

VIP doesn't offer anything new for the user, other than removing ads and a VIP user board. But if everyone started buying VIP, then suddenly the VIP board would be useless as it would turn into the regular board. So essentially, FH right now is charging $20 to remove ads. People are more likely just to get a no-ads FireFox plugin or leave the site before $20 to remove ads from a forum. There needs to be a value proposition.

Selling merchandise makes more sense. Or even a opening an affiliate store and pushing that during the preseason especially. I am sure dolfans would love to use the FH shop to buy Phin gear knowing that a portion of that would be going to FH.
In the past finheaven vip included items like coozys, teeshirts, hats, towels etc. I'm sure if there is somewhere that provides a reasonable rate for those items they might find thier way back into the package. Understand that VIP used to be 36 dollars when it included merchandise.
 
In the past finheaven vip included items like coozys, teeshirts, hats, towels etc. I'm sure if there is somewhere that provides a reasonable rate for those items they might find thier way back into the package. Understand that VIP used to be 36 dollars when it included merchandise.

Have you guys considered an affiliate store? That way you just get a cut of the sales of jersey, dolphins gear, etc. without dealing with the hassle of shipping, etc. (unless you were using cafepress or zazzle)

I still think adding an affiliate store to this site could work out quite well, especially right before the season when everyone is gearing up and buying new dolphins gear.
 
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