News

Click-through rates up by cutting ads

Written on: Mar 2, 2009
Author: Edward Barrera |
: Share; Click-through rates up by cutting ads

ADOTAS — An abundance of inventory and falling prices don’t always mean falling revenue, but SmartMoney has tried a new tack to keep advertisers and prices stable.

The personal finance site started to cut down the number of ads, especially the low-performing ones, and increasing its click-through rates, according to AdAge. SmartMoney cut the ads at the bottom of a page and the number of available units on other pages.

“There’s only so much focus that a reader can have on a page,” Bill Shaw, publisher of SmartMoney and SmartMoney.com, told AdAge. “You have three ad units, but a reader’s only going to click on one.”

Advertisers, such as Scottrade and Options Express, came back after the site saw a 21 percent increase in aggregate click-through rates. The site was sold out in the fourth quarter, though the trend hasn’t continued in this quarter. SmartMoney said it lost about 30 percent of its ad inventory, ending up down 12 percent in total impressions. The site’s traffic was about 800,000 unique visitors in December, down from more than 1.2 million a year earlier.

Of course, maybe sites should just go after the stimulus display ad business.

– Express your opinion, comment below.

Reader Comments.

No comments yet

Tags: click-through-rates, CPM, display, internet-advertising and SmartMoney

More News

Right now, at the beginning of 2012, what are you watching the most closely for its ad and marketing opportunities?
Mobile. Smart devices have become standard, and advertising is only going to become more creative there.

Online video. It's a real competitor to TV now, and it presents really interesting ways to engage viewers.

Social media. The new Facebook timeline and the surge of Google+ have cracked the game wide open again.

Tempting as it might be, I don't want to get too involved in one aspect.

See, I think this might be a good time to see what would happen if we revisited MySpace, but made the ads slightly bigger... with more strobe effect.

View Results
Loading ...

Polls Archive

Latest News

Funding in Brief: $10M for Spongecell, $8M for Prolexic February 9th 2012 ADOTAS – Rich media ad company Spongecell has raised $10 million [...] more »
Google AdMob Axes Minimum Bids, Targeting Fees February 9th 2012 ADOTAS - As of Feb. 15, Google will change its [...] more »

Infographic: HootSuite Analyses Social Media Impact of Super Bowl Ads February 7th 2012 ADOTAS - So, it’s the Tuesday after the Super Bowl, [...] more »
Facebook to Serve Mobile Ads in Coming Weeks February 6th 2012 ADOTAS – According to a Financial Times report, Facebook will [...] more »
Survey: 39 Percent of Mobile Users Responded to Super Bowl Ads Via Mobile February 6th 2012 ADOTAS - During the Super Bowl yesterday, mobile ad network [...] more »
Sponsormob Leads the Way Into RTB for Mobile February 3rd 2012 ADOTAS – For more than half a decade, Berlin-based tech [...] more »
Weird Study: Mobile Purchasing While in the Bathroom on the Rise February 3rd 2012 DM CONFIDENTIAL - According to 11mark, three-quarters of Americans with mobile [...] more »

News Archive

Features

Attribution Online: Introducers and Influencers and Closers… Oh My! February 9th 2012
With gTLDs, Global Branding Starts with a Name February 9th 2012
Rethinking the Online Advertising Ecosystem, Part One: Independent Publishers February 8th 2012
Case Study: Social Ad Effectiveness February 8th 2012
Video: “Build an SEO Foundation” Excerpt February 8th 2012

Features Archive

Spotlight

Sponsormob Leads the Way Into RTB for MobileADOTAS – For more than half a decade, Berlin-based tech firm Sponsormob has remained relevant in an industry characterized by [...] more...

Adotas

Where media buyers start online

Navigation

Supplementary Navigation