Does advertisement on the forum page actually work?

[abdfahim]

I run a relatively new and small site (~20k page-views a month) with Xenforo where I put 4 Adsense blocks in the below locations

1. ad_forum_view_above_thread_list (positioned at the top of the thread list)
2. ad_thread_list_below_stickies (positioned between the sticky and non-sticky threads in the thread list)
3. ad_thread_view_below_messages (positioned above the quick-reply box on in a thread)
4. Ad after first post (Digital Point Ad Positioning) (positioned at the end of first post in a thread)

The monthly revenue is pretty low ($20-$30/month), however 99% of the revenue is coming from the ads placed inside a thread (#3 and #4), whereas ads on the forum page (#1 and #2) has no impact what-so-ever. That made me wonder, is it really of any value to place ads on the forum page (#1 and #2)?

 

[Solidus]

Depends on the ad style.
Ads integrated into posts should use the same bg and text color. Ads placed outside of main content area should stand it with bold colors so users aren't blind to it.

Another for you to try... sidebar within threads and forum view. See my site here for an example -> https://wweforums.net/best-wwe-superstar-2016.t61895/
Even better with sticky sidebar.

 

[insaneadmin]

Threads are the content and the ad code and spiders can gather more from those than the typical forum home and threadlist pages. Be careful about having more than 3 ads on display. I know Google used to have that as a hard limit and the wording changed a few months ago but 3 is still seen to be the number not to exceed. (except for a link unit of course)

Solidus watch that sticky bar, Google doesn't permit those: (maybe if you're Premium?)

https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/1346295?hl=en&vid=0-442661003417-1481165098877

To ensure a safe and positive user experience, we restrict the use of ad implementations on desktop which cause the ad to appear in a “sticky” or “floating” position on the page as the user scrolls or navigates through the page.

 

[abdfahim]

Thanks and thanks

 

[Solidus]

Solidus watch that sticky bar, Google doesn't permit those: (maybe if you're Premium?)

Nice catch. Disabling sticky sidebar.

 

[Joeychgo]

The monthly revenue is pretty low ($20-$30/month), however 99% of the revenue is coming from the ads placed inside a thread (#3 and #4), whereas ads on the forum page (#1 and #2) has no impact what-so-ever. That made me wonder, is it really of any value to place ads on the forum page (#1 and #2)?

Your traffic is really too low to know what really works and what doesn't. Every ad doesn't produce as much as others and you have something of a small sampling which makes it hard to know whats really working.

The other thing, as time goes on, you'll get CPM ads from adsense, which means you'll get paid just from the ad being viewed.

Just focus on building the forum and traffic, the rest will come.

 

[Drastic]

try it and tweak your ads based on your own tests.