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11 vBulletin AdSense resources to tune your earnings
by Hendrizius 11 Jun 2009
Using the below resources you will know everything that is required to properly monetize your vBulletin forums. You will know how your visitors behave, how to place your ads and how to color your ads.

1. Using vBulletin’s default AdSense integration



http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/index.php?t=295885 on the official vBulletin.com forums about using vBulletin’s integrated functionality for implementing AdSense units. The post features an FAQ, making it fail-safe for every Forum owner.
We recommend the default integration for everybody who:
  • …is new to AdSense and wants quick results
  • …does not want to get into AdSense

2. Banner blindness - our enemy



http://www.useit.com/alertbox/banner-blindness.html - The longer your vBulletin forum’s visitors have been on the internet the more experience they have. The longer they have been on our forums the better they get used to everything like for example the sub-forums, where they have to post etc. Unfortunately they also get used to our ads and thus they develop a certain banner blindness.

This is an excellent study by Jakob Nielsen about banner-blindness showing and explaining the phenomenon. We learn the following:
  • Get away from web 1.0 advertising (no horizontal banners, no skyscrapers)
  • Forum members suffer more from banner-blindness

3. Placing AdSense units at custom locations



A post by NeutralizeR on the official vBulletin.org forums about inserting AdSense at custom locations all around your forums.

Still remember the first resource about banner-blindness? Yes, those codes will give you horizontal web 1.0 banners. Modify the codes and use as many rectangles as possible. The more squares you are using the higher your Click through rate (CTR) is going to be.

4. Template conditionals - customize your ads



The post by Brandon Sheley is a list of http://forum.vbulletinsetup.com/f18/vbulletin-template-conditionals-list-2185.html. Using them you could for example:
  • Show ads to specific usergroups
  • Show ads in specific sub-forums
  • Show ads at custom locations (forumhome, forums)
Whatever customization there is, it’s only possible using the template conditionals.

5. The best placements for vBulletin



http://www.duoblogger.com/vbulletin-adsense-placements/ - The post suggests the following:
  • 2 large rectangles in the navigation bar
  • 1 large rectangle inside your first post
  • 1 horizontal link unit in the navigation of your forum
  • 1 horizontal banner in your threadbit
  • 2 square link units below the posts
  • If you have vBadvanced: 1 link unit inside the navigation
The above post’s suggestions of AdSense placements for your vBulletin forum are pretty aggressive. But consider, I am showing ads to guests only. I am not monetizing my members and as guests won’t contribute that’s fair. Of course, the more ads you show the less likely they are to register. It’s up to you.

6. Design matters - the following colors make your visitors click


Another post here on DuoBlogger about http://www.duoblogger.com/best-adsense-colors/. The post suggests the following:
  • Blend your ads
    • AdSense Title color = Something blue or the link color on your site
    • AdSense Background color = your site’s background color
    • AdSense Border color = your site’s background color
    • AdSense Text color = your site’s text color
    • AdSense URL color = your site’s text color
  • Rotate the colors every now and then to reduce banner blindness
  • Use AdSense channels to track every slight change
7. Work on your forum’s AdSense Cost-Per-Click (CPC)



Optimizing your vBulletin’s CTR you’ll want to http://www.duoblogger.com/increase-adsense-cpc/. The post suggests the following:
  • Get more advertisers to placement target you
    • Add individual AdSense channels per forum
    • Use the Google AdSense Ad planner publisher center
  • Reduce the amount of missclicks as that increases ROI for the advertiser

8. Start working on your vBulletin forum - use this checklist

http://www.duoblogger.com/adsense-checklist/
This post by Mark is a http://www.duoblogger.com/adsense-checklist/ The post takes you through both CTR and CPC optimization. Follow the steps and you can be sure that you have done something good for your AdSense earnings.

9. Marketing forums on vBulletinSetup.com

http://www.duoblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/vbulletin-setup.png

http://forum.vbulletinsetup.com/f62/ are a great resource to ask questions in case you have any. Many vBulletin owners regularly check out the forums and reply to questions. If you want to get in contact with a vBulletin expert, than that’s what you should be doing.

10. Advertising forums on vBSEO.com

http://www.vbseo.com/f160/

The http://www.vbseo.com/f160/ is another great resource. The forums exceed AdSense as the forum owners regularly also review other advertising programs. In case you have any questions or need help with other advertising programs, that’s the forum you should be checking out.

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