Crappy websites get the highest CTRs

July 24, 2006 – 8:50 am

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Let’s take a look at another surprise when it comes to make money online. People will always tell you to make a high quality website, and there’s no doubt that’s the only logical advice to offer. It’s high quality content that will get you readers, and it’s the highest quality content that will attract natural links. But is all this high quality content necessary to garner high CTR and make good money? Of course not.

Low quality pages are what make people click. Thinks about it. If a person lands at a web page that satisfies them to their very soul, they’re unlikely to click on an ad. You answered their question in its’ entirety, and they aren’t required to surf any further. A website that doesn’t answer the question is more likely to garner a click-through to another web page, where they might actually find what they need.

This is the reason “Adsense Scrapers” never really disappear, despite the fact people don’t like them. It’s also why Adsense Arbitrage was occuring. The marketers would pay for a low click amount, and then land people on a page that had a choice of higher-paying ads. Not really the greatest thing in the world from a standpoint of usability, and Google eventually decided to crack down on the practice.

I’m not encouraging you to make a bad website, because I think it’s counterproductive in the end. But don’t feel super bad if you have a really high-quality website that isn’t producing as much money as you think it should. Part of the reason is because your website is just so darn good that many visitors are glad you made it. That might mean lower money up front, but down the road it should mean you do really well because of your loyal, repeat customers.

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