Understanding Who Clicks Ads
If I were to divide up all the people who visit your blog into two categories, I’d split them up into searchers and readers. A searcher is someone who fired up a search engine, started to look for something, and ended up on your blog. A reader is someone who is going through their daily web routine and managed to end up on your blog, whether it be because you’re on his or her blogroll, subscription list, etc. A search will click on an advertisement where as a reader will most likely not.
To understand why, you need to take the perspective of the user. If I need to find a particular bit of information, or more importantly, a particular product, I’m actually looking at advertisements. If I’m trying to figure out the local vendors who can sell me windows or window installation services, I’m going to look at the advertisements on your page about window installation. If I’m reading about the intricacies of filing my taxes, I’ll be interested to find out how much professional services could cost me - especially once I actually start reading about the tax code. As a searcher, I am seeking professional services and will look at advertisements because professionals will advertise.
Additionally, if I am a searcher, chances are I reached your blog via Google or Yahoo or some other search engine. It will likely be the first time I’ve ever seen your blog and I will not have developed advertisement blindness for your layout. The combination of a new layout and my desire for more professional information usually leads to significantly higher CTRs.
Let’s say I’m a loyal reader of your blog. Today I fire up my browser and I visit your blog. I ignore the Adsense or YPN ads I’ve already ignored for the last few months, even if you added images or changed the color, and I go straight for the content where its always been. I read the article, follow some links, and that’s the end of that. Even if I read it once a week, I still ignore the ads because I’m only reading, I’m not searching. I seek no particular information, service or product and so the advertisements are irrelevant.
Even if I started somewhere else and clicked to your blog, I’m not looking for anything. I’m reading leisurely, perhaps catching up on news, getting that new bit of information, or checking out that new product review. I’m less likely to be interested in making a purchase because I’m browsing.
The searchers will click whereas the readers will not.
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