What is your secret ad placement?

I set up a new forum in January, it has grown rapidly!

Right now I am testing the leader board (right below navbar) and one square in first post. My CTR with the leader board is 1.23% (1 1/2 month average).... and with the square it is 1.5%. Now, are these numbers normal for a forum?

I have not tried other placements except for 3 leaders boards/ad after first post/vertical on the sides... with not as much success as with the current placements.

Any tips? Thanks.

I think forums CTR is generally lower than normal websites...so thats probably not too bad.

That's very high for a forum

I mostly see 0.0X

Those numbers are very good for a forum and you will see them decrease over time. As they do, you will need to switch your ads around to give things a new look. That will increase CTR for a time once again.

I use a 336x280 under the navbar

i think adds betweeen posts helps a lot

Thanks guys, I will try out different options now. Will let you guys know what works best.

The key to earn much from your community , just read this article my friend.
http://www.phil-bader.co.nr/2007/02/...community.html

the ads that work best for me are placed in between posts.

For guests I run a full leaderboard under the navbar and random ads between posts in threads. For members I have a small add in the navbar to the left of the 'welcome, username' section (top/right in vbulletin, like this forum ^) and a full leaderboard in the footer.

The top leaderboard for guests is performing the best since I started using it a few weeks ago, with the navbar for members coming in second. The random ad between posts fluctuates a lot...some days it does well while other days it doesn't do anything at all.

Change ad placements frequently.

Here's my take.

I only run one forum, and it's more for fun than profit -- forums.urbanpug.com.

The forum doesnt have that many users, but it gets a decent amount of search traffic. I view running the forum for the users as a way to generate searched for phrases.

I believe that search referrals are much, much more likely to click ads. I also believe that once users are USING your site, they become ad blind. They are there to read your forums, not click your ads. They're already at their destination. Search engine referrals are not necessarily at their destination yet.

So, what can you do?

Do direct ad sales. You can help other sites search rankings, you can send some traffic their way, and you can do a monthly/weekly "thank you sponsors" post. This is more effective than adsense for sites, because it generates good will with your users.

"Thank you to redwidgetseller.com -- they have great service, great prices, and support this community. Show your support for this board by checking out their products and buy from them when you need a Red Widget"

Why do you think companies advertise on NASCAR? People are really loyal to the brands that support their favorite driver.

Try to sell some direct ads in your niche.