Hello,

I run a website where users can send messages to other users and make friend. Kinda like getting a pen pal.

More and more people are signing up and I'm getting about 100 unique visiters a day and 25 sign-ups per day. My bounce rate is 20%. The site is definately getting more popular.

The homepage explains what the website is al about and let's you log on or create a new account.

I've been putting Adsense ads on it by nobody ever clicks on them. These are the stats for the adsense ad units for the past week:

<removed because the Adsense TOS does NOT allow CTR to be disclosed>


I'm definately doing something wrong. I've got a lot of info about my users in a DB, like top 3 interests, age, gender, location. Furthermore I could scan messages for keywords.

WHat do I do to get my CTR up?

In your Adsense account click on the "Resources" tab. They have information about how to optimize your ads for better results. Placement and coloration have a lot to do with achieving higher CTR.

First, try to put the ads above the fold of main content, and so visitors can easily spot the ads. At the same time, blend the ads with the background, and so even the ads are spotted, visitors may only think that they are only normal links, and will be more willing to click them.

You may refer more CTR tips here.

This social sites also forums and directories have low CTR.
Because there are still the same people there and if you
are everyday or more times per day on one site you
don´t click ads...

You need to "force" your visitors eyes to scan the ads without annoying them. It's a fine balance. Then assuming that Google is able to actually serve relevant ads based on your content people will click on them.