Anyone know of a good, ad-sense safe way to encourage forum visitors to click ad-sense?

Do users not like this? Is there a subtle way to encourage?

Also, you can check out the two sites I am referring to. My Click through rate is SO low. (.01%) Should I move the ads? Change the styles? I cant get the colors any closer.

Just keep in mind the rules at https://www.google.com/adsense/suppo...y?answer=48182

Web pages may not include incentives of any kind for users to click on ads. This includes encouraging users to click on the ads or to visit the advertisers' sites as well as drawing any undue attention to the ads. For example, your site cannot contain phrases such as "click here," "support us," "visit these links," or other similar language that could apply to any ad, regardless of content. These activities are strictly prohibited in order to avoid potential inflation of advertiser costs. In addition, publishers may not bring unnatural attention to sites displaying ads or referral buttons through unsolicited mass emails or unwanted advertisements on third-party websites. Publishers are also not permitted to use deceptive or unnatural means to draw attention to or incite clicks on referral buttons.

I dunno try to get more targeted ads. No use risking your account getting banned.

nope, you shouldn't really try to "encourage" users to click. Try the following:

1. Ad placement. Experiment and track which placements work best

2. Different ad formats, I see you're using the adsense link format thing, why not try using the adsense block format?

3. Pictures next to ads. There's a right and wrong way to do this. Use the right way.

4. INCREASE TRAFFIC!!!! This should be your number 1 concern, not encouraging people to click on ads.

Why don't us webmasters and site owners come up with a pact. We can agree to support each others sites through a daily visit and ad clicks. We could form a network of support for ads, each of us pledging to visit each others sites everyday and click an ad at least once?

Anyone interested PM me.

I went ahead and changed the adsense format. Let's see if these help. I setup channels all around the forum to track each placement. Thanks for the suggestions.

jruytenb - fraudulent ad clicking is theft. Suggesting it on a marketing
forum is likely to give you a very bad reputation, and potentially even
reported to Google.

What an idiot

How did you conclude that what I was doing was fraudulent?

I would need to intend to defraud google or the advertisers. Namely I am not trying to defraud anyone. However, an interested group of persons desiring to go from website to website, looking at the google ads and clicking on those they like surely benefits google and the advertisers. I think it is a far stretch to say that something as such would be considered fraud.

Originally Posted by jruytenb

I would need to intend to defraud google or the advertisers. Namely I am not trying to defraud anyone. However, an interested group of persons desiring to go from website to website, looking at the google ads and clicking on those they like surely benefits google and the advertisers. I think it is a far stretch to say that something as such would be considered fraud.

That is fraud. That is stealing from advertisers.

How are you helping advertisers by going around and clicking on their ads? Are you going to buy their products or sign up to their services?

Well I see that the community thinks its a bad idea..ok, point taken. But I do believe that forming a group to browse ads (window shop) is in the best interests of advertisers. I can't tell you if people would buy anything or not. That would depend on the buyer and the product. However, I am sure that a buyer is more likely to purchase a product on a website if the visitor is not just viewing an ad but is actually on the product page itself. That is exactly where the value comes in for the advertisers.

In essence, having a group that goes around clicking ads that they find interesting are avoiding ad-blindness and are actually doing what advertisers want, namely getting visitors to their page to see their products and hopefully purchase.

Please refer to Post #3.

Nah, please refer to post #9.

I am definitely against the practice suggested, even though it might sound attractive for a publisher, it definitely leaves a bad taste in the mouth, especially for the advertiser.

You want to set up a group to click on ads heh? Well that is wrong, for example, if I setup an ad campaign for an affiliate product for example. It would be in my best interest to write a nice ad copy and sell a product I was really trying to push. Now I go and invest $100 in traffic.

I am starting to see 1-2 clicks on my adwords campaign but no leads, you are clicking on ads that are basically not interesting to you. Granted that it is a good thing to click on an ad that interests you, but come on this is just ridiculous.

So granted I am really crap at summing things up, so please refer to this post to help you out

It seems many of you haven't actually read what I wrote above since I clearly wrote that the group would click on ads that DID interest them. There. Now who is the post #9

What Would Jethro Tull Say?

Originally Posted by Will.Spencer

What Would Jethro Tull Say?

Aqualung? Ahehehe..