Several people reported to me that their AdSense CTR is actually increasing but their CPC (PPC) decreases. This is an interesting phenomenom especially because it seems to make CTR optimization useless. I noticed the same thing and would like to share my thoughts on this.
It is not the CTR optimization that is flawed. The AdSense CPC is determined by:
- Quantity of ads on the website, simple offer/need relation.
- Quality of the clicks
- Bid on the keyword
Previous CTR optimization always included adding more ads, however it seems like that adding more ads will actually lead to reduce the CPC of each of the Ads. CTR increases but CPC decreases resulting in zero change of AdSense income. Furthermore adding more ad units to your website ruins the user's experience resulting in both more missclicks and "get me outa here" clicks, lowering the CPC.
So, from my point of view you should definitely be doing CTR optimization, however not add more ad units. Optimize your current ad units by relocating them and changing the design, that's it, nothing more.
I will be trying this out, removing 4 out of my 6 ad units on my main website. I'll share whether I actually notice a CPC increase.
You'll want to read those 2 tutorials for optimizing your current ad units.
I'll keep you updated.