6 Publisher Mistakes that Cause a CPM Revenue Drop

The main objective of every publisher site is to generate as much revenue as possible while also delivering a great user experience (UX) to every visitor. As a matter of fact, both of these elements are intimately intertwined as a great experience usually results in a higher number of engaged visitors. But, the smallest error in UX can result in huge losses, especially for publishers that monetize their traffic via CPM ads.

At ActiveRevenue, we partner with some of the top CPM advertisers that work with pop ads and similar formats, so our team is familiar with the elements that influence this monetization technique. Below, we’ll go over the impact that website changes have on CPM revenue and discuss 6 mistakes that can reduce the profitability of this technique.

How Do Publisher Changes Affect CPM?

Before diving any deeper, let’s go over the impact that website changes have on CPM revenue.

There are many elements that impact the performance of a website, all of which can be divided into on-page and off-page variables. Off-page variables are hard to control because they are not directly under the control of the webmaster. These elements include review site ratings, social media presence, and backlinks.  

On-page variables, on the other hand, can be fully controlled by publishers and they include elements like loading speed, content quality, and overall design. Needless to say, these variables also have an immense impact on the way users interact with a page and how much content they produce. So, publishers that focus on studying on-page elements and testing different adjustments tend to have better performance than platform owners that disregard these variables.

6 Publisher Mistakes that Cause a CPM Revenue Drop

As we mentioned earlier, the performance of a publishing platform can be heavily influenced by a variety of factors. With that said, there are some mistakes that can be exponentially reducing the revenue you get from your CPM ads.

Here are 6 blunders you should avoid to get the most from your traffic.

1. Using too Many Ad Formats

Users are bombarded with ads as soon as they connect to the web, so the last thing they want to do is access a page that has a large number of ads. It may be tempting to implement as many adverts as possible, but you should keep the UX in mind at all times, make sure that the formats you combine are compatible, and that these don’t overwhelm users.

2. Not Addressing Ad Blockers

Ad blockers are a legitimate issue, but publishers can take a number of steps to mitigate the impact of this type of software. Make sure to gate your content, politely ask users to remove their ad blockers, or take similar steps to reduce the impact that ad blockers have on your CPM revenue.

3. Misreading Statistics

Yes, this is a basic mistake, but it happens very often. Instead of measuring success based on pure performance metrics, take a look at your total revenue, campaign ROI, and similar statistics to determine if your campaign was truly successful.

4. Poor Positioning

Poor positioning is probably the most common publisher mistake. Fortunately, it’s also the easiest to fix.

If you followed our first tip you should only have a limited number of formats on each page. Therefore, you need to maximize the impact of these ads by placing them above the fold and developing effective triggers for pop ups and similar formats.

5. A Broken UX

Have you ever been on a website with intrusive ads so bad that they actually affected the page’s functionality? If the answer is yes, then you know the exact feeling you should be trying to avoid.

Make sure that the formats and ads you use don’t hurt UX on any device or connection type. This is tricky, but you need to test your content on different devices and ensure that the ads displayed are appropriate for the connection speed of each user’s device.  

6. Using the Wrong Ad Formats

Yes, there is such a thing as the wrong ad format for your site. And, if you have the wrong type of ad, your CPM traffic won’t generate as much revenue.

There is no exact formula to figure out which ads are a great fit, so you need to research your audience and ensure that the adverts being displayed on your ads resonate with these users.

Want to Generate More Revenue from Your Traffic? Contact ActiveRevenue Today

CPM ads are a great way to monetize large volumes of visitors, but finding media buyers that are willing to pay top dollar for your traffic can be challenging. At ActiveRevenue, we focus on connecting publishers with the best media buyers in their industries. To learn more about monetizing your traffic through our CPM network, contact us today and we’ll be glad to help.