Adsense on landing pages?

[alexb]

Yes or no?

The way I look at it is that, if they're not going to buy the product I'm promoting, at least I'll recoup some of my PPC costs.

 

[zirox87]

It is also true that they may divert attention from the very product you're selling.

 

[Mahzkrieg]

Do NOT do this.

Focus on the sale. If you're not generating sales, reform, tweak, and test until you are.

Adsense won't recoup your PPC costs. A sale will.

 

[m0rtal]

Please put Adsense on your landing page and give me the url.

Jokes aside, it's a very bad idea. You could have people pretty much pre sold and then they see a shinny ad and bam they are gone buying from your competitor.

 

[Mahzkrieg]

Adsense destroys credibility, too. People that are able to be pre-sold from a landing page aren't necessarily sheeple. The product obviously interests them. And most people know what ad blocks are, especially when the ad blocks can't be nested very well on a landing page with little content.

 

[alexb]

It's actually in the sidebar, but ok, I'll take it down.

 

[Mahzkrieg]

Here's a better stance:

In truth, you never really know. Get some history behind your landing page so you have a good understanding of its average conversion rates and a comparative metric.

Then for a couple days, throw in the Adsense. If conversion rate drops, see how that compares to the amount you made in Adsense clicks. Maybe conversion rate doesn't drop and you actually are monetizing people who've decided to leave. It's far fetched, but you never know until you just set it on the table and see what happens.

The biggest thing is just to make sure the call to action (your "buy button") is above the fold and prominent.

 

[alexb]

Ok, took out the adsense, absolutely butchered the style sheet to remove the now-empty sidebar, and somehow got the whole thing looking ok.

Protip: Not everybody has a 22" widescreen monitor. Check your site on your roommate's 15" square monitor.

Thanks for the advice.