Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links in which I receive commissions. The reviews and opinions expressed in this article are my own.
You’re on the internet, browsing through the search engine for whatever content you’ve taken interest in lately. You open a few websites: some sites you read through the end, and other sites you click back without bothering to scroll down.
What could be the difference? Of course, it could simply be that the site did not offer the information you were looking for, but here’s a few more reasons that may also be true
- The site looks messy and full of annoying ads.
- The ads displayed are either too large and overbearing or sensitive and sketchy, or both.
- The layout is all over the place, and you don’t know where to click.
Now let’s say you’ve just created a blog that you plan to monetize. There’s a lot of things you have to set up. In the world of online marketing, one of these is a reliable and competent ad-testing platform.
(While you’re at it, read about earning money online here?
Essentially, you need one that tells you:
- Where to put your ads?
- How to make the most money from your content by presenting you with specific advertisers to work with?
- How to optimize your ad displays and make more money without cluttering your website design?
When I started paying more attention to the look and feel of my site, within a month, I was earning more than I usually did once I monetized my site. Within two years, the rates kept rising.
Here is where my experience with Ezoic comes in. Today, I will be sharing how Ezoic and its handy features have overall helped my site’s ad revenue, and how you can also increase your EPMV (earnings per thousand visitors).
What is Ezoic?
Ezoic is an ad-testing platform that lets you test ad placements and layouts of different types of ads from different ad networks on your website. Think of it as a win-win situation: it optimizes your revenue from your website’s advertisements by trying out different website layouts and positions, as well as improves user experience by presenting ad combinations that will most likely get the most engagement.
Relevant: Read my Facebook advertising guide for beginners here
How does Ezoic work?
Here’s why you need to have a test ad platform: by taking into account all of the important variables, Ezoic knows how to maximize your money by split testing many ad placements at a time because of the multiple ads on your page. By comparing all ads on one page at the same time, you see how much money that an entire visit makes!
Each unique visit makes money, because they usually have to click to another page. It’s the user visit that you need to maximize to get the most revenue.
In a nutshell, Ezoic uses machine learning algorithms to see which ads people will most likely click on by testing different ad placements, sizes and combinations. Over time, it stores information about your users, and uses this information to tailor ads that will appeal to each user.
Ezoic offers mainly four types of ad placements:
- Native ads – These are often used in social media feeds or in the recommended content of a website. They match the look and the feel of the format they appear in.
- Banner ads – Image-based ads whose purpose is to get users to go from the current website to the advertiser’s website.
- Link ads – Text-based ads displaying a list of topics that are related to your website’s content.
- Sticky ads – Usually found on the sidebar or the in screen, these are fixed within the page and stay visible while the user scrolls up or down.
Here’s what the ad options look like:
As an automated testing tool, Ezoic lets you see:
- Each experiment (different combinations of website design and layout), the type of device it’s displayed on, and how much money it has made.
- How long people browse your site and how many pages they click through in each visit to come up with a “performance metric.”
Here’s what the reporting section looks like by using colors to represent layouts:
Ezoic basically lets the statistics speak for themselves and will use the performance metrics to display the layout that tends to get the most engagement on your site and view more pages the most.
Also read about how to increase your adsense revenue here
Will Ezoic make me money?
Yes.
Will it improve my revenue?
Yes!
Think about it this way: many users stay away from websites crammed with random, sketchy advertisements. This makes the site get less engagement and less visits, and therefore less revenue.
Because Ezoic partners with a lot of high-quality ad networks, you get ads on your website that are actually attractive to potential visitors. Your website is also arranged optimally so ad placements don’t bother the website content that the visitor actually wants to see.
Ezoic promises an increase in ad revenue between 60% to 200%. I’ve noticed the drastic change of my site revenue over time, once Ezoic got used to the kind of visitors that my site gets.
The revenue I get from each visit has steadily gone up in the span of a few years, mostly because the time on site has improved as well. I think the best part about all this is that I still get to maintain control on my own website.
How to Make the Most out of Ezoic
1. Ad Tester vs. Layout Tester
Ezoic gives you two different set ups: the Ad Tester or the Layout Tester.
By choosing the Ad Tester, Ezoic will only test ads instead of layouts or themes. If you want to retain how your website page design and control, you can choose where to put your ads.
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This will improve your ad revenue, but not much, because it limits the effects it will have on user experience.
The Layout Tester is where you can get the best from Ezoic. Though you may have to relinquish some of the control on your website design, the automated, intelligent machine testing will test different types of ads, along with different layouts.
It can take a few days for Ezoic to store information and find better combinations based on visitors, so patience is important.
2. Load your site up with more ad placeholders
This will really let Ezoic split test more combinations and come up with better results.
Again, give it time. Extensive testing will take weeks up to a month. It will all depend on the user traffic on your website, so if you don’t have much yet, you’ll have to let it run a little longer.
3. Make use of the Big Data Analytics feature.
You can pull data reports from the Big Data Analytics dashboard and closely review the revenue by changing the categories: by each page or post, by device, by traffic source, by UTM medium tracking, URLs, and by country. These detailed reports will tell you what kind of articles earn more.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Let’s talk about the pros and cons and Ezoic to see if it would be a great fit for you and your project.
Pros:
● Mobile friendly.
Ezoic tests with the type of device in mind (desktop, mobile and tablet) to find the combinations that will make the most money for you as well as make it the most appealing for visitors.
● You are still in control of your site.
You can adjust the percentage of traffic that should go to your original site and the percentage that goes to Ezoic. These adjustments can vary depending on the type of device.
● Ezoic works with lots of ad networks (instead of say, just AdSense or Media.Net).
Having more advertisers to choose from means the ads on your site will be of higher quality and higher pay.
Cons:
● There is no live chat support.
This feature was replaced with a ticket system, and though the customer reps were still insightful and friendly, all responses were delayed.
Ezoic FAQs
How do you get paid?
Ezoic supports cheques, PayPal, or international bank transfers. Payments are received at the end of the month, and the minimum payout is $20.
Why is my Google Analytics account required?
Ezoic does have a few rules before letting you use its features. Your Analytics account has to show that your site gets 10,000 monthly visits before you can join.
Is it free?
It’s free. There is no contract, and you can simply turn it off with one click.
However, Ezoic does have a premium version ($49/month) that can improve your revenue even more.
Will Ezoic take a percentage off my revenue?
Good news! Instead of taking a percentage off your revenue, Ezoic will get its revenue by simply displaying a small ad at the bottom of your site (if you want to remove that ad, you’ll have to get premium).
Can I use Ezoic along with other ad networks (e.g. AdSense)?
Yes. You will, however, have to install an add-on app into your Ezoic account.
The Mediation app will allow you to link your other existing ads Ezoic can include them in its testing. Mediation makes sure you get paid the most for every ad impression that your site gets by letting your ad network accounts compete against other ad partners that Ezoic has.
Is Ezoic Worth Trying?
Absolutely. Using the latest update of Ezoic has worked wonders. It may have gotten a lot more complicated, but that’s only because its upgrades have added a lot of helpful tools and addon apps to maximize the whole Ezoic experience.
Compared to other ad platforms, Ezoic provides more features that will surely increase your ad revenue within a certain time period. I get to enjoy all the benefits while maintaining control of the overall look and feel of my site design (this is really crucial to certain sites).
How do I Use Ezoic?
- Head over to their main website to create an account. You must have an AdSense account and proof of 10,000 monthly visits.
- Integrate your site: Ezoic works with any platform. You can use CloudFlare to integrate Ezoic into your site, just so you can have a few safety measures. Ezoic is already partnered with CloudFlare, so that it makes it easier.
- Set up Ad Testing
- Replace all existing ad units on your site with a wrapped ad unit before creating new ad units. Make sure you create just enough so your website will not look too cluttered and random. Follow this Youtube tutorial on wrapping ad units before Ad Testing Setup.
- Install the Ezoic Chrome addon for easier access.
Here is an in-depth tutorial on getting started with Ezoic:
Should I try Ezoic Premium?
Ezoic Premium offers several plan options, with each plan having three tiers. For a fee, Ezoic displays higher paying ads on your layout, thus getting you more profit.
It’s not a total shot in the dark, however, because Ezoic actually tells you how much you’re earning from the premium ads.
To be honest, using Ezoic for free has already done wonders for me. I don’t mind the logo on the bottom part of my site, either.
The thing with Ezoic Premium, however, is that you need to be eligible to get an invitation. You need to have a certain amount of engagement and ad revenue to qualify.
Still, if you place a lot of value on how your site revenue adds to your income, then it’s worth investing on Premium. Here are a couple of pros and cons to help you decide:
Pros:
- Credit card rewards
- Still no revenue share
- Profit from paid traffic
Cons:
- Can’t downgrade plan
- Month/year commitment (depending on your plan)
Conclusion
Here’s what I’ve learned: you can have the best content on your site but receive little to no recognition. External factors matter.
Because the digital world is so fast-paced, you need to learn the algorithm to make sure your content platform remains relevant.
Ultimately, Ezoic is one efficient and powerful tool to help you stay afloat. The tips shared here will help you reap the benefits of online content providing.
Let me know in the comments about your experience with Ezoic!
Like this article? Explore more tips about online revenue platforms here:
A very helpful review of Ezoic, as said my a masonry contractor.