How to Triple Your Advertising Revenues Without Additional Traffic
I overlaid hundreds of heatmaps, clickmaps, web usability studies, eye tracking reports and ad placement suggestions from the bigger ad networks. I then created 30 templates based on this data, and tracked the amount of ad revenue generated, depending on ad position.
The result of this research, is a definitive set of nine templates. You can double or triple your ad revenues, without any additional traffic, clicks, or page views, just by moving the ads to the hot spots. A highly fascinating and profitable experiment to say the least.
Of course your results will vary from mine. The type of market you’re in, the types of ads you use, and the people who visit your sites, will all have an effect your results. So I advise against overhauling your website, without testing first.
Think of these templates as a “best practices” or guidelines for ad placement. If anything, be sure to experiment with some of the layouts, on a few of your pages, because they could double, or triple the ad revenues, that you’re making right now.
Don’t have any advertising on your site? That’s ok. The Ultimate Heatmap can be used draw attention to the most important areas of your site. It can have a dramatic effect on signups, donations, optins and conversions.
For graphic designers and advertising professionals, there’s plenty for you here too. You’ll discover important site layouts, standard ad sizes, and how to design more effective advertising.
Update: Ultimate Heatmap 2.0 is ready. It has updated templates, sample ads, fresh test data from another year’s worth of experiments. Plus it comes with Color Persuasion – How to Influence Purchasing Decisions with Color – as a bonus. It’s not free like version 1.0 of the report, but I’ve made it very affordable, considering the difference it can make in your ad revenues. If you want to see what’s new in Ultimate Heatmap 2.0 come visit us.
take care and God bless,
Michael
P. S.
I was going to sell version one of this report, but I decided that it’s far too valuable to keep it a secret. So I decided to gift it to the world, that all may benefit.
I’m not out to change the Universe. Just give our planet a tiny nudge towards economic recovery. That’s why I decided to release the original research to the public. It’s made a huge difference in my ad revenues, and I hope that it does the same for you.
All I ask is that you tell your friends. You can bookmark it on Delicious.com, or give it a Tweet on Twitter. Even if you only have 1 follower, every little bit helps.
Yes, you can still Download the Ultimate Heatmap Version 1.0 for free, but do keep in mind that it’s over a year old now. If you want the latest research and the site layouts that are working right now, come on over to the official Ultimate Heatmap website.
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Michael, what an enormous and generous gift you have shared with our community! Thanks for sharing of your time, research, insights & the brilliance on page 2 of this report!
Thanks for saving me time, and helping me consciously generate more revenue, with this intelligent & concise report. U ROCK, Michael! God bless you!!
Hi Sherman, thanks for kicking off the comments here on the blog. You are very welcome.
It is my hope, that this research benefits everyone. That it keeps the dollars moving, providing a little nudge to the economy, so that all may prosper because of it.
I ageee with Sherman 100% and couldn’t have said “Thanks so much Michael!” any better…
One word… incredible.
’nuff said.
This heatmap is a great help in me knowing where to place my adsense. Michael I aim to be full-time on the Internet by year end, your teachings are so valuable to me.
Hey John, good to hear it. Keep in mind that it’s not just AdSense. You can advertise any sort of product as an affiliate, that you want. Sometimes they can bring a lot more coin.
Killer report Michael
Expect to see some large sites changing their advertising layout soon as this is killer information.
Hi Andy, thank you for the kind words and stopping by to comment. I hope a lot of site owners take a serious look at the report and at least test a few pages. They might be pleasantly surprised.
Michael, this is great stuff, no surprise coming from you I must say. You really are a mad scientist!
I will definitely incorporate your research into my web page layouts, great job!
Michael: I’m grateful. And speechless.
Once again Michael you selflessly share incredibly valuable information without asking for anything in return.
Echoing Sherman’s comment above, you most definitely ROCK!
Cheers
Nick
Sometimes all it takes to cheer someone up, is a little present. Hopefully this research will brighten the face of the economy.
Thank you Michael.
I look forward to testing your templates and seeing what works for my sites.
Thank you again – your expertise and generosity is much appreciated!
What a generous gift to everyone marketing online. This is going to be a desktop resource for all my and my clients sites. It is a huge piece of work and coming from you, I know it is based on great research, testing and years of profitable experience.
Love and peace
Thanks John. Yes please do give it to clients as a resource. It will help them understand the design and advertising challenges we all face. Hopefully they’ll “get it” and go with it.
Michael, this is awesome! Thank you…ditto on Sherman’s comments. All the best!
You are one of the select few people I’ve consistently recommended to countless people over the past couple of years because of the quality of your reports and the soundness and effectiveness of your strategies. I’m looking forward to reading this and profiting from the information. thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge.
Paul
HI Paul. Thanks for that. It’s really appreciated. Yes, I choose advertising and marketing as a career, back in 1988, and have been practicing since. I’m in it for the long haul, so I’m glad to have you as company along for the ride.
Michael,
Sherman said it all.
BTW I’m 53 and I’ve lived my adult life following that ancient Vulcan proverb…and it has worked for me.
Live long and Prosper \\\ //
Michael:
Wow! What a tremendous gift you have given to us. I have learned more in this one report than in several e-books and courses combined. You are truly a generous person. I have Tweeted this page, and will send more traffic from my home blogs over to your site. Again, thank you!
Hey Scott… thanks for the referrals. I do appreciate every single visitor that you send my way. I’ll do my best to treat them the same generosity that you’ve experienced.
Micheal,
A few years ago I heard the saying “You Can’t Keep It Unless You Give It Away”. At the time I really didn’t know what that meant in business or my regular life. A few months ago, a potential customer called me up to ask about a product I sell. We ended up spending over an hour speaking about the niche. In the end I concluded that my product was too remedial for them so I declined taking their payment and pointed them in the direction of someone that could.
Two weeks later I received an order. Low and behold it was the customer I told not to buy my product. They had a note attached that read “You will be truly blessed because you took the time to give it away, instead of keeping it to yourself. Thank you for caring enough about me to put your life and business on hold to help me get where I want to go.”
Now you have done the same for me so I wish you all the best that life has to offer.
Paul G. Hackett
“The Medical Billing, Coding & Transcription Mastermind”
Wow Paul, that’s a nice “what goes round comes round” story. I’m a true believer in that philosophy.
Thank you Michael! This is valuable information to have on hand. I appreciate the free gift.
Hi Michael,
First, I rarely leave comments. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s usually not my thing. But this was different.
So I wanted to thank you, but also offer my two cents on what your contribution means to those like me who appreciate it.
And I was wondering what would be the best way to describe what you’ve done by releasing this report/information?
And the phrase “Thought Leader” came to mind. But was that the right phrase to use to describe you? I have heard that term thrown around a lot online, in this community.
I’ve never actually bought in to the term when used in the past. But was it right to describe you?
I went to Wikipedia, and here’s their definition:
“A thought leader is a futurist or person who is recognized for innovative ideas and demonstrates the confidence to promote or share those ideas as actionable distilled insights.”
Ah yes, “demonstrates the confidence to promote or share those ideas as actionable distilled insights.”.
My instincts were right. You are most definitely a Thought Leader in this community, and more. And I thank you for that, and I just wanted to recognize you for being a true thought leader!
Jay
Hi Jay. Thank you for the kind words. They are appreciated. Yes, I’m a big believer in actionable advice. Theory is all nice and well, but the proof is in the “distilled” test results.
Now just add some cleavage and it’s all over!
LOL Never thought of doing THAT for the report’s cover. Dang… it would have – pardon the pun – tripled the exposure.
Michael, I have been a fan of yours for at least 10 years. I have subscribed and dropped off many a list – tired of the hype and greed. Yours is one I recommend to everyone. Thank you for this and all the other information you have shared throughout the years!
Beca Lewis
Perception Shifting Systems For The Spiritually Minded
Hi Beca. Thanks for the kind words. Yes, there’s no need to be greedy, or be addicted to spending.
True wealth is not about having more, its about getting by with less. And trying to leave a legacy, that will positively impact those, that you’ve been blessed enough to share time with.
Michael,
What a wonderful contribution, or should I say “another” wonderful contribution you’ve made. I have just finished telling a friend, whose running for Parliament, what a huge difference this knowledge can make to the effectiveness, not to mention the cost of his campaign.
I’ve also asked my brother who is in Real Estate to stop and read it, before he does too much else. Real estate businesses can make a killing knowing this. I’ve asked another Brother who is in AUSAID to read it. It will give their limited budgets more clout. And my sister who is an Academic…..and it defies imagination how they can use this info
Many thanks again for your generosity
Paul
Thanks Paul… you got it! It’s not just about advertising.
The Ultimate Heatmap refers to the areas that attract a combo of the most eye fixation, attention and clicks. Just by moving around the web elements, you affect sign ups, donations, sales and all sorts of conversions.
As a local business marketing consultant and website designer, this is valuable information to provide my clients.
Michael,
Thank you for your very generous gift!
I have followed your writing for several years, and you are definitely one of my favorite authors. I have learned so much from your wonderful example and great expertise.
Many blessings to you and those others like you who practice that Golden Rule.
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Thanks Stephanie. Glad to hear I’m one of your favorite authors.
Yes, “Give unto others” is the part that’s usually missed. You have to give first, then you’ll receive. Something I’ve lived by, in my past 11 years of coaching others.
Received your The Ultimate Heatmap today and I can’t thank you enough for this enormously valuable information. I expect to put this info to work right away on my Adsense sites.
This is totally fantastic information and I believe it will greatly increase my Adsense revenue. Thanks you so much and God bless you also.
May you be blessed abundantly in all you do and thank you for this most valuable gift.
Thanks VERY much! Not only is this very useful, it’s absolutely fascinating to see what works best.
I’m off to change a bunch of my templates to nasty G!
Eeek! Template G is annoying, yet highly profitable. Be sure to balance readability and user comfort, against just raking in moola. But you know your audience best, so I hope the big G does it for you!
Thanks for your help to us as we try to help our economy one sale at a time.
Thanks, Michael, for this extremely valuable document, given in a spirit of true generosity.
I hope it helps everyone who studies it, and brings a greater reward for all their efforts. I’m certainly going to take a fresh look at my sites and improve them. Thank you again.
This is very helpful because it helps me choose layouts and for a design challenged guy like me I need all the help I can get!
Alex
Wow, thank you very much. This is something very young (and not so young) entrepreneurs need to know. Thanks for your generosity!
Wow, Michael. This is one of the best reports I have seen in a long time. Thank you so much for your generosity.
Wow! Sherman just notified us of this generous info, couldn’t have come at a better time.
Thanks so much.
I’ve always had the greatest regard for you and what you write; now I have to think of a word greater than “greatest”!
Perhaps “grandissimo”, with thanks to my Italian friends?
Thank you very much for providing this valuable information, and to Sherman Hu for providing the link. We don’t do ads on our website or e-newsletters, but I wonder if I can use this information to generally improving the click rates on our e-newsletter and website. I confess that I am surprised to learn that the right column is not a hot spot. I look there automatically. Is that the case for e-newsletters, too?
Hi Kelly… most definitely. Move your most important elements to the hottest areas. Then track the conversion rates. I’m almost positive you’ll see them go up.
I didn’t test newsletters specifically. Only web pages and blogs, but I would expect the results to be similar. It’s something you can try out.
Things people look for on the right are search boxes and shopping carts. Without navigation, the right side is pretty cold.
It does get a cursory glance. You can warm it up though, by putting a nav bar there, or photos of attractive people.
An excellent article! Thanks so much for giving it to us. I hope to make great use of the very well researched and described information. As others have said already, your timing was perfect!
The timing couldn’t be better for me because I have Web projects in the works. Theory is overrated – There is nothing better than TESTED methods that bring results.
These 33 pages are a real blessing. Thank you very, very much.
You got it Robert! That’s why my official slogan for Dynamic Media is “Tested Strategies, Proven Results.” I hope it brings you a wealth of abundance.
Thank you, Michael! That’s very kind of you, and I hope what you give comes back to you a hundredfold.
Best wishes, John
Hi Michael,
Awesome info. Appreciate your generosity.
Good karma will be yours.
Greg
Michael’s a badass dude
Muchos thanks for sharing this!
Abhik
Michael you are a star! We all owe you a debt of thanks for sharing things like this.
Hi Michael
Your email is one of the few that I really look forward to. You never cease to amaze me, as to how much time you spend with your research, and you give away freely. A Big thanks !
Wow… thanks Michael. This information is so valuable and useful. Really kind of you to give this away.
Thank you so much for this: and thank you to Sherman for the heads up!
now to figure out how to put it in practice…
Put it into practice slowly on an existing site. Test the layout on a few pages and see how it goes. Good luck with it.
When I die, I want to come back as you!
LOL… I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. Ouch! I think I cracked my lip.
Wow, Michael! Once again you prove that you are a prince among men/marketers. Thanks for your gifts. I’ve shared with my tweeps and in the Third Tribe Marketing forum.
May it come back to you in multiples!
HI Shannon. Thank you for the kind words and sharing the research with your tweeps and twibes.
I really appreciate you helping spread the word about it, so all may benefit from those months of research.
Thanks Michael for all that you do. You have a great heart, and you provide value as an expert, (notice I didn’t use the nasty word “guru”) to those of us following your lead. Best to you and yours!
Thanks Michael for this great information. I will have to start seeing how this can be incorporated into my own website layouts without delay – looks like some testing is in order..
I like the look of the heat map, thanks Michael… Good information is always a pleasure to find online!
Well done research like this is priceless.
I went through and unsubscribed from a ton of newsletters from so called gurus. Michael will be one I always keep. I find it my favorite newsletter that I always look forward to reading.
Hi Bob. Yes… I believe in providing Value First… not value added. Thank you for the kind endorsement.
Michael: fantastic report, and thank you so much. I am just setting up a new blog and will immediately implent these strategies.
Absolutely amazing. An update to something that was all the rage a few years ago but pushed to the side. A well laid out template means the difference between success and failure.
Thanks so much for sharing this.
Hi Jan. Yes, there was a reason that it was all the rage, because as you point out, it’s incredibly important… well, unless, you don’t want to increase ad revenues.
But seriously, every designer, advertiser, publisher, website and blog owner, needs to consider this research, in their site design and advertising.
Thanks Michael,
As always, this is more quality to add to my arsenal.
Thanks for what you have provided over the years,
Best to You !
EPIC report!! Thanks so much Michael!!!
Hi Michael
I just wanted to let you know that I found your insights and conclusions most valuable. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and research. I can only guess at the work (and cost) of obtaining this info. Your karma is definitely rising!
Thanks Alex. There wasn’t much cost involved. Mostly it was a lot of sweat equity and elbow grease. Plus, I had a small army of volunteers within the private site, to help me with my “mad scientist” experiments.
I’ve known you for a long time and have never been disappointed on the information that you give.
Hi Barbara. It’s nice to hear from you. Yes, I remember that you subscribed to the original Vault back in 1999 or 2000… something like that. Thank you for remaining a loyal customer over the years. I’ll do my best to keep that track record of mine going strong.
Thanks Michael, this is much appreciated. I’m plugging along with the intent of being online in December. This will help tremendously.
Rob
Glad to hear it Rob. There’s plenty of room for everyone. We’ll leave the light on for you, since we know you’re coming.
Michael,
I’ve followed you for a while, and have really appreciated the information you have shared. This heat map comes at precisely the right time, I am in the process of creating a site for a client and I was so close to completing it and I will be using this info immediately. This will help, THANKS!
That’s great to hear Lou. I hope it makes a big difference in their success. Be sure to test a couple of layouts and ad styles, to discover the best match for the audience.
Yes, thats great information for designers Michael!
Thanks
Wow Michael!
Thank you!
err…or not…you just created a whole bunch of work for me to change a bunch of site layouts!
Although I don’t do adsense or affiliate sales I’m certainly going to apply this information to entice phone calls or click-throughs for my real-world (primarily service) businesses.
By putting phone numbers or optin forms on the “hot” areas I’m confident based on this information that it will increase conversions…I’ll test it out.
I’m curious if you had any videos on those templates you tested or if you have any other stats that indicate whether videos catch the eye, increase time on the site…or are ignored.
I’m also curious, and I know it’s outside the scope of this test, as to whether you tested (here or in the past) exit pops and their success in garnering an action if the initial site visit didn’t.
Way cool stuff…thanks a ton!
Hello Sean. Yes, it’s definitely worth testing, especially with things like phone numbers and optin boxes. You should see an increase in both, by moving them to the hottest areas.
Yes, we tested some videos. A talking head video from the site owner got clicked on about 40% of the time.
Video ads varied greatly. If the ad tightly matched the site content, we saw upwards of 80% of people clicking. If the content didn’t match the site, there were almost no clicks, under 5%.
The “inventory” of available video ads however, is pretty weak. We kept getting things like car ads on gardening sites. So they’re not exactly targeted. But I’ll bet if you make your own video ads, they could be very successful.
As for the exit pops, yes, I tested those over a year ago. One way works, the other doesn’t.
If the pop comes up like a gray Alert Box, that must be read, to cancel or ok, it destroys trust and annoys the heck out of readers. I know its a favorite tool of info marketers, but I doubt that they realize, that it destroys their credibility.
If the exit pop comes up, looking like a web page from the site they’re leaving, then its ok. What really works well here are optin boxes, or a discount on the product they were just viewing. Improvements up to 15% were seen in some cases.
Michael – thank you for another yet bonus to the main one! Good to know your stats about exit pops.
Michael, I had not heard of you until Sherman Hu put me onto you. What a gift! Thanks so much for this information.
Dang, and I keep thinking I’m famous. LOL
You are very welcome Jennifer. Thanks and nods go to Sherman, for being a true friend, and helping me get the word out.
Hi Michael,
Wow, thank you for this great report.Really appreciate the gift which will save me and countless others and incredible amount of time.
Warmest regards, Robin
Thanks,
I think this will save a lot of time and frustration-a big head start on testing
Thanx a latte friend for your generous heart in sharing this info. (or rather your discovery).
Hi Michael,
thanks so much for this generous gift! This is rare to find these days =)
I wish I had more to offer than a simple thank you, but yes, in deed, thanks. The value of this gift far outweighs $200, and your message behind it weighs even more
.
WOW… seriously… WOW!
I immediately printed it off and also transferred it to my kindle. This is truly an incredible give away but you are one of the legends in this industry so I guess it shoudl not come as a surprise.
Hi Jason. Thanks for the double Wow.
Me? Legend? My dictionary says that’s, “A traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated.”
But I do exist! That’s why I continue to put out reports. To authenticate myself.
LOL
Hey Michael,
Nowadays, I totally ignore all the “free” reports produced by the usual “suspects” (aka “gurus”) simply because those reports are usually a waste of time.
But when you produced something, I sit up and take notice – and to date, I’ve never been disappointed
Fantastic stuff! Printed the 9 templates for handy reference. Also posted a note on my blog to point my readers to your page.
Thank you for your generosity.
You’re the best!
Cheers,
Adrian
Hi Adrian. Thank you for stopping by and leaving such a wonderful comment. Glad to hear you liked the report. A lot of work went into testing and compiling all the data.
I appreciate you making a blog post about it and helping me spread the word. I wish everyone could get this data in their hands. So thank you so much for helping towards that goal.
Many thanks Michael,
this gift has incredible value!
I’m going to test it right away.
All the best!
This is easily the BEST freebie I’ve got all year… I know most ‘free reports’ are either utter drivel or even ‘okayish’ but this Ultimate Heatmap report is awesome. Real quality that would have been worth paying for, especially after all the time it took to test all these layouts!
Thanks for sharing,
Dave.
What a generous gift to the online business community. Thank you so much for your generosity in providing the ultimate heatmap!
I don’t use any adsense on my main website but I have been thinking about using it on a different site. As you mention in your report, I was about to just add some adsense code in the right right sidebar. I think you just saved me quite a bit of potentially lost revenue.
Thanks.
Michael,
Thanks so much for the great report. This was a real eye opener and I look forward to testing this some more and seeing some great results.
Appreciate you sharing this for free, though it is certainly worthy of being a paid product.
All the best,
Jack Duncan
Thanks for this valuable resource, which I will share with my mastermind group.
Hello Michael,
Thanks a lot for your pdf. I am currently revamping all my sites and will definitely use your guide to place adsense and CPA Banners effectively.
Thanks.
Thanks for giving out such valuable information for free. As you have mentioned it is a deposit in the karma bank
Hi
I was referred to this site by Duncan Carver. Thanks for sharing this wonderful report. Will apply accordingly.
Cheers
Michael. Thanks for a superb report. I will be trying out your templates on my blogs. An excellent read and so nice to receive something so valueable for free. Its good to see there are still Super Affiliates around who do not send out email after email promoting products all the time.
Cheers
Kev Foulds
Michael,
Thanks for this eye-opening report. I have been looking for ways to justify some of my site design ideas to clients and your Heat Map will be an excellent addition to my presentations.
I’m constantly challenged by would be-website owners who have a vanity design in mind that’s just wrong, then wonder why they aren’t getting the expected results.
Great stuff!
You got it Brenda. A vanity design is useless if it doesn’t convert. And if their site doesn’t help convert prospects into customers… then there’s little point of going online in the first place in my opinion.
Thanks for this outstanding resource, Michael! It’s obvious that a lot of time, effort, and thought have gone into this, and the fact that you’re giving it away like this just goes to show, once again, that there really are “good guys” in the internet marketing space, and that you are one of them.
Hey Kevin, thanks for that. Yes, I’m in this for the long haul.
I officially started my marketing career in 1988. That makes me a bit of an oddity in the internet marketing space…
I actually had formal training in graphic design and copywriting before the commercial internet began in 1994. So for me, it’s a career choice, not just list building and product launches… I actually do this stuff – marketing and testing – on a daily basis… and LOVE it.
Wow! You have truly some great respectful comments here!
I stumbled upon you here from another site and can see from other comments you have passion for what you do as much as I do for my video business. Isn’t it great to be doing what we love!
I wish I had known in ’94 that this computer thing was going to lead to this…
Since we didn’t have computers in school and then in college I was learning things like DOS and Lotus 1-2-3. Doubt those were as visually appealing as the things that are taught now.
I’m looking for that “Tweet this” link and going to share this right away.
Happy Holidays!
Tanya
Hi Tanya, yes I’m a firm believer in doing what you love to do. The money will come and success will follow, if you’re truly passionate about what you do.
I wrote those words as the forward to my first ebook, Nothing but ‘Net, which I published in 1999. My words have come true and I still love what I do.
Thank you for another outstanding contribution, packed with such usable, valuable information. I have been a fan, ever since you introduced me to Revenge of The Mini Net way back when. I met you while speaking at a conference in Boulder, not long after you wrote Nothing But Net.
It seems you have integrated an unusual mixture of compassion and kindness into that keen intellect of yours. What a great combination. You truly are one of the quiet giants in this industry. Thank you.
Hi Michael. Glad to hear you’re still around after all these years. Thank you for the kind words… they are appreciated.
Contribution has always been at the heart of my business philosophy. I give value first, expecting nothing in return…
A philosophy that has served me very well over the years, providing a vast abundance for me and my family. Now I’m happy to share that abundance with all my extended family of readers and customers.
The best report of 2010. Bank of Karma 10/10.
Thanks Bjorn… I think you summed it up perfectly.
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