Data-Driven Decisions for Monetization: How to Get More Out of Your Content

Publishers need good content to thrive. Getting loyal readers means having great substance and knowing how to make money from it. When it works well, ads and content help each other get better.

Get the most out of your content from this MarketMuse webinar. Discover how to connect the divide between on-page SEO and the ability to generate revenue. Get tips on:

• Shaping your content strategy according to ad effectiveness
• Discovering which keywords and categories generate the most ad income
• Identifying profits from every traffic segment, including detailed analysis of each PPC campaign
• Assessing content quality and identifying the top-performing pages
• Plus, a look at some useful tools to optimize your content’s performancee

Agenda

• The importance of data-driven decisions for monetization
• Connecting content strategy to monetization
• The use of tools to enhance content strategy and monetization
• The role of ad servers in ad optimization
• The evolution of ad optimization

Takeaways

The value of data in content strategy and monetization

In the webinar, Kean Graham, founder and CEO of Monetize More, prioritizes the importance of data in making informed decisions about content strategy and monetization. He emphasizes how data can help in understanding the return on investment from various sources of traffic and in determining which pages and campaigns are bringing the most revenue.

Graham states, “You need to focus on the data… because if you’re only using Google analytics and you’re basing on which you get the most traffic on, the articles that you get the most traffic on aren’t necessarily the ones that you’re earning the most revenue or getting the highest return on.”

He gives an example of how this could be translated into action, suggesting that if data showed an article about puppies was generating the highest revenue per thousand page views (RPM), then creating more puppy articles would be a good strategy. He advised this approach could be used for “each different category” to maximize profitability.

The importance of quality and user-focused content in monetization

Graham urges publishers to create quality, user-focused content and to consider long-term sustainability rather than short-term gains. He warns against the temptation of creating low-quality, made-for-advertising sites, emphasizing that these would ultimately fail due to policy changes and poor customer experience.

“Think long term, build a sustainable business,” Graham advises. “If you’re just looking to make quick money on low-quality content, it’s not going to work out.”

He also advises publishers to consider user experience when adding ads to their sites, as too many ads could lead to a decrease in session RPM and deter users from the site. This, he warns, would hurt the business in the long run.

The potential of programmatic deals in monetization

During the discussion, Graham highlights the benefits of programmatic deals for monetization. These deals, he says, allow publishers to set up contracts with advertisers via ad networks, providing a middle ground between direct sales and programmatic sales.

Graham notes, “It’s for more sophisticated publishers that are looking to go to the next level.” He adds that programmatic deals enable publishers to have “even more control” and to increase their RPMs.

He also shares that programmatic deals can be particularly beneficial for larger sites with an established name in their niche. He says such sites can use programmatic deals to sell to direct sales advertising and to everything below that via programmatic, thereby maximizing their revenues.

The use of technology in optimizing ad monetization

Graham demonstrates the use of technology in optimizing ad monetization. He introduces tools provided by Monetize More, such as the Profit Attribution Report, which brings together data from various sources to help publishers understand their profits per Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaign and Return on Investment (ROI).

“With our Profit Attribution Report, you can determine how much [the writers] cost and you have the breakdown by the articles that they actually write, and you can see what the profits are per writer,” he stated.

Another tool he presents is the Keyword Trend tool, which helps inform new content creation by showing keyword trends, costs per click (CPC), and average monthly search volume by category. This, Graham said, can significantly assist publishers in making informed decisions on their content strategy.

Interesting Insights

• It’s important to focus on long-term strategies when it comes to monetization. Quick money schemes often don’t work out in the long run.
• Publishers should focus on niches that have high RPMs (Revenue per thousand page views) and high search volume.
• Using an ad server is recommended when a publisher reaches about five million page views per month.
• Header bidding, where an auction of Google versus other ad networks is run, is recommended when a publisher reaches about 10 million page views per month.
• It’s crucial to always test and analyze data to make informed decisions about monetization strategies.

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