There has been lots of talk around the web about the likes of Google trying to increase their advertising revenues with larger and more vulgar ad units such as the expandable units that seem to be growing in popularity, video based ad units and behaviourally targeted ads but where is the line going to be drawn and are such ads really increasing revenues?

As Aaron Wall rightly points out, Google has been the most successful at monetising traffic and they have done so with the most unobtrusive, simple text ads but they work so well because they are 100% targeted. Traditional banner advertising has yet to come up with a way of producing such contextually relevant adverts that change depending on what page you are on.

I have several websites of my own and have experimented with Google Adsense and various other types of display advertising and the Google solution came out on top by quite some margin. Now I appreciate that certain niche markets will be able to make greater revenue using flash or video advertising but in the majority of cases simple text ads provide a far easier and more lucrative monetisation stream. I for one also try to interact with my users and get them signed up to my newsletter where I can then build relationships and cross-sell other types of products that they are looking for.

The key here, and everywhere it seems, is to test what works best for your website. Don’t just take my word for it because there are a million niches out there that I am not involved in and for any one of them the best solution may or may not be Google Adsense.

As a keen member of Digital Point Forums I see countless threads asking how to make more money with Google Adsense and the advice given varies from a simple “get more traffic” to “review your ad placements” but I think there is one real key to making the most of Adsense - commercial intention.

Now I don’t claim to make a living from my sites and the income they generate but my Adsense revenue is now pushing $2500 a month and the majority of that comes from a site with just 60,000 impressions each month. That works out at just under $42 eCPM and I have come to realise that my visitors are not browsers, they are doers; they are searching the web for a purpose and will click on ads if it helps them reach their goal.

If you can find and attract these people to your website you will stand a good chance of making decent Adsense returns.

To further explain commercial intention take a look at the following comparison:

Website 1

• a blog about popular TV show Lost
• high percentage of return visitors
• new visitors find the blog via search engines on terms such as “Lost news” and “Lost episode guide”

Website 2

• a DVD review site - let’s take the page about the Lost DVD
• even split of new and returning visitors
• new visitors to the Lost page find the site via search engines on terms such as “Lost DVD” and “buy Lost DVD”

Now for each website just think about why the visitors are on there. The blog attracts people seeking information and news about the show; they are not specifically looking to purchase anything. The review site has visitors who want more specific guidance on the DVD; they are showing a willingness to buy something.

Now both sites use Google Adsense and both pages will show similar ads about Lost products and boxsets. Which do you think will have the higher CTR?

It will, unquestionably, be the second website.

Here are some audiences/niches that I have already identified as having commerical intent:

1. Job Seekers
2. Lonely Hearts - think dating keywords!!
3. Insurance
4. Travel - someone looking for travel information is highly likely to journey someplace soon
5. Product Codes/Numbers - search queries that contain product numbers (e.g. Panasonic TX32LXD600) indicate a user who is extremely close to making a purchase

But remember that there are thousands more to find and experiment with. Before you start a new site, imagine yourself as a potential visitor and think to yourself “am I a browser or a doer?”, then you willl know if the site has a future with Google Adsense.