Unstyled sites

[theonemanyuri]

I've seen on here recently several people talking about sites they have which make several hundred pounds a month in aff sales / adsense, which turn out to be basically a white page with some written content, a picture and some ads.

I know it's all too easy to get caught up in what your site looks like and forget the real purpose (to get people clicking links), but this barely designed approach seems a bit extreme. I was just wondering what peoples views are on this sort of site, obviously you can't argue with revenue, but do you think they would earn more if further developed or do you think it would detract from the CTR?

I've got some domains that I can't be assed to develop and don't want to spend more than an afternoon working on so I'm going to take this approach with them and see what happens.

*edit* Obviously the site would need enough content to be SEO friendly but I'm purely concerned with people's views on CTR

 

[Aegean]

Thats exactly what I do, its all about CTR, not asthetics.

 

[Blossom]

I read an article recently which was all about stripping your site back to target for adsense. I was considering it for one of my sites in particular, but then I decided against it for four reasons: because I don't want visitors to close the tab immediately, because Google is progressively focusing more on ad to content ratio, because it makes on page SEO harder, and because it's hard to meet Google's content quality guidelines.

I have no doubt that single page sites have a good CTR, but backlinks, repeat visitors, on page optimisation and sale value are pretty important to me too. My aim eventually is to build the site and its rankings up enough so that I can charge for banner advertising and sponsored posts as well, which will make much more money than Adsense.

 

[boxfish]

I have no doubt that single page sites have a good CTR, but backlinks, repeat visitors, on page optimisation and sale value are pretty important to me too. My aim eventually is to build the site and its rankings up enough so that I can charge for banner advertising and sponsored posts as well, which will make much more money than Adsense.

A stripped back site doesn't mean a single page site, just unstyled.

I think a good example is http://nineplanets.org/ - a nice juicy site, that makes good money, but only has the footer styled really.

 

[wb]

I have no doubt that single page sites have a good CTR, but backlinks, repeat visitors, on page optimisation and sale value are pretty important to me too.

I agree, and a website doesn't have to be unstyled and ugly to get a good click through rate or convert users.

I think a good example is http://nineplanets.org/ - a nice juicy site, that makes good money, but only has the footer styled really.

Difference with that one though is that it was already aged and seen as an authority website (the layout is probably the one it has always had for many years and remains unchanged). I think starting up a new website like that would perhaps not work as well for gaining new links etc.

Seen how much it makes though according to Scott's blog posts and it does seem good. Surprised how many people must click on the adverts though... all I'm seeing is ones for solar energy grants and coupons. :?

 

[Skinner]

I constantly tell clients that function over form = more sales.

People don't want flash all over the show, loads of animations and video pop ups, they want to come to your site, get exactly what they want in as few a clicks as possible.

 

[bensd]

People don't want flash all over the show, loads of animations and video pop ups, they want to come to your site, get exactly what they want in as few a clicks as possible.

That's fair enough however, some of the mentions about are talking about sites without even a template/theme.

 

[Skinner]

My guess is the people who have such basic sites turning a revenue either are using a TM, pop ups or have never looked at their bounce rates. When indeed IF they look at their bounce rates they would see the money they are making now is only 10% of what they could because the other 90% bounce instantly.

Either way a swift kick to the testicles is on its way

 

[theonemanyuri]

Thats exactly what I do, its all about CTR, not asthetics.

Yours was actually the most recent site I saw (derelict-property was it?), impressive revenue. Do you know the bounce rate for it?

I don't necessarily hit the back button straight away if I land on a basic site, provided the information on the site is clearly visible above the fold and is legible and seems to be what I'm looking for, is there any evidence to show that bounce rates increase on basic sites opposed to more styled sites? I can only speak for myself but it would be good to know what other web users habits are.

wb - A website doesn't have to be unstyled to convert.. but if you could get equally good conversion on a site with no styling and hence a large time saving then why bother?

My point really is does stripping back your site improve CTR and is there a point at which stripping the style out reduces the CTR. And is there evidence to support? I can appreciate the points you make Blossom in that the CTR is only one factor, but leaving resale value, banner value, etc out of the equation..

That nineplanets site is cool, and a good example. It's not styled but very easy to find information that you can immediately tell is either of use to you, or not; and the lack of style wouldn't make me bounce, in this case it would probably keep me reading for longer as I wouldn't get lost in the mass of information

 

[wb]

Are you basing this all on Adsense and mini sites?

I'm considering CTR from a scalability and affiliate perspective too, where the aim isn't always to get a click as soon as possible (there are obvious exceptions such as voucher code websites, however if they are any good they will also get the newsletter signups and repeat visitor loyalty making that not matter).

I don't necessarily hit the back button straight away if I land on a basic site, provided the information on the site is clearly visible above the fold and is legible and seems to be what I'm looking for, is there any evidence to show that bounce rates increase on basic sites opposed to more styled sites? I can only speak for myself but it would be good to know what other web users habits are.

Haven't done any specific research, but it's going to vary depending on the website. You mention about information being there, which may cause a low bounce rate on a basic design if that's all users are looking for (information). As soon as trust factors are needed (for example when a user is in a purchasing mind frame), I would imagine it wouldn't appeal.

wb - A website doesn't have to be unstyled to convert.. but if you could get equally good conversion on a site with no styling and hence a large time saving then why bother?

Bounce rate as already mentioned. It might be converting visitors that stay on the website the same, but if you're losing 90% of traffic then it's really losing you money (all other things being equal).

Credibility by gaining natural links and repeat visitors. I would personally say that you're more likely to gain links if your website looks tidy and professional. Older websites which have always had a basic design will have gained links over the years when the style was considered normal. Newer sites may find it more difficult.

That nineplanets site is cool, and a good example. It's not styled but very easy to find information that you can immediately tell is either of use to you, or not; and the lack of style wouldn't make me bounce, in this case it would probably keep me reading for longer as I wouldn't get lost in the mass of information

It wouldn't make me bounce either, but I'd only expecting to be reading information not clicking on any Adsense. Still does make me wonder what commercial terms people are clicking on and how valuable that traffic is to the buyers. Law of averages from a large amount of traffic I guess...

 

[theonemanyuri]

I was initially talking about adsense ye but I'm interested from any affiliate perspective too. Your point about trust is a good one and I guess the main difference between the adsense and affiliate points of view.

I see what you mean about nineplanets being an old site. I've noticed the amount of unstyled sites I've stumbled on while searching for info seems to be a lot less in the last 6 months or so. With html5 and css3 there are a lot more 'subtle' styling options like dropshadows and transparency, maybe making a site styled in a very subtle way could be the direction to take?

On my affiliate sites, I usually use a 'more information' type link to the merchant rather than a 'buy now' type link so hopefully that would reduce the trust issue somewhat as it's less formal. Do you think that's a fair assumption?

 

[wb]

On my affiliate sites, I usually use a 'more information' type link to the merchant rather than a 'buy now' type link so hopefully that would reduce the trust issue somewhat as it's less formal. Do you think that's a fair assumption?

I would say that's a fair assumption, yes. Has doing that been converting for you so far though?

Whether the answer to that is yes or no, when you have some traffic just keep split testing design, layout and content tweaks until you reach the best results (small changes can often have a big impact).

It could even be that the particular website you have a 'more information' button on works better with a 'buy now' one, but you won't know without trying.

 

[theonemanyuri]

Well, it has, but to what extent I couldn't really say. I've not been an affiliate for long on my own sites and bar a couple they aren't ranking very highly. Out of the two that rank best (both float around positions 3-5, top 2 are both the relevant institutions so no chance of out ranking them), the one with the more information type links converts better. But like I said this isn't a scientific result by any means, just an observation.

I need to get down to some serious testing, I agree the smallest things can make a big difference. I've changed the font colours on some of my calls to action and saw instant changes... there's so many variables testing is going to take a while, I guess it's got to be an ongoing process to really optimise the site to it's full potential. Is there a specific order you test / optimise in on your sites or is it just on gut instinct to what may be the weakest factors?

 

[pbryd]

One thing springs to mind on this topic is your target audience.

When putting a site together you should consider who it is aimed at.

A plain site like the one in the OP might be fine for an astronomy site, aimed at academics or students but probably wouldn't work if you were trying to sell make-up or home waxing kits to young women.

Something to bear in mind.

Phil