If you’re worried about fluctuating ad earnings, you’re not alone. Many publishers will face the same cyclical highs and lows in ad revenue this year and in the years to come.
Why?
Seasonal Trends. It may be crazy to think, but consumers actually have specific behavioral trends throughout the year, and it’s no secret to advertisers. In fact, advertisers plan their campaigns and budgeting around these major consumer trends. As a publisher, the middleman between ad agencies and their targeted audience, these seasonal changes (on both sides) are going to impact your yield directly. So before jumping to any pessimistic conclusions on why your website traffic or earnings might be low, it’s best to see if there are larger forces at play.
Seasonal Trends
Seasonality plays a critical role in any publisher’s ad revenue stream. Seasonal trends will either positively increase your revenue or reduce it depending on various factors–the largest being website traffic and advertisers’ budgeting. Understanding when and how it will occur can help you leverage those events to reap the most benefit or minimize your losses during slow seasons. It can also help you determine whether changes in traffic or revenue are due to strategies you’ve implemented or more significant global trends. It’s important to note that your niche will also play a role in seasonal traffic trends.
The calendar year
Each year is divided into different seasons or quarters, and planning is typically done in terms of these quarters. Each quarter represents three months of the year, beginning with quarter one (Q1) in January and ending with quarter four (Q4) starting in October.
On the user side, different quarters will have trends of increasing and decreasing website traffic for publishers. On the agency side, different quarters will mean fluctuating revenue per thousand impressions (RPMs)–a.k.a what you’re making off your ad units.
Q1 - January, February, March
Q1 of the new calendar cycle is where publishers typically see the most significant drop in ad revenue–January specifically being the lowest month. Some agencies use Q1 to begin new projects (products, brands, etc.) and don’t invest much in ad spending while figuring out the best approach and campaigns.
Another important contributor is that Q1 follows Q4, the highest consumer spending quarter (more on this later). Aside from the fact that in Q4, advertisers will spend the most considerable amount of their budget (meaning less money for Q1), website traffic also tends to decline. Consumers spend a great deal of time browsing the internet during Q4— whether, for product reviews, services, or inspiration—when they return to normal browsing behavior, there’s a noticeable decrease in traffic.
Q2-April, May, June
Oddly enough, many ad agencies’ financial year ends in Q2. In their quest to spend the rest of their budgets, publishers get a nice boost in ad RPMs.
Q3- July, August, September
Directly following a high ad spending quarter, Q3 can often feel like a slump to publishers. Between agencies budgeting out their year and peak ad spending season drawing close, not much money is being handed out.
Q4-October, November, December
The end of the year sees a big holiday season—with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years’ in a row—users’ browsing, online shopping, and purchasing are at an all-time high. Knowing consumers will be spending big, advertisers increase their ad spending to dominate the busy market and outdo competitors. With this, publishers can enjoy some of the highest RPMs of the year and see incredible revenue if they can access premium campaigns. The combination of high traffic publishers receive and increased ad rates make Q4 the peak season for website ad earnings.
Solutions
There are a few key efforts and resources you can use to put yourself ahead of seasonal trends.
Seasonal ad strategy
Having a seasonal ad strategy is the best way to mitigate seasonal lulls. By properly monetizing during peak seasons, you can help offset the natural decrease in earnings during other quarters. This means looking at the calendar, identifying appropriate opportunities, and capitalizing on them.
To start, you should run experiments during peak times to fully understand what works best with your audience. This includes testing ad layouts, placements, and combinations. For example, if you know certain pages have above-average session times, consider implementing ad refresh to raise yield. Or if you have a high percentage of your audience browsing through a mobile device, then increase your mobile ads’ efforts using sticky ads, proper sizing, etc.
It’s always a good idea to try taking advantage of what you already have. With many advertisers spending a bulk of their budget in Q4, it’s not unspeakable to raise floor prices. Similarly, if you have high-value ad units, increasing competition with added networks could be a significant revenue booster!
Efforts to increase traffic
Though you may not control ad rates, you do hold a great deal of power over your site’s traffic. Taking efforts to increase traffic during high times of the year will allow you to take advantage of high ad rates. A few methods to focus on to grow your audience traffic are:
- SEO: Improving search engine optimization efforts can help increase organic traffic.
- Social media: Using social media channels to promote content is a great way to increase awareness and user engagement.
- Email marketing: Implementing an email marketing campaign can make loyal customers aware of new content.
- Content Strategy: Plan to put out your most valuable, engaging, and creative content during peak seasons.
Header Bidding Providers
Header bidding providers are powerful resources when it comes to seasonal trends and your website ad earnings. Firstly, working with a provider will give you access to a significantly larger demand-supply. Publishers have reported seeing as much as a 50% increase in CPM from the increased competition. During peak months, publishers will benefit from higher yields, and in low months the ample demand pool will help to ensure high fill rates. With the right header bidding provider, you can access premium campaigns and top-dollar floor prices for periods such as Q4.
Header bidding providers are also best equipped to predict and adapt ad optimization based on seasonality. Expertly developed algorithms and analytics give them insight into ad unit placement and layout optimization. They can experiment with ad sizes, types, locations, and positions to provide the best strategies for attaining higher earnings.
Though many efforts to monetize ads rely on website owners, seasonal trends significantly impact ad revenue and are gene. Familiarizing yourself with these quarterly changes is imperative when creating a strong monetization strategy and protecting yourself during seasonal lulls. To truly maximize your yearly ad earnings, it’s always best to consult with an expert. The right header bidding provider will best optimize your ad units during peak seasons and help to offset any revenue loss during the lows.