Increase Adsense Revenue by Checking Browser Compatibility

If you’re the type of blogger I am, you don’t settle for just a standard blog theme. You have to get your hands dirty by digging into the code and crafting a look that balances your personality with content optimization. Look at GeniusTypes.com for example; the only recognizable piece from the original theme is the tiny little footer, way down there.

If you aren’t a blogger already, it’s not hard to start! Read my article on how to start blogging and you’ll be up in no time.

Don’t get too comfortable after that all-nighter of brilliant inspiration and becoming one with your blog. Just because it looks great on your browser doesn’t mean it looks that way on everyone else’s.

Check your Compatibility

Put on a pot of coffee and check out your browser compatibility by going to BrowserShots.org. Submit your site and within a half hour or so you will have screen shots of your site through the eyes of about twenty different browsers.

It can be quite an excruciating experience, especially if you have been operating under the assumption that your blog looked great, when in fact the rest of the world was seeing a jumbled maze. It hurts to think about all of the people that won’t be returning to your site because they couldn’t read it in the first place.

BrowserShots.org is a really cool service. You get huge, full-sized screenshots from many different browsers and platforms. (The better to see your mistakes with my pretty!) The best part is that it’s free… for now.

My Bug

I caught a bug a few months ago that was showing up on Internet Explorer 6.0. Instead of my AdSense blocks appearing next to my photos, IE6 was kicking them down to the next line. Even though Microsoft corrected this bug in a newer version (IE7), over 25% of my visitors view this blog in IE6.

According to the Google Analytics graph for Genius Types below, there’s a one in four chance that you are using IE6 this minute!

When I corrected the problem, I saw my AdSense Revenue pop by 50%! Ad placement has a lot to do with your click through rate. Since you spend a lot of time thinking about these things, make sure your ads are where you think they are!

Other Problems

Another unfortunate problem with everyone using a different browser is that fonts and symbols look different. I spent a lot of time choosing fonts I like on Safari; but, alas, they look completely different on Explorer.

IE6 has another weird bug that doesn’t allow my text to wrap around some of my pictures. There is a 1 in 4 chance that you see the picture on the left when you visit my homepage.

This is a screenshot from BrowserShots.org of what my homepage looks like in Internet Explorer 6.0. Notice how the text doesn’t wrap around the picture? All the other browsers look like the picture below.

I’m sure a programming genius could figure out a fix for this, but after spending countless wasted nights on this problem, I’m letting it go. I’ll just have to deal with the wasted real estate until everyone upgrades to IE 7.

Good Luck!

I hope you can save yourself the headaches I went through trying to set up Genius Types. Unfortunately, the more you tinker, the more compatibility problems you will face.

Since I can’t keep my hands off of my blog theme, I’m stuck in the browser battle. That’s okay, I guess. It gives me another project to keep me busy at night when everyone else is sleeping.

Related Articles:

• How to Blog :: The Manual