About Digital Photography School
Digital Photography School (DPS) was founded in 2006 by Darren Rowse, a digital photography enthusiast. Initially, Darren owned and operated a digital camera review site, but soon realised that his users could benefit from a website that included tips on how to use their cameras to their full potential. And so Digital Photography School was born. Since then the site has grown to include a team around the world who write tips for a community of over 2 million visitors.
Digital Photography School is a website with tips for photographers who want to get off auto mode and get the most out of their cameras. The school is not a traditional school – it doesn’t hold classes or involve any final exams. It’s a supportive online environment where everyone can access over 8,000 tutorials with the latest tips and tricks on how to take the best photos, all for free!
The Challenge with AdSense
Digital Photography School was experiencing a decrease in AdSense reliability and revenue and thought the site could benefit from monetization through header bidding. The company began to work with another partner in the header bidding industry to solve their issues, however the partner did not satisfy the business’s needs. Management felt they did not have enough control over their website, nor trust in the product offering. The initial implementation caused a loss in revenue due to errors in the code provided, and a lack of transparency and control led to a lack of trust, and the partnership never got off the ground.
Publift gained DPS’s trust through our values in transparency, safety, and our superior ad technology product. Digital Photography School also appreciated the cooperative relationship and leveled partnership with Publift, allowing DPS to maintain control of their website and make all the important decisions. Our Fuse tags were implemented with 50% of traffic, and within a few weeks, moved to 100% of traffic, following excellent performance and results.
“The trust that has been developed during our partnership combined with the enhanced performance is the reason I’d choose Publift as our partner again.”
Laney Galligan, General Manager, Digital Photography School
The Approach
- The ad ops team at Publift analyzed each of DPS’s ad units through our detailed reporting system to ensure targeted focus on the right markets.
- As DPS attracts high US and EU traffic, we worked to map specialist networks in order to monetize this inventory. Allowing for more specialized networks increased DPS’s eCPM, giving revenue a boost.
- We opened up native ad styles through the Publift Fuse tag to allow for more demand, also identifying the right ad units to run outstream video on the website.
- The focus for Digital Photography School’s website has always been on user experience and it was our priority to optimize the site for rich media formats whilst keeping the site clean and easy to use.
The Results
- In moving from AdSense to Publift’s Fuse, DPS saw a 15% uplift in CPM and 30% uplift in revenue in comparison to AdSense.
- One of the first optimizations carried out was an ad layout and ad size review with the goal of maximizing page RPM (revenue).
- To take advantage of the lengthy articles on the site, sticky ad units which follow the reader down the page were strategically implemented, with user experience in mind.
- This, combined with ad refresh, increased revenue by 76% on these ad units. A sticky footer ad unit was implemented on mobile in September 2019, adding 8% of total revenue.
- Publift also successfully increased DPS’s ad viewability score from 49% to 62%. With the Fuse tags in place, DPS have over 12 networks in header bidding demand to compete for their inventory. Their best month in 2019 saw a 143% increase in revenue.
- In a more recent review, DPS has seen a 59% uplift in CPM (2019-2020), with a 152% increase in page RPM (2019-2020).
Wanting to get more out of your partnership with AdSense? Unsure if your current monetization partner is right for you? Reach out to Publift and see how we can address your needs while growing your site performance today.
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