About SoxProspects.com
SoxProspects.com was started by Mike Andrews in 2003 and is now the web’s number 1 source on the Boston Red Sox farm system. The site covers everything from news and transactions to international signings, draft history and so much more. With a bustling forum section and a weekly podcast hosted by Executive Editor Chris Hatfield and Director of Scouting Ian Cundall, Sox Prospects has everything a Red Sox fan could ever want on the Red Sox minor league scouting system.
The Challenge
Mike is a full-time lawyer, and manages the site in his free time with the help of volunteers. SoxProspects.com brings in about 1.4 million page views per month, and 70 - 80% US traffic, with high-volume months, seeing upwards of 2 million pageviews. Because he still works a full-time job and doesn't have the time to focus on advertising, our plan was to make things as smooth as possible, especially when it came to implementation.
The Approach
Our goal was to increase Mike’s revenue whilst maintaining a great UX. On the site, the home, category, and forum pages are filled with content. Given their longer scroll time, we saw an opportunity to propose
- Our sticky unit, rectangular ad units to take advantage of this, as well as adding more in-content units, which was agreed to right away.
- Our analysis showed that viewers stay on their page for an average of almost 10 minutes, so, we implemented a 30-second refresh on their highly viewed units.
- We also suggested a sticky footer, which was met with some initial hesitation. However, after providing numerous customization options for the unit which complemented the site’s look and feel, Mike agreed to try it out.
“I saw a 225% YOY increase in ad revenue in my first month.”
Mike Andrews, Foudner, SoxProspects.com
The Results
- Within two months of working with Publift, Sox Prospects saw a massive 216% increase in page RPM.
- As a result of this, Sox Prospects saw a Net revenue uplift of 106%, all while maintaining a great UX.
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