A Cricket Buff's Paradise

The Cricket Lounge (TCL) is a niche website covering all things cricket. They share the latest news, analysis, match reviews, and exclusive interviews with cricket legends. From international cricket to Indian Premier League (IPL) and Twenty20 (T20) leagues, they're the go-to for cricket enthusiasts worldwide. They also offer engaging features like quizzes and interactive games for a dynamic experience.

Building An Alternative Stream Of Revenue

Generating revenue becomes tricky when you observe poor fill rates. TCL wanted to tackle this while combating banner blindness to get more ad clicks. The traffic that poured into the website definitely had the potential to garner more impressions and clicks. However, the organic traffic usually confines itself to one page per session, limiting opportunities for ad exposure across multiple pages. TCL sought a solution that would not only encourage users to explore more pages but also contribute to revenue generation.

Out Of The Box Ad Inventories 

Despite using Feedify to serve ads on web push notifications, TCL was unsatisfied with the incremental revenue. Wanting to explore new avenues for revenue generation, they started looking out for an alternative to Feedify.

When Madhav, Founder & CEO, TCL, crossed paths with Amit Tewari, Business head, India, iZooto he discovered the potential to not only enhance revenue but also boost engagement. Amit introduced him to iZooto's News Hub and Exit Intent Recommendations - two innovative ad inventories designed to amplify earnings while increasing user retention. This gave TCL an opportunity to engage and monetize these channels in addition to web push notifications.

Unlocking additional revenue streams

With Exit Intent Recommendations TCL started showing interesting articles that encouraged clicks, resulting in additional pageviews and revenue. The ads garnered substantial impressions as Exit Intent Recommendations engage the entire screen, minimizing the likelihood of users overlooking them.

While the initial impact was significant, TCL sought to explore the potential of a new layout to further optimize click-through rates. After brainstorming with the iZooto team, a layout with a larger ad space was designed to grab more eyeballs and to encourage clicks. The outcome exceeded expectations, further increasing the number of clicks the ads received.

Old Format 

Older format: Four articles were shown along with one ad 

New Format

New Format: Three articles along with a ad 300X250 Pixels

Comparison between the default and new format (300X250)

The revamped format for TCL not only yielded improved fill rates and increased impressions but also got an astounding 180% surge in total revenue. This was highly effective and was later adopted by many other publishers.

Utilizing News Hub, TCL strategically displayed ads alongside cricket stories, opening up a previously unexplored inventory. This innovative approach provided them with an opportunity to diversify their ad placements and maximize revenue streams.

Prominent placement of ads ensures that they aren’t missed by the readers. 

Let Numbers Do The Talking

• $2118.12 earned via ads shown on Exit Intent Recommendations and News Hub
• 180% growth in total revenue with new layout (ads of 300X250 Pixels) of Exit Intent Recommendations
• $418 generated via push notification ads in 6 months