I've been running on TJ and have a bunch of campaigns that are at the breakeven point, and it seems that all my landers and offers are doing well. The conversion rates are right on point (5-6% CR from the total clicks), and the EPCs are great (at least compared to the network average and the best I can get from split testing offers/networks), which would be fine and dandy if I was consistently profitable. It seems that my banner CTRs are whats holding me back from being in the green on a daily basis. I'm running international stuff on TJ, in the NTV A position, PornHub and YouPorn of course, along with their other sites that can provide some decent traffic in the countries I'm running in.
The problem is that in order to get a decent amount of traffic, I have to be one of the top 2 or 3 bidders, which places my bids anywhere from .6 - .8, and my ad CTRs seem to vary between .15 - .3. My cost per click seems to vary between 21 - 28 cents, which is not low enough for me to get past breakeven.
I know that the thing that matters is profit, and certainly some ads are doing way better than others, but I don't think any of them are beyond breakeven or ever so slightly in the green. Any banner with a low CTR would have to convert like crazy for it to be profitable with a CPM this high. In countries like the Netherlands and Norway, what is a decent CTR for the prime placements on TJ, i.e. NTV A/B? Or am I missing the boat here and my problem lies elsewhere?
TJ is Break Even City.
I can't think of another traffic source where I've launched so many campaigns that slotted so consistently at break even.
Your conversion rates are strong.
Anything over 4% from total clicks usually ends up a winner for me on TJ, or very close.
But that said, I typically rely on CTRs of .25 to .6, which suggests a more 'baity' set of banners with a tougher gap to bridge on the landing page. I also rely heavily on very specific angles with TJ, not the usual generic ads.
It sounds like your banners are very high quality in terms of funnelling the right users. But perhaps you need to spread the net a little bit, or find an angle with a slightly more outrageous headline to attract the same crowd in larger numbers.
Some countries naturally draw a lower banner CTR (like France). I can't remember how my Norway ads did, but I don't remember it being one of the more click-friendly geos. Norway is a damn tough sell, hence the payouts often being in the stratosphere.
My only other suggestion would be to target Belgium instead of the Netherlands.
If you're break even in NL, you can usually get profitable in BE with the same shit via less competition, fresher offers and lower click costs.
Admittedly this is less likely on TJ where the competition is bunched around a single placement on PornHub and YouPorn. But it's usually very effective on Exo. Likewise for AT/CH instead of DE.