Disclaimer first : I have considered posting this entry at JOAB, but since I am only the pianist writer, I have to accept it that I don’t direct the visuals.
Or leave when I can’t deal with it.
If there is one thing I don’t like at all online, and immediately makes me leave a site, it is the invite to click ads. But lately one thing has struck me more than invites to click.
As far as I am concerned there is no problem in trying to monetize a blog, not at all. But how far do you really dare to push the user experience?
Reading Everton’s post some days ago made me think about the issue even more.
But Brian at CopyBlogger resumed it best today
I gave AdSense a shot around here, and I think it sucks and cheapens my blog. It makes me about $200 a month, but I think you’re easily worth more than that
My problem is not specifically Adsense or any other service to monetize your blog, but how you serve the ads to your readers, your visitors. How much risk do you want/dare to take or how arrogant are you?
I have been thinking to (re)insert Adsense, after having given it a try over the last weeks and the results weren’t bad. Although the placement of ads is important, if there is one thing I don’t want to it is to fool my visitors into clicking or push them ads in the face.
Everton, first of I must thank you for the search box tip, but if it depends of me I leave your site ASAP because the first thing I see (top left of content area) is an Adsense block. And not because you use the wrong hotspots.
Quick Online Tips, same for you. Whenever I am on the road and only use my old laptop (only 3 years) with a poor standard 1024*768 resolution, the only thing I see when leaving my feed reader is a huge Adsense block. It really makes me think twice before I want to visit your site.
Is it really worth to abuse your visitors with badly, but efficiently placed ads? Ads catching more the eye than your content does?
I still consider integrating Adsense ads strategically on this blog, but my (poor) content surely is more important as far as I am concerned. I can’t approve strategies where the top-left spot of a blog are ads instead of content or navigation, or the ads are visually MUCH more attracting the eye than they should.
Yes I also mean JOAB and The Blog Herald.
Monetize your blog… but don’t abuse your readers.
;-)
3 have made me smarter ↓
1 Everton // Jan 22, 2007 at 12:59 am// View all comments by Everton//
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I’m glad I have a feedster alert set up on my name/site, otherwise I would never have seen the questions you seem to be asking me!
I fully agree with your points and I guess it’s a question of deciding where you lie on the monetisation/traffic building scale. I think I’m trying to be in the middle.
I don’t think i agree with your ‘rule of thumb’ that if you see ads you leave. Ads can be useful - that’s why people click on them. If you don’t want to click on them - don’t. I personally am pretty immune to ads on sites and just ignore them.
I think it’s more of a crime to have poorly placed ads like the one next to your Related Entries which provides no value to you or your readers!
2 Franky // Jan 22, 2007 at 1:26 am// View all comments by Franky//
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Everton, personally I have no problems with ads. I am immune to them, but I do have problems with ads at the top left, immediately under the title. Exactly there where my eye would love to start reading. In that case I leave… when I have to look for the content. When I visit your site, I come straight out of my feed reader and am welcomed with an ad block. No thanks, in that case I prefer to hide in my feed reader and not comment.
What is the value of seeing ads to repair XP while the entire entry is about BlogTopSites?
I totally agree with you that Adsense doesn’t serve the user much here, but then again right now it is only a place filler. The design is not based around the ads. Call it a crime, but I don’t live of this site. Nor do I write keyword based, optimized for Adsense.
Not on this site. ;-)
BTW Google Alerts is IMHO faster than Feedster alerts. Actually I even track backed, but lately Akismet tends to put trackbacks amongst spam I noticed.
3 Everton // Jan 22, 2007 at 7:08 am// View all comments by Everton//
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Do you use nopingwait? It screws up trackbacks.
I would say my design is based around ads and traffic, as they rely on each other. I optimise my keywords to optimise my search engine listings. Trying to optimise keywords for adsense is impossible in my view as you don’t know which ads are clicked on!