You might notice on various threads new types of ads and also promoting aD's main site slightly. Yhis is all part of our test where we try to analyze how to implement more efficient advertisements, which could eventually allow us to get rid of the last remaining "annoying" ads and ad types we have.
just out of curiosity, how often do these ads show up in the threads? is it on a per post basis? (so like every 20 posts an ad gets inserted?)
I set the logic this way: -on that PAGE (note, not the thread, as thread can have gazillion posts, but its very last page at that moment might have only one msg) if there are more than 3 (==4 or more messages, an ad box is shown just before that page's last message. The main idea was to a) promote aD's content, such as news, on forums as well, as they don't get too much attention here b) to see if the click-through for the ads is actually higher if the ad is near the bottom rather than at the top.
I gotcha, that makes sense. I think so far it seems okay, and I like how it includes aD news and guides as well as ads, so it helps brings more attention to it as well as more information.
I hate to be the first to be negative about them but I guess someone has to be so it might as well be me. My opinion is: Keep the posts clear of ads. The ads at the top aren't bothersome because they don't interfere with the actual posts in the thread. The popunders don't affect me either because Firefox doesn't let them through. I do like that you've incorporated some AD info in them, but I just don't feel that advertisements belong among the posts. *Please don't hate me too much for being negative *
zippyd: Yep, I do agree with the fact that posts should be separate from ads. But then again, I tried to make it as obvious as possible that it is an advertisement section, without compromising the layout (yes, the aD's infobox is hideous, but our gfx guy is actually on holiday until next Friday, so he'll have to sort my mess out after that ;-). But as said, this is a test that we plan to run for a month or two and see how it performs. After all, if nobody clicks the ads, its bit pointless. But if it produces high enough return, it might play a small part in our task of focusing on "cleaning the ad inventory" (basically to get ourselves into position where we could run solely relevant ads and not to fill the unsold inventory with stuff that "pays the bills" like online casinos, etc).
When I am trying to help someone it just seems intrusive to have an ad inserted into the middle of the conversation. Anywhere but there please!
The location of the ads between the posts bothers me also. Its like inserting something into the conversation that doesn't belong there. I know you have to pay the bills and we can probably deal with it if necessary. It would be better all the way down at last post on the page so it doesn't split up the thread as much. Just another opinion. Jerry
How are the ads content picked.Do you guys have a say or does google just scan a page and put ads that are similar to the thread. I must admit that i dont like them as they are intrusive in the actual posts but then on the other side do they generate income for you because running a site like this must be expensive and we the members are'nt contributing to you financially just giving you our time
It doesnt bother me at all, ads like that are ok for me, if you think about it adverts are everywere, here in the UK they are every 15 minutes on TV and people know this and get used to it (annoying somtimes), so maybe you might get used to it on aD. Andmerr is right it IS expensive to run a site like this on dedicated servers and they need our help as much as possible.
My 2 cents OK if they produce hits from these ad's then it would be a good thing because it will help AD. However if no one is actually clicking on them then they need to go because they are distracting, and I believe the newbie that comes to this site may be distracted or discouraged from using this site at all just because of the ad's. Wouldn't it be better to just send the news letters out more frequently? I can live with the ad's because I wuv AD, but I am not so sure everyone feels the same way I do? It could actually hurt the site, but I guess we will have to wait and see.
i guess now i know what they are i can just ignore them easily, just like the ads on the tv etc sorry i'm just a salesman's worst enemy so ads just bounce off me
Throughout the six years we've run our site so far, we've probably lost a good fortune because we've tried to have at least some "ethics" with our advertisements -- we don't run popups (we do, however, run popunders that will be shown once per day per user -- even with these ones, we could show them on every single pageload, thus multiplying the potential income), we don't run ads that spawn ActiveX downloads, porn ads, political ads, alcohol ads, cigarette ads, try to keep the annoying blinking ads down to minimum (they're only shown at the end of the "ad chain", i.e. when there are no other ads in rotation), we don't have skyscrapers in forums, bottom banners, blinking Flash boxes around the site, etc. So, I know some of you are annoyed by these new ads (well, by all ads actually, typically people who complain about one particular ad would prefer to have all ads removed, but don't see any problem paying for newspapers, etc that are similarly funded by ads, not by readers), but as said, we'll run this trial through and see if they "deliver" -- and at the same time hope that the part which has not gained that much attention, the internal news & software promo box, will also find its audience and use.
I would have asked the question here to members, if “you” owned aD, how would you handle the ads to help pay the bills and have a few bucks left over, or for that matter, a lot of bucks left over? I’m sure that most of us would then look at these ads with a whole new meaning, especially since it would be our pocket books in the mix. When the ads first appeared and with using Dual Monitors my problem was clicking from one to the other and hitting the screen right where the ad was. Now of course I’ve retrained myself to avoid that. I was wondering though if it was at all possible to place the ad below the last actual post instead of just above it, which might help to eliminate the break in the flow of the post. This might help with more acceptance of the ad just being there. Either way every day the ads become less obtrusive and have started to blend in.
Hey if it helps pay for AD I have even clicked on some of the add's Not really because I wanted to but I figured it helps AD out so what the heck a little click never hurt
i mean dont get me wrong, i like afterdawn and agree that u must have missed out on a fortune, and im sorry if i offened ne1.
