Forum Moderators: martinibuster
I've seen it mentioned here that when launching a new site, there may be value in NOT adding AdSense right away. Why is that?
Thanks.
There is no reason to not add adsense. Where did you see this?
I'm not sure who posted it, but I think the general idea was a combination of (a) non-listings due to perception of a commercial site (though I think the effects of this would be minimal) and (b) maybe they thought it would be easier to build up a big audience without the ads, and then insert the ads after the traffic was high.
I personally don't think people care that much about non-intrusive ads like AdSense, so I don't think it would affect traffic. Also, I don't know how the search engines & indexes view ads, but I don't consider an ad to be commercial unless they are selling something. Webmaster world probably makes plenty of money, but since I can get 100% use of it for free if I want to, I don't consider it a commercial site. That may be just semantics though.
I have one website which, though it has been around a long time, probably wouldn't break even as the result of ads. I certainly wouldn't consider that one to be commercial even if I put ads in it.
I'm not sure who posted it, but I think the general idea was a combination of (a) non-listings due to perception of a commercial site (though I think the effects of this would be minimal)
Depends on the audience. People who go to mortgage info sites expect to see ads. People who go to religious sites don't expect to see ads. If your audience believes that you are (or should be) running the site as a labor of love, your site's cred could take a major hit when your audience sees signs of commercialism. On the other hand, not putting ads on openly commercial sites is lost revenue.
I personally don't think people care that much about non-intrusive ads like AdSense, so I don't think it would affect traffic.
Depends upon whether they register Adsense as ads. Right now many people don't, but eventually ad blindness will catch up to Adsense and people will get annoyed at the sight of Adsense ads in just the same way that they get annoyed at the sight of other ad types.
Also, I don't know how the search engines & indexes view ads, but I don't consider an ad to be commercial unless they are selling something.
Adsense ads aren't selling something? That would come as a surprise to most Adwords advertisers. Even if the thing the ad is trying to "sell" doesn't cost money, the advertiser still sees visitors as a way to make money, and consumers are aware of that. Unless an ad is clearly for a charity or an educational campaign ("Just say no"), I'd say that most visitors are going to see it as commercial.
I have one website which, though it has been around a long time, probably wouldn't break even as the result of ads. I certainly wouldn't consider that one to be commercial even if I put ads in it.
Unsuccessful commerce is still commerce.
Sorry, I don't mean to flame or even offend you. It just seems that you're defining terms from an advertiser's point of view, when what counts in the end is what your visitors think of the ads.
If your audience believes that you are (or should be) running the site as a labor of love, your site's cred could take a major hit when your audience sees signs of commercialism.
That's not been my experience. I ran my site for several years before adsense, and by adding adsense, visitor numbers or visitors perception of the information on the site haven't been affected.
I did run a poll for a couple of weeks when I first started with adsense to see if the ads bothered people. The vast majority replied that they either didn't care about them, or they hadn't noticed them. Nobody objected, and only a handful found them irritating.
I make it clear in the advertising and privacy policy (I'm required to have one by one of the organisations that list my site) that I run the ads to pay for the website costs, and I think most people understand this. Also, the vast majority of pages don't have ads on. I believe that this re-inforces the message that the site isn't there purely to make money. If there were multiple ad blocks on every page, then that would look terrible, and drive visitors away. I place the banners strategically on the pages that I know they work on, and make sure that the rest of the site is ad-free.
I would say that I made the annual webhosting costs by Jan 4th this year. I'm using the rest to take the family to Crete in June. So you can make money on a "Labour of love" site - you just need to strike the right balance.
Curiosity wrote:
Unsuccessful commerce is still commerce. Sorry, I don't mean to flame or even offend you....
No offense taken. You're probably right that my perception of what is commercial is overly narrow.
david_uk wrote:Curiosity wrote: If your audience believes that you are (or should be) running the site as a labor of love, your site's cred could take a major hit when your audience sees signs of commercialism.That's not been my experience. I ran my site for several years before adsense, and by adding adsense, visitor numbers or visitors perception of the information on the site haven't been affected.
The existing site that I mentioned is religious in nature, and there's an opportunity for people to make donations there. I get a few bucks here and there but not enough to make ends meet. In the past when I actually asked people to consider making a donation in my newsletter, a couple of people were peeved about that--they expected not only to use the site for free (and use it they do), but also that I should pay out of my own pocket. They wanted the benefit, but didn't think they or anyone else except me should have to pay for their benefit. That's wrong.
I have other priorities for my money too, so I figure people's options are:
1. Do a better job of paying up themselves (ain't happenin).
2. Tolerate some ads.
3. Lose the website completely.
I'd bet most people will choose 2. I generally do.
I have however considered not asking for donations any more lest I seem too greedy, but the fact is that even donations + ads probably won't make ends meet (for that particular site). I'll probably make it clear on the site exactly what my motivations are, and that my expectation is not to make money on it (though I'll leave wiggle room to accommodate that if it happens), and continue to ask for donations while advertising.
The existing site that I mentioned is religious in nature, and there's an opportunity for people to make donations there. I get a few bucks here and there but not enough to make ends meet. In the past when I actually asked people to consider making a donation in my newsletter, a couple of people were peeved about that--they expected not only to use the site for free (and use it they do), but also that I should pay out of my own pocket. They wanted the benefit, but didn't think they or anyone else except me should have to pay for their benefit. That's wrong.
I'd be inclined to go ahead and place adverts on the site, but start with small banner(s) for a couple of weeks until you see what feedback you get. I think you will find that people are bothered by them a lot less than you think they will be, assuming you make a good job of fitting them in with the design of the page.
You can always build up to bigger ads, and more of them as time goes by, but as I said eariler it is important for people not to get the idea you are in it for the money by placing lots of big ads all over the site.
Perhaps I should refine my point: Different audiences have different tolerance levels for advertising, and it's important not to exceed those levels. When people suggest not putting Adsense on new sites, I think they're saying that it's safest to assume a very, very low tolerance level and test the limits once your site has an established reputation. Well-intentioned advice, but not necessarily the best advice.
The existing site that I mentioned is religious in nature
Someone in another thread mentioned that their Christian portal site was making them impressive sums. (Surprised me. I thought religious topics got bottom-of-the-barrel EPC.) Since it's doable, I wish you good luck. Sounds like you're in a tough corner with donations.
They wanted the benefit, but didn't think they or anyone else except me should have to pay for their benefit.
Ahh, special logic. Don't you love it?
I'll probably start with AdSense only.
I was uncertain about adding adsense for the same reasons as you (my content niche is different). I had adsense only for some while, and after people had got used to the ads I trialled other schemes - none of which came close to adsense.
Perhaps I should refine my point: Different audiences have different tolerance levels for advertising, and it's important not to exceed those levels. When people suggest not putting Adsense on new sites, I think they're saying that it's safest to assume a very, very low tolerance level and test the limits once your site has an established reputation. Well-intentioned advice, but not necessarily the best advice.
I absolutely agree, and I think you have worded my main point rather better than I did. I suggest starting very low key to dabble a toe in the waters. If he gets howls of outrage, then all he has to do is whip the code off quick. If, however he gets no adverse reaction (as happened to me), then over time he can experiment with different banner styles and placements to maximise his income.
The important bit is establishing the ads in the first place. I started with one single ad in the top right hand corner. Over time that has moved to being a central rectangle, and as it fits in with the scheme of the site, it doesn't jar on the visitors but does work as advertising.
