I Might See Dead People; But I Don’t See Ads
I was taking some time today to catch up on the feeds. Came across an article talking about the use of ads for information. The main thing that caught my attention was the end of it.
First up I would like to say that ads generally suck. I block anything and everything that is (but not limited to):
- Flash
- Annoying
- Anything Google Ads
I use AdBlock Plus in Firefox. Most ads out there are totally irrelevant to me, annoying and can be but not always misleading and may send you somewhere you did not want to go.
However in a 2004 interview with Sergey Brin (on Playboy, which was weird) he says the following:
“Our ads aren’t distracting; they’re helpful.”
I’ll give him that. Sure Google Ads are not annoying in so much as they don’t A. talk and B. flash gaudy disgusting colours in your face to the point of epilepsy. But, that means that they don’t stand out either. You see them and ignore them, your brain gets very used to “filtering” out the Google. Then he goes on to say:
“We know that when people are looking for commercial things, they use the ads. They know they’re ads and they know they’re just commercial, yet they use them.”
That might be true with the average Joe. I have no way of measuring that. Considering us geeks filter out and actively avoid seeing Google Ads and ads in general I think this is total rubbish. Although Cait did say once that she would click on a Google Ads if the ad was targeted. However, the same can not be said for myself.
So what do I do? I read reviews and recommendations. I listen to what others say about their experiences of a product. I place more value on a recommendation from a reliable and respected source than a damn Google Ad! Only after a time of good research and examination do I even try free software let alone spend my hard earned cash. I am less concerned about the cash than I am the health of my PC though!
I can also say that I have given much more attention to the custom 150 x 150px ads on blogs than a Google Ad. I have also based more purchasing decisions on verbal recommendations from a podcast from a host that has used and loves a product (you can tell when they really, really use and love something). Reputation and review is infinitely more useful and dependable than clicking an ad.
So how do you target me? You serve me relevant ads in a format that I respect. Given that I think that for the geeks of the world Google Ads have lost creed and relevance, especially when we don’t see them most of the time. They are flawed in their delivery and have a history of scams. Although this aspect in recent times has been cleaned up somewhat. Google Ads are now also bland, boring and due to their irrelevance to most geeks, ignored if not totally blocked. Most certainly rarely if ever clicked.
For the record I don’t think ads the way that the Internet wants to shove them down your throat is working or a marketing strategy that works for certain demographics. Marketing needs to get smart and relevant. They need to clean up their act and become more secure and loose the cookie tracking that they love so much.
It might have worked in 2004, but this is 2008 and things have changed.
Let me know what works for you, what do you look at as far as ads go? Ever click on a Google Ad because you were seriously considering a product? Do you use AdBlock or similar products? Heck I might even be wrong!
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You know what I think about ads on webpages, I think I’ve ranted about it a couple times. I use AdBlock as much as possible.
If marketers shove ads into my face or force me to watch their flash ads then I will go out of my way NOT to buy their products. If I want a product I will go looking for it, if it comes looking for me then I’m not interested.
I just ignore ads. Google ads are much easier to ignore. Some ads although (eg Mactalks’) are very relevant to the subject of the website - mac or apple. They advertise things like discounts,where to buy, cheap upgrades etc, all Australian sites and are very genuine. Whereas a car website I visit has google ads. One ad that has appeared there a few times is “Save money! Convert your car to water, increase engine output”
What a joke! As if i’d even think about clicking that rubbish!
I will only ever click an ad if it is relevant to the website.If im visiting that website, it’s mainly because im interested in the content of it. Therefore an ad which has been added by the administrator personally, and is not just a random ad a computer throws at you, I would consider clicking.
Talking about ads, have you considered adding ads here Dave to cover the hosting costs etc?
@Herne for me it is about the way they are delivered - if it is as you say shoved in my face with no consideration of the audience then I agree. But if the ad is as Doug says personally hand picked or recommended by the site owner as being relevant to their audience I am with him - plus you would hope that the site has been checked out and is legit.
@Doug we have not thought about any sort of advertising yet (if ever) but something to cover costs would be great. But not essential. One of the great things about blogging and podcasting these days is the low entry costs
Just in case it is asked, no this posts was not a fishing expedition. I am not trying to test out what people think about ads on this blog
But if it happens rest assured that there will be none of the annoying type of ads.
I would like to think that if we did hosts ads here that they would be for products and services that we endorsed and we felt were relevant to our audience. Otherwise I could not sleep at night. It is not like I took out a 2nd mortgage to do this. Plus it is not worth it.
I have to say that I’ve been known to click on the odd add from time to time. Usually it’s in one of two scenarios:
1 - I’m on a blog that sells individual ad spaces to support itself (ie these are images with a link which are fixed, and not tied to an ad network).
2 - I do a Google search for something specific and a link to the company’s website shows up in the “Sponsored Results”. Since I was looking for that specific company / product I don’t mind hitting the link for it.
And to follow-up on Dave’s point about ads on this site. Yes, it may happen someday, but we’ll probably let people know in advance, and they will be for things which we either support, or for companies which have provided a product or service directly related to keeping the blog and the podcast up and running. To date, the only person that fits that category is Dave.
(and Tim! :))
I’m not against advertising, as long as it isn’t intrusive. That said, most of the systems I browse from use a custom hosts file, Firefox with AdBlock plus, Flashblock and NoScript. Not only does it make browsing far less annoying, but it also means reduced page load times and lower bandwidth usage (when you’re on two-way satellite every megabyte counts).
Adblock+ FTW. I’v been using it for ages. I actually turned it off on your site yesterday to see if there were any ads. I would have clicked on any ads served up just to help you out.
Adblock+ is also good for blocking crappy Avatars and particularly annoying GIFs.
@Dave - You’re serious about that? Wowsers. That’s some dedictaion to the podcast, man!
I think the last time I clicked on an ad was for the eeepc, mainly because I still want one and I like to dream, hah
Outside of that I usually leave the ads on for some webcomics pages, cause I know how hard their trying and it’s usually nine times out of ten ads for OTHER webcomics, and it’s always good to find more ways to waste time 
Additional, the ads I hate the most are those (*&(*&ing smileys on some of the bittorrent sites. Yeah, ads. I get that. When you start using my sound card and loudly saying “hello”, we have issues. Also those stupid annoying flash ones that follow you when you scroll. Makes me not want to go back to the websites most of the time..
Thanks for the comments Terry.
Just a note though: you know you can use the “edit” button to add and edit your comment. No need to post another comment.
But we appreciate it!
No, I do not click ads.
Yes, I have AdBlock.
As a graphic kind of guy, I appreciate well designed graphic advertisements, however most of the web’s image advertisements aren’t (and even if they are, they require such excessive amount of my bandwidth I avert it with a great passion).
I’ve heard that we get exposed to thousands of products in any given day. I’m sure if I turn my head and tried to notice, I could spot at least 50 brands in my room. But I’ve become so use to ignoring advertisements and branding so well, I could watch I, Robot and not notice it at all.
I just noticed that the AGP webpage posts comments on Aussie time… interesting!
I have been using Adblock+ for ages now and it’s fantastic. Although, on Sunday I turned it off for this website to see if there were any ads, which there weren’t.
If I did find ads on this site I probably would have clicked on them just to support the AGP.
Also, Adblock is good for blocking crappy Avatars particularly annoying GIF avatars that some forums allow.
Ads are overated, i can’t believe that people don’t run adblock.
Woohoo new blog thingo website thingy.
@George glad you noticed the new page… I was wondering if you had. BTW I agree.
@Herne the “Aussie” in the title kinda makes us based in Oz eh?
@Dave You must conform and become America-centric or you’re not in the “in crowd” on the interwebs! Dontcha know!?
It always pisses me off when I go to a website and I get prices in US dollars, Pounds, or Euros… Friggin Canadian dollars are stronger than US dollars right now! How about a price in Canadian dollars!?
I also noticed that recently GoDaddy added a Canadian dollar option! GooooooDaddy! (And I used the TPN2 code to get a discount on a recent domain purchase too! But don’t tell Dave.)
Canada, where is that?
Seriously though, being an Aussie podcast - we need the Aussie dollars there. But as far as prices - the most common is the U.S dollar. People world over find it easier to compare to U.S dollars. Most prices on the Internets are in American dollars as well. Not so much about what it is actually worth.
Note to Self: Add Canadian Dollars to next price quote.
Oh and BTW screw the crowd. We just stopped following it.