Are Ads are the New Online Tip Jar?
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Seth Godin, a well respected internet marketed, bucking conventional wisdom about Adsense stated:
"I can say this because there are no ads here but,
If you like what you're reading, click an ad to say thanks.
Pretty simple, but not an accepted online protocol, at least not yet.
If every time you read a blog post or bit of online content you enjoyed you clicked on an ad to say thanks, the economics of the web would change immediately. You don't have to buy anything (though it's fine if you do). You just have to honor the writer by giving them a click."
Some commentators thought Seth was encouraging click fraud.
Godin clarified his position, in a later post, stating that he was not encouraging click fraud, but:
"I think the most robust ad environment for the web is one in which more surfers give permission to more marketers to make their case. And one way to get that permission is to have a culture in which surfers agree to "pay" attention in exchange for great content."
"Your readers will actually find them useful" - that is the pitch that keeps the Google money machine running.
But, I believe that this representation is a fraud for consumer/business advisory sites. My readers do not find ads that running for fraudulent business opportunities "useful".
Nor will they ever find these type of ads useful.
Consider the "relevant ad" that I found for this business opportunity: something called Unified Wealth Solutions - sorry boys, no link love.
From their website FAQ: "Unified Wealth Solutions (UWS) is a Marketing Resource Center that includes pre-formatted websites for advertising, marketing education, lead management tools, and more. UWS was founded by 5 Home Business Entrepreneurs who have each had incredible financial results in their personal enterprises. Experts on lead generation, team management and business building strategies, these 5 recognized Leaders and Trainers collaborated to form UWS with the intention of providing people with the exact marketing tools they have used to build their personal businesses."
The truth: No five guys, domain registered by proxy, and illegal earnings claims according to the proposed FTC Business Opportunity Rule.
Jeez, Google can you tweak your algorithm with a "not" by looking at by blocked list? Or maybe you want everyone here to whack their ad?
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Comments
Why not just link to the site that you enjoy?
http://www.clearcrystalmedia.com/gc/links-are-the-new-online-tip-jar/
You send over new readers who are interested, plus it sends SEO value to the site that you enjoy. And it's free for everyone. :)
Posted by: Chris Peters | November 22, 2008 10:07 AM
If you read our policy on adsense, I encourage people to advise me when the ads were crappy - so that I can ban them.
But, I want to hold Google to their promise of making ads so interesting and useful to my readers that people a) click on them and b) are happy that they did so.
Thanks for your views.
Posted by: michael webster
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September 5, 2008 4:42 PM
LOL this is really good. YOu post an article like this which point out that people CAN click even though you also present the opposing viewpoint that they shouldnt'... MEANWHILE back at the website, you have ads running that people can click on.
Personally I sometimes click on ads as a thank you but only if they are of interest to me.... hopefully most will be AND occasionally I have learned from the experience.
How else would I have learned about Happy Jacks for very very difficult hard to train dogs???
Posted by: alrady40 | September 5, 2008 3:34 PM
But, he doesn't have any ads on his site to click on. Your argument fails.
Posted by: michael webster
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September 3, 2008 8:18 AM
this is just another slick marketing ploy to make people click on his site.
there is no controversy just a cynical manipulation of mugs looking for something to argue about.
godin is not god despite the name he is just an internet scammer with fancy credentials.
Posted by: trea | September 3, 2008 8:03 AM
Not sure I follow this, Greg.
Do other blogs use your widget to sponsor my content? Or have I got it wrong?
Do I use your widget to advertise other blogs that I want my readers to tip?
Sounds interesting, but I am not sure that I completely understand.
Posted by: michael webster
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August 26, 2008 7:48 PM
How about CPD (cost per duration) as a viable alternative to CPC, CPA, CPM? We've developed a widget which allows anyone to sponsor your content. This can be used in the exact same way as Seth is talking about. If you'd like to tip a site then upload an image and set an amount. Your sponsor runs for 30-days and there is no click-fraud with our system. Everyone wins. The publisher gets an alternative revenue stream and the sponsor receives promotion, unlimited impressions, and possible click-thrus for 30-days. Great thread!
Posted by: Greg Melton | August 26, 2008 1:34 PM