So, you’ve got an idea for a website that you think can eventually earn some revenue. Perhaps showing contextual advertising is one idea you’re exploring. Google Adsense makes it so easy to start displaying ads it’s tempting to dive in. But maybe it’s not the best idea for making money from your site.
Let’s delve into some of the reasons why AdSense may not be the best choice, and then look at some other ways websites can make money for their owners.
The ads may detract from the perceived value of your brand.
You’ve created a great site with content that others want to read. Then, BAM, one day, there are ads everywhere. It looks like you’ve sold out, and your site loses its coolness. This is one reason Mark Zuckerberg reportedly resisted advertising in the early days of Facebook, and still keeps it to a relatively small part of the site’s layout.
You lose some control over what’s published on your site.
While contextual advertising means that any ads displayed on your site should be related to the content you’re publishing, you still give up control over what shows on your site. You may even wind up with ads from your competitors, if you also offer a direct product or service on your site.
Your content may end up overshadowed by the ads.
If your pages showcase ads prominently – and they probably have to in order to gain a volume of clicks – it means your content will become a bit harder for readers to find and read.
Maybe you make them scroll down the page further to see your content, maybe you’ve got your articles wrapped around ads… either way, readers will find themselves distracted and working harder to gather the information they hoped to find when they clicked to your site. You could lose readers who otherwise may have become loyal fans of your content.
That’s unless you have enough traffic that you can get away with showing the ads in a very unobtrusive spot. The NYTimes.com example here shows they can do with just one lone ad on the bottom third of the page.
Let’s delve into some of the reasons why AdSense may not be the best choice, and then look at some other ways websites can make money for their owners.
The ads may detract from the perceived value of your brand.
You’ve created a great site with content that others want to read. Then, BAM, one day, there are ads everywhere. It looks like you’ve sold out, and your site loses its coolness. This is one reason Mark Zuckerberg reportedly resisted advertising in the early days of Facebook, and still keeps it to a relatively small part of the site’s layout.
You lose some control over what’s published on your site.
While contextual advertising means that any ads displayed on your site should be related to the content you’re publishing, you still give up control over what shows on your site. You may even wind up with ads from your competitors, if you also offer a direct product or service on your site.
Your content may end up overshadowed by the ads.
If your pages showcase ads prominently – and they probably have to in order to gain a volume of clicks – it means your content will become a bit harder for readers to find and read.
Maybe you make them scroll down the page further to see your content, maybe you’ve got your articles wrapped around ads… either way, readers will find themselves distracted and working harder to gather the information they hoped to find when they clicked to your site. You could lose readers who otherwise may have become loyal fans of your content.
That’s unless you have enough traffic that you can get away with showing the ads in a very unobtrusive spot. The NYTimes.com example here shows they can do with just one lone ad on the bottom third of the page.
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