Good and bad web advertising
by Giles Turnbull
A month or so ago there was a discussion on the Underscore mailing list about the evils (or otherwise) of web advertising.
I chimed in with some thoughts that have been bubbling in my head for a while now, which relate to online journalism and its relationship to online advertising:
Print media is – has always been – built this way: the advertisers get
*first priority* over the *physical space* available in the newspaper. The ads get booked in advance. *Then* the copy from the journalists gets fitted *around* them … Online media *does not face the same constraints*.
My point, in short, was this: in the old days, print ads ruled newspapers, and dictated how much content there would be and where it would be positioned. Online, things are reversed and ads have to be subservient to content. Those that are tend to work. Those that aren’t are incredibly irritating and just end up annoying people.
You can read my rant in full, or read the whole thread (starting here) if you’re interested.
Yup, you hit the nail on the head. On the Web, it’s all about contextual advertising. However, most advertisers do not realize this at all; they think that, for example, placing beer ads on ‘youth-oriented’ portals is great marketing. They still think in terms of mass appeal. Wouldn’t it be wiser to place a beer ad on a blog about clubbing or dance music? To them, probably not. Because at the end of the day, it’s just the eyeballs that they’re after. Sad.
The speed and efficiency in which current event news is circulated around the web guarantees that there are always alternative web sites to go to. Creating an anticipated ad space that is obvious and unobtrusive works. Shoving an ad in a readers face does not. It will send the reader elsewhere to search for the information that you are offering. Given the number sites available, it probably won’t take long for the reader to find another place put their attention. Yes, content is king. But advertising is still an integral component to providing the revenue for the better to sites to pay the writers and the host providers etc etc etc.