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Minimalist ad experience post

content/posts/2024-minimalist-ads.md

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+Title: Why Some Sites Show More Ads Than Content
+Date: May 2, 2024
+description: Why do some ad-supported sites build a great experience while others overwhelm users with ads? Who the site is optimized for and whether it's maximizing short-term or long-term revenue are the big factors.
+tags: publishers
+authors: David Fischer
+image: /images/posts/2024-more-ads-than-content.jpg
+image_credit: <span>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@nicolaiberntsen?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Nicolai Berntsen</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/people-walking-beside-buildings-F3uyey6ours?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Unsplash</a></span>
+
+
+Across the Internet, websites adopt different strategies when it comes to incorporating advertisements.
+Some sites carefully curate ad placements to offer a seamless and unobtrusive browsing experience for their visitors.
+On the other hand, some sites bombard visitors with more ads than content, including autoplay videos,
+pop-ups (thankfully an endangered species due to dedicated work by browser vendors), or ads that try to trick people into clicking them. I like to call these simply bad ads.
+
+At EthicalAds, we don't want to overwhelm people with ads and have focused on the less heavy-handed approach,
+and we try to make sure that ads complement the content of sites.
+In this post, I want to go deeper into why some sites go for an ad experience
+that complements content rather than getting in the way
+while others show as many obtrusive ads as possible.
+
+
+## Economics of Internet ads: dollars and cents
+On the surface, why some sites have a barrage of bad ads is obvious.
+More ads, larger ads, and particularly video ads make more money for site owners.
+Advertisers are willing to pay more for ad placements that have greater visibility.
+This translates into a tempting proposition for site owners seeking to maximize their earnings, but comes at a cost.
+
+These higher revenue ads often come at the expense of user experience.
+Overloading pages with ads, especially intrusive formats like autoplay videos, leads to users being frustrated.
+While such aggressive ad strategies may yield short-term gains in terms of ad revenue, they risk alienating users in the long run,
+diminishing the likelihood of repeat visits and generally making a site less usable.
+For most sites, prioritizing the user experience and having less obtrusive ads with a network like EthicalAds will maximize their long-term revenue.
+
+The owner of a site that writes about Linux server management and optimization
+applied recently about becoming a publisher with EthicalAds.
+The site and content were good but in their application they wrote:
+
+<blockquote class="blockquote mb-2">
+  <p class="mb-2">
+    “I have been trying to transition away from large video and image ads as they slow down my website. I'm hoping EthicalAds will not only be lightweight, but also not compromise current earnings of ~$4-8 CPM.”
+  </p>
+  <p class="small">- A recent Linux-focused publisher prospect</p>
+</blockquote>
+
+Unfortunately I had to respond that we aren't really competing against large format or video ads
+and that they necessarily pay a higher CPM (our <a href="/advertisers/#pricing">pricing</a> is public and sites earn 70% of what advertisers pay).
+This exchange clearly illustrates the trade-off between revenue and UX for site owners.
+We generally beat networks and ads with a similar ad footprint to ours
+in terms of revenue as our target market is premium quality developer-focused sites,
+and we're not trying to have our ads get lost in a sea of ads on a lower quality site.
+
+
+## A barrage of ads for drive-by visitors
+
+So why do some sites go with the minimalist approach while some fill their site with ads?
+The answer has to do with where the traffic for the site comes from.
+
+<div class="postimage text-center">
+  <img class="w-100 shadow-lg" src="{static}../images/posts/2024-overwhelmed-with-ads.jpg" alt="The first hit on Google for 'what is my user agent' showing no less than 4 ads">
+  <p>The first hit on Google for "what is my user agent" showing no less than 4 ads</p>
+</div>
+
+If the site is optimized for repeat visitors, then the site owner frequently sees more long-term value by not alienating users and keeping up the user experience.
+By contrast, sites that only get "drive-by visitors", that is users who visit the single thing they're looking for before bouncing, are not and frequently go with the heavier ad approach.
+The visitor isn't coming back so the best approach for the site is to get any ad revenue they can.
+Sites like parking pages, content SEO farms, and many [low quality sites]({filename}../posts/2021-invasive-ad-targeting-bad-journalism-premium-publishers.md) fall into this category
+of sites that aren't looking for repeat visitors and that's why they typically show lots of bad ads.
+
+To highlight this example, I did a Google search for "What is my user agent".
+A user agent is something browsers send when requesting a webpage and it identifies your browser as Google Chrome on Mac OS for example.
+The first result on Google is a site that answers this question exactly.
+However, visitors aren't going to browse the rest of the site or bookmark it for the future.
+As a result, the site tries capitalize on ad revenue rather than cultivating a lasting relationship
+and has 4 ads as well as another modal ad when I went to close the tab.
+
+
+## Repeat visitors hate bad ads
+
+For users who frequent a website, encountering intrusive ads can be particularly jarring and off-putting.
+Bad ads not only disrupt the browsing experience but also erode trust in the site.
+For a site built on repeat visitors, bad ads sacrifice the long-term viability
+for short term revenue.
+
+<div class="postimage text-center">
+  <img class="w-75 shadow-lg" src="{static}../images/pages/testimonials/pallets-screenshot.png" alt="Flask's documentation focuses on their content. The developer-focused ad complements without getting in the way.">
+  <p class="w-75 m-auto">Flask's documentation focuses on their content. The developer-focused ad complements without getting in the way.</p>
+</div>
+
+Sites across our network prioritize long-term visitors rather than focusing on short-term revenue
+and a barrage of bad ads.
+Taking a look at some of [our publishers]({filename}../pages/publisher-list.md)
+such as the [Flask microframework]({filename}../pages/testimonials/pallets.md),
+they lead with their content and don't overwhelm users with ads.
+This approach keeps developers coming back to their site.
+
+At EthicalAds, we believe in an ad experience that respects the integrity of content
+while maximizing revenue potential over the long run.
+This [advertising vision]({filename}../pages/vision.md) helped us build a network of high-quality publishers that works for developer-focused advertisers.
+If that sounds like the right fit for your site or for your next marketing campaign,
+[get in touch]({filename}../pages/contact.md)!