New Advertising Model, PPC Gets the Ax
Written By: Posted On: April 13, 2007 Tags:
Kontera was probably the most annoying piece of advertising I have ever used on any of my websites. John Chow talked me in to using it, and promised that after a week or two that it would be optimized to my blog’s content. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Kontera operates on a PPC (pay per click) advertising model much like Google’s Adsense. Kontera is a bit different in that publishers insert a javascript in their html that hyperlinks words targeted by advertisers throughout the user’s blog or website. This is good for causing your readers, and likely yourself, a good bit of confusion and annoyance. The words Kontera targets are supposed to be of some relevance to the ads they display, but I was getting links to eBay or Buy for the keyword ‘blog’, etc. It simply was not working out. Over the course of Kontera’s one week stay at meridiancrest, I got a total of 6 clicks for $.86.
Sometimes when you are advertising you have to ask yourself if the profit generated from the advertising is worth what you would otherwise be losing if you weren’t displaying the ads. In other words, was it worth a little over $3 a month for me to not whore these messy Kontera ads all over my blog? Was it worth the loss in quality and confusion to my readers? It is worth $3 a month to me to lose Kontera.
If you frequent this blog you’ve probably realized there are now sponsored ad spots instead of these CPC adverts. Private advertising seems to be a much better route to take while I’m still garnering around 3k uniques a month. This allows users in the blog community to support a blog they read, is more targeted and personal, and will have much higher conversion rates. So, if you are monetizing your blog, take this model in to consideration. When you implement it shoot me a comment or e-mail and I will consider supporting your blog if we’re a good fit.
Nate has already snagged the headline/comment spot, but the right sidebar is still open. You can always grab the headline for next month before someone else gets it, though ;).
Thanks Nate!
Update
Both spots are sold, thanks Garett!
Scot: Congrats on removing that garbage. This kind of thing probably has a positive impact on the web community surrounding your blog. Ray Gun Robot is a good read, I’ve enjoyed it so far.
I need to start blogging again– just too much work lately. Hit me up on AIM.
I was actually going to contact you about the keyword ads and mention how obtrusive, distracting, and ridiculous they were. Quite glad you decided to rid of them too, because that was the main reason why I started to read your site through my feed reader, as opposed to visiting the site. Even though I like using RSS reader, I prefer coming to the site, but I’m finicky.
But again, glad that you took them off. =)
Jeff,
Glad to see you’re still lurking! I hope it does have a positive impact on the blogging community, I’m happy to give blogs the opportunity to pay for my hosting. Someone told me the rates I’ve offered are way too low but it doesn’t really matter to me, I don’t need a million dollars.
Jordan,
I’m always up to making improvements for you all!
I agree wholeheartedly. If you see anything else that is annoying you while reading, LET ME KNOW!
I personally don’t do the whole RSS thing so much, I like seeing a website– maybe later when I’m a busy business person with a long agenda and many leather-bound books in a mahogany-stained bookcase.
– Scot
Yeah, I bounce between using a feed reader and visiting the site though I’ll usually rely on a reader when I’ve been out for a few days and haven’t paid attention to some of my favs. Otherwise I like coming to sites… Reminds me that I really need to clean up my bookmarks, so I can get to them a bit easier.
I’m always pretty wary of sites that ram advertising down my throat - I just don’t like it. If a pro-blogger who blogs full-time wants to make a living through ads then fair play to them. However, most blogs aren’t at that level.
Some people blog to raise awareness of themselves and their services - in the search for jobs or freelance work. If this is the case I think ANY ads just completely devalue what they’re trying to do in the first place.
At the level your blog is I think the two unobtrusive sponsors are much more appropriate. I don’t think I saw you site with Kontera but if I had I probably wouldn’t have subscribed.
Jordan,
Absolutely
Aaron,
I agree! The two advertisers are sites I would’ve plugged without payment anyway– which makes it that much more easy for me to handle. I didn’t like having advertisers that I’d never heard of or would ever want to deal with all over my site. And it was obtrusive to say the least.
Well, no more of that stuff, that’s all I can say. And I’d encourage anyone else to take the same path.
– Scot
I think you’ve made the right decision, Scot. Nice move.
Fair play to John Chow for having it work for him, but Aaron’s right, most blogs just aren’t at that level. I know it’d never be justified to use a similar system on my blog. The cons would far outweigh the pros.
Enjoy the weekend!
I’m *sooooo* glad you got shot of them. I’ve got to the stage where I’ll actually stop visiting a site if it introduces hover-ads!
Paul
David,
This is a realization that I’ve come to myself. Have a great weekend yourself, my friend!
Paul,
You’re absolutely right. I think the bigger blogs can still get away with it, even though it is very obtrusive and annoying.
– Scot
Yeah, I once considered using those ads, but I didn’t want to scare away all 12 of my readers… or do I?…
J,
Trust me, it’s not worth it on such a small scale. Once you reach 3k uniques per day, maybe.
– Scot
I never even picked up on the Kontera ads, but I’ve been reading through my RSS reader most of the time. But I hate bloody ads that make one’s life a living hell.
Blogs should be easy to navigate, read and participate on. So good move in removing the crap that obstructs that! And big congrats for selling those ad spaces privately!
I absolutely hate those darn ads. I have NEVER even come close to clicking one of those ads.
I’ve never seen anything jump out and say “I’m fake!” more blatantly than those ads do.
Very smart move Scott.