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I've removed all ad network code from my blog

troyhunt.com

11–20 of 336 posts

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#11
This is a perfect example of how online advertising should work. Get a sponsor, show their unobtrusive message. Done.

Can't find a sponsor? Can't have them trust you, or accept advertising that doesn't track user or show targeted ads? Can't afford the time to chase sponsors and manage the advertising?

Then try a paywall. What, no one subscribes? Then take the content off the internet. You have an unsustainable business model.

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#12
You'll be surprised how much faster pages feel without ad scripts - I noticed significant improvements after implementing a no-ads premium option on our website. Even with an ad blocker, things just feel snappier if the scripts simply aren't there in the first place.

I decided to go one step further with my personal site and eliminate all JS completely. I don't get enough traffic to make any kind of analytics or ad code worthwhile.

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#13
post #6

Yes! 100 times yes! Great move. I am not against ads. But I am against trackers. Wanna show an ad on your mysite.com ? then host the freaking file on mysite.com/assets/banner.{png,jpg,gif,whatever). but don't host it on ad networks. Those are blocked by my browser and I will not unblock. Its for the ad networks to figure out a way to fix the way they see the numbers. specially since the numbers are all wrong anyway.…

This is a very honest and upfront article about analytics: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160915/18183535533/traff...

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#14

The advertisement he refers to was a plain text bar at the top of the page with no tracking nor any distracting visuals. And when you scroll down into the article it disappears. I dont see any problem with this kind of innocent unobtrusive level of advertising and frankly wish he kept it for his own financial gain and others used it as a model.

Daring Fireball has similar curated, unobtrusive ads. This is the ideal ad-sponsored content, but it seems like it takes a very large audience to be viable and worth the time.

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#15
post #4

Ok, you have a sponsorship model that works because you're probably very famous. That doesn't solve anyone's problem, because almost no one is famous. How can we replace ad networks with something better and saner?

It also doesn't solve the issues for most advertisers. I can't imagine that a large e-commerce site would want to make thousands of individual deals with sites that may or may not generate the desired traffic.

His solution doesn't really scale, for the advertisers, which is why the ad networks exists.

My main issue with ad networks is that they simply aren't technically competent enough to run an internet facing business. Most of them seem to be run by good sales people and not so good IT staff. Most of those I've dealt with simply doesn't understand how the internet works.

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#16
post #4

Ok, you have a sponsorship model that works because you're probably very famous. That doesn't solve anyone's problem, because almost no one is famous. How can we replace ad networks with something better and saner?

>Ok, you have a sponsorship model that works because you're probably very famous.

I was thinking the same thing. He also has a relatively narrow range of content with an audience that is highly likely to be interested in what his sponsors are offering.

What is the solution for sites that have a much broader audience? It seems like the sponsorship model would become something like NPR's where you're generically trying to target "upper- and upper-middle-class" people with an opportunity for virtue signaling by providing a brief blurb about your foundation's activities or a generic description of the services you offer. Not helpful for most sites.

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#17

This is a perfect example of how online advertising should work. Get a sponsor, show their unobtrusive message. Done. Can't find a sponsor? Can't have them trust you, or accept advertising that doesn't track user or show targeted ads? Can't afford the time to chase sponsors and manage the advertising? Then try a paywall. What, no one subscribes? Then take the content off the internet. You have an unsustainable busine…

> You have an unsustainable business model.

You have an unsustainable business model given current available technical solutions that meet your ethical criteria. That's quite different.

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#18
post #7
post #4

Ok, you have a sponsorship model that works because you're probably very famous. That doesn't solve anyone's problem, because almost no one is famous. How can we replace ad networks with something better and saner?

I had an idea at some point, but I do not know it if would be feasible. For me it seems that sponsorships/native ads are better than the usual banner style intrusive ads. Would it be possible to still have a syndicated ad network, but that it would feed you articles in some structured format, that you would get on your backend, and then insert as articles into your blog/website? This way you could format them any way…

What you describe sounds similar to affiliate marketing [1]: Post a link to external services and get commission for clicks (maybe depending on conversion).

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affiliate_marketing

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#19
post #4

Ok, you have a sponsorship model that works because you're probably very famous. That doesn't solve anyone's problem, because almost no one is famous. How can we replace ad networks with something better and saner?

I think charging money (paywall, donations) is the only acceptable way for sites that can't do "big player" ads such as finding sponsors or having native advertising.

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#20
post #12

You'll be surprised how much faster pages feel without ad scripts - I noticed significant improvements after implementing a no-ads premium option on our website. Even with an ad blocker, things just feel snappier if the scripts simply aren't there in the first place. I decided to go one step further with my personal site and eliminate all JS completely. I don't get enough traffic to make any kind of analytics or ad c…

The anti SPA. Love it. I don't really browse on my phone because the JS situation is so bad.
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