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Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?

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Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?

#141

Post by tomc1985 »

lordkrandel wrote: post #131
tomc1985 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you realize just how insidious advertising is. Repetition builds awareness, which will infiltrate almost any thinking about the product or whatever. Every time you recall an earworm jingle, the ad is serving its purpose. The only way to not be influenced by them is to screen them out.

I feel that the advertisers really want to justify their salary and glorify their existence, by telling you their work is valued in years and that they never fail. It's a delusion. Here I am, after 37 years of advertising of everything, from shoes to games to food, to cars... in every single media... and? What are the results?

You own things, yes? How did you choose them? How did you even discover that they exist?

That's what advertising addresses.

Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?

#142

Post by just_visiting »

I have learned to ignore ads in general, except when I use a search engine and the top results are ads. When that happens, I spitefully avoid clicking the sponsored links, even if they are pointing to where I want to go. I will intentionally scroll down further and click into the unsponsored links. Maybe I'm just weird, but at the very least, I'm confusing the algorithms.

Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?

#143

Post by vidarh »

saberworks wrote: post #9

I use an ad blocker so don't generally see ads. However, I own a Kindle Voyage which I use to read sci-fi and fantasy novels. I have not paid the extra $20 or whatever it is to disable the ads. The ads are definitely targeted, as I only see ads for books related to what I've already purchased and read. In fact, all I see is ads for books in the series I happen to be reading at the time. For example, I'm finally getti…

Authors and publishers can buy ads on Amazon, including on kindles, and the targeting includes the ability for people to pick their own keywords or advertise on other specific words, as well as letting Amazon choose. As such, Amazon earns money on a whole lot of those ads whether or not you buy anything, and a lot of the people involved are likely not very experienced at targeting.

Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?

#144

Post by apostle36 »

Yes. I run ads for some clients on Google and Social media and they have amazing results. If you know what you are doing with targeted ads you can make a big difference.

What you refer to is called re-marketing to people who visited the website, engaged with ads, but did not buy. The problem is that there are lots of advertisers that do not exclude people who already bought their products and this is bad marketing because people getting bombarded with ads for products that will never re-purchase.

Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?

#145

Post by lordkrandel »

tomc1985 wrote: post #141
lordkrandel wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel that the advertisers really want to justify their salary and glorify their existence, by telling you their work is valued in years and that they never fail. It's a delusion. Here I am, after 37 years of advertising of everything, from shoes to games to food, to cars... in every single media... and? What are the results?

You own things, yes? How did you choose them? How did you even discover that they exist? That's what advertising addresses.

Going to a supermarket, or to Amazon. Trying them one time and seeing if they're good. Reading unsponsored comparisons, or asking to a friend. And... no?

Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?

#146

Post by tomc1985 »

lordkrandel wrote: post #145
tomc1985 wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You own things, yes? How did you choose them? How did you even discover that they exist? That's what advertising addresses.

Going to a supermarket, or to Amazon. Trying them one time and seeing if they're good. Reading unsponsored comparisons, or asking to a friend. And... no?

I don't think anyone truly does that 100% of the time.

Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?

#147

Post by vba616 »

XorNot wrote: post #111
Syonyk wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It’s hard to tell when someone has bought a product. How about, "I've literally got it in my last-day purchase history on eBay and they keep showing me the same thing and a bunch of related stuff to the item that hasn't even arrived yet, but that they've taken my money for"? ... and then eBay follows me around showing the same stuff on other sites. The thing I've purchased. From eBay. At least, they did, until I go…

As far as I know, the convention about this is that when you buy a thing, the most likely next purchase statistically is in fact the same thing because you are unhappy with the one you bought.

Ever seen really weird combinations in "people who bought X also bought..."?

Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?

#148

Post by vba616 »

nlh wrote: post #40

Every time there's a thread on HN about advertising, there's at least a few comments (there are already some in this thread) that claim, loudly, "Ads don't work on me! I never buy things based on ads!". The thing is, they're all wrong. Advertising is a trillion-dollar business because it works. The human mind is susceptible to suggestion, and it's been demonstrated over and over again for basically as long as we've h…

I've been looking for a certain home improvement product for roughly six months. I've searched on-line dozens of times, I've been to stores, nobody wants to sell it to me, show me ads, nothing.

>Advertising is a trillion-dollar business because it works

How many months in the corporate world did you spend before figuring out that money = results and substance takes precedence over appearance?

Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?

#149

Post by leobg »

lordnacho wrote: post #133
leobg wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“At one point”. You’re talking 2010? I don’t think an amateur still has a chance of breaking even in 2022. Am I wrong?

It was early 2020. Bought some stuff, made some adverts, saw how the interface works on FB, saw how Shopify works, watched orders coming in and get fulfilled. I still don't really know how to do any of those things properly but it was clear that someone out there was clicking on ads and buying stuff from me.

I’m impressed and surprised. Can you share what the product was?

Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?

#150

Post by lordnacho »

leobg wrote: post #149
lordnacho wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was early 2020. Bought some stuff, made some adverts, saw how the interface works on FB, saw how Shopify works, watched orders coming in and get fulfilled. I still don't really know how to do any of those things properly but it was clear that someone out there was clicking on ads and buying stuff from me.

I’m impressed and surprised. Can you share what the product was?

Gamer glasses. Reduce blue light kinda thing. There really wasn't much to it, I just borrowed the manufacturer's videos and pics, threw up some ads and then people started ordering.
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