You may have noticed the ads like the one above now on our blog. We are beta testing the TTZ Media ads soon to be launched. TTZ Media is one of John Chow’s sites. The engine behind it was created by a local developer and friend Jeff Kee.
So far there are 2 things I would suggest for the release although I am not sure if it is possible.
- Code to limit the number of ads displayed. We had to create this ourselves with PHP. We will post that code later if people want it.
- A more Canadian sites to buy from. The ads appear to be US sites and I think that if your audience is mostly Canadian it would work better if the sites were Canadian too.
What do you think? Were you shocked to see ads on our site? Does it cheapen our blog?
Jeff Kee
May 10, 2007 3:46 pm
Good point on #1 – Adsense Deluxe on WordPress did it automatically for me so I just did not think of it as I was testing. That shouldn’t be too hard to implement.
#2 – The XML feed has no segregation or identification of what stores are Canadian and what are US. It’s sipmly not possible at this point unless the XML feed provider does it differently.
Thanks for the mention!
Matt
May 10, 2007 6:44 pm
In my opinion, the ads don’t just cheapen your Blog, they cheapen your whole business and the BlueFur name. They give you a bad reputation.
Why? Well, advertisements on a Web Host’s site usually means they’re not making enough money to keep them running from sales alone. Which could mean that they have a bad Service, and many other things.
I’m quite sure that BlueFur is making enough money to keep their Business running and be quite profitable. No, the Ads don’t really matter to me. What I’m concerned about is potential-customers coming to your Blog and seeing the Ads and possibly saying to themselves:
“Hmm, advertisements, that could mean that they aren’t making enough money from sales… Which could mean their service is crap… I better not risk it, let’s see what their competitors are offering.”
Of course, Ads on a new Host are more acceptable (although, not really), but BlueFur isn’t exactly a New Host. The names new, but the company is not.
Just my opinions.
Nick
May 11, 2007 12:53 pm
I did notice the ads on the blog awhile ago , but i never though much of it other than there is a lot of them. Matt is right though about the advertising, but i don’t think it should matter because it’s just on the blog right? Like if it was all over the site then that wouldn’t be the best.
I checked out this advertising company is there a sign up around for it some where right now because i can’t find anything , or is this beta testing only allowed to certain people?
blogadmin
May 11, 2007 1:00 pm
We have decided to just beta test it for 10 days so we can provide feedback.
I heard that some other hosts are already posting banners in there cPanel. We have no plans on doing that.
blogadmin
May 11, 2007 1:02 pm
If you email John about it here…
http://www.johnchow.com/contact/
He might let you do the beta testing.
Jeff Kee
May 11, 2007 1:07 pm
The signup form is currently hidden/disabled.
I’m currently developing/rolling out the multi product banner, optimizing the tracking system etc. Once that is done it goes public and big.
Sonia
May 11, 2007 2:23 pm
I tend to agree with Matt. Ads seem to be annoying if they do not blend very well with a context. I can’t wait to see more web services and less ads.
Nick
May 11, 2007 7:18 pm
I would email John if i could beta test it , but i currently don’t have a website that is up and running right now. I’m in the process of starting a new business but not to sure what to do yet.
Also don’t put ads in the cpanel or all around the site because that really makes you look cheap. Ads should only be for free services.
I’m just wondering how many hits do you get on this blog , and have you earned anything from those ads yet.