is it just fine to monetize a new forum?
- Thread starter etc
- Start date
kavin said:
That's what we did when we first opened Chatting Time. We waited until we got a decent amount of activity before installing anything at all as far as adsense and similar things are concerned. I would not like joining a new forum that's already been bombarded with ads. The only way something like this would be acceptable is if it were a promotion forum and you were getting a fair few requests already. But Adsense is never a good thing to have for forums just starting out.
I think its alright as long as the ads aren't overwhelming. Obviously you aren't going to make any money from a low trafficked forum but if you have them on from the beginning, you wont have to worry about people being upset over you introducing advert's later.
theezy said:
That makes sense when you put it that way, Theezy. Also, another thing that just dawned on me is that if you aren't crazy about the ads, you can install and enable the AdBlocker for the browser you're using. Also, I've noticed too that sometimes ads can seriously make a page run slow, even if done properly. Found this out on my forum, believe it or not. I ended up installing the Adblocker for Google Chrome, and it's really upped my site's loading speed by a long shot. It's awesome and it doesn't look like we have ads at all, even though we do.
Webcrafter
New Arrival
When you say adding ads, how many and what type of ads are you talking about? Putting a simple banner ad at the top of the page is normal and pretty much not out of the ordinary for users, be it a google adsense ad or an affiliate banner. If however you have a popup or pop under, then the top banner and lower banners plus ads on every post you are definitely going to be not only slowed down but also chasing many people away.
There are a great number of ways to monetize a blog or forum without annoying visitors or chasing away newcomers.
There are a great number of ways to monetize a blog or forum without annoying visitors or chasing away newcomers.
no i don't have pop up ads. i just put those ads just to fill up the empty spaces on the top right of the forum and sidebars. i do think if a site has no columns at all will look like too simple so i added a sidebar but also added google ads.
UKBusinessLabs
New Arrival
Start the way you mean to go on. Don't build up a forum with no ads then suddenly 'impose' them on your members; that's a recipe for an exodus! Do or do not - and stick with it. :great:
Webcrafter
New Arrival
That is an excellent suggestion. People dislike change, not to mention the initial presentation of your forum and content becomes a reason that some actually frequent your forum. Drastic changes like that can surely upset some users and get some bad advertisement going for you to be sure.UKBusinessLabs said:
One of the classes I took hit on the topic of re-branding and changing usability or appearance. One of the chief and most most difficult things to achieve with a user is trust and comfort. Losing that will surely result in the loss of followers. Take for example gamers in games like Everquest or World of Warcraft. Suggest that in-game items be allowed to be sold and bought for profit and see what response is received. Many players would simply stop playing, even if the buying and selling is placed on a completely different server that has absolutely no effect on their game play. Just the idea to them is hideous, personally I don't see why they would even care if it was completely separated from their game play like Everquest II did but that is simply how it is.
Webcrafter
New Arrival
Gimgak said:
That is a very good suggestion, adsense has its advantages such as automatically selecting according to topic, but the have a bad stigma attached. Other affiliate programs usually are better accepted and offer a greater return as well.
Gimgak said:
I know my staff members and I all use AdBlocker on CT, which blocks ads for us, but I do like the idea of doing more appealing ads like online stores and stuff. Would be a lot better than having ads being related to what you're talking about. For instance, we have a section where we talk about forum hosts and domains. So the ads on the bottom are mostly all related to various hosts, domain sites, stuff like that. But I do like the idea about the stores and stuff though.
Gimgak said:
i agree though but due to the fact that my forum is mainly focused on the city only and people here don't buy online, affiliates might just don't work. yet i'm currently looking for company accepting affiliates that also operates in our city, maybe a company selling computer accessories and the likes
etc said:
From what I'm lead to understand, Google AdSense is also very strict. I know my tech-admin was saying one time that a person can get banned from AdSense if any one person clicks too many ads at one time. Kind of a stupid rule if you ask me. I think he said something that if a single user, with the same IP, clicks on ads too many times, then your account could get banned or suspended. Not sure if I worded that right, but it was something along those lines anyway.
lots of forums actually have google adsense on it. i'm pretty sure some regular users might accidentally click ads many times a day yet their account still are there. its easy to sabotage a competitor if that is what will happen.
Webcrafter said:
That's ridiculous. Without change, you wouldn't even be able to make that post on the Internet.
Change is relative, and the "amount of change" is what people appreciate or not. Will adding a text ad at the footer really cause people to suddenly not post on that forum? Probably not. Will adding popup ads cause people to leave? Probably yes. It's all dependent on the amount of change and the time it takes to implement the whole change.
Webcrafter
New Arrival
etc said:
From my understanding, what the banning rule pertains to is the adsense account owner. I believe they track the computer and IP address that you log into your account with, if it is found a number of clicks are from there then a review is performed. I could be wrong but I believe that is how it happens. As for the visitors giving multiple clicks, they only count one click from that IP address over a certain period of time I believe.
The banning of the account, and this is after a warning has a great deal to do with content as well. If you have illegal or adult material on your site where it is being displayed
Webcrafter said:
Thanks for clarifying this. My co-founder and I were discussing this some time ago, and the details are more than I can remember. About all I knew was that they had some pretty strict guidelines for who can click ads. I have heard of stories where one particular IP kept clicking ads, and a person's account was banned. I guess they think that any one person clicking ads too much is cheating. Sounds a bit desperate if you ask me.
D
Deleted member 8254
Having adsense in new forum is not a good choice, it may sometime lead to some problem.
Me to own a forum..no activity till now.. so waitin for a good traffic and to place the ad
Me to own a forum..no activity till now.. so waitin for a good traffic and to place the ad
Affiliates
