Since I had a break last week and let my friend John ask a technical question, this week I want to get back to hearing people’s thoughts on their blog. More specifically, I want to know what your thoughts are on advertisements on your blog.
Unless you have paid WordPress their annual subscription to remove ads, we all have them on our site. Normally they are above the comments section, and there is just the one. The only time I see them on my site or anyone else’s is when I log in on my phone as it has no ad blocker. You may not even know you have them, but as I mention above, if you haven’t paid WordPress your annual fee, you have adverts on your blog.
It annoys me a little, but I understand WordPress provide us with a great hosting platform, and they have to make their money somewhere. I will be paying the subscription this month to give me no adverts at all, and wondered how many of you already do this? Or do you not mind the adverts on your blog?
Expanding on this slightly, have any of you been approached or accepted some of these schemes from companies who will pay you annually to provide certain links to their sites? I get contacted quite a bit from people, whether it be advertising their film with a blog post, or a trailer, or someone wanting me to link to their site for a certain amount of money. I haven’t accepted any yet, but I always get tempted. I know WordPress is against money-making stuff, but there is one they allow which is the WordAds programme. I looked into that but it needed so many thousand views to make a dollar, and I felt I just didn’t have the traffic to make it worth while.
Are any of you using any schemes like these? We would all love to generate some money from our blogs I imagine, and I’m just interested to see if any of you have actually achieved this or are actively trying. I may well consider allowing a couple of links one day, if the money was worth it. But it would have to be something special and worthwhile, otherwise I would feel like I’m literally selling out.
So, what are your thoughts on adverts on YOUR site, and how do you feel when you see them on other people’s sites?
If you would like to see all the other questions from this series, please click HERE and check them out! 🙂
Head In A Vice 
r361n4
/ January 20, 2013As far as from a viewing angle, the only kinds of ads I really mind are pop-ups and ads with volume that cover up whatever you’re already listening to. I generally am totally fine seeing ads on other blogs’ pages because I like the thought of them at least getting some compensation.
As far as my own site, it’s not exactly a way to make a living but in the month since I’ve started using ads I’ve racked up enough money to pay for last month’s movie tickets so it definitely helps!
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013Nice man! So which scheme are you using if you have made money?? If you dont mind me asking, as I dont recall seeing any ads on your site! 🙂
I dont think we wordpress users get the massive flashy ones that block words, but I could be wrong, I just havent seen them.
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Alastair
/ January 20, 2013I elected to have the adverts on them. They can be a source of revenue. But as of yet, I have heard nothing so i am contemplating removing it again
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013That with the WordAds Alastair??
It just seemed a long time to wait and so many visitors just to make anything 😦
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Alastair
/ January 20, 2013Not worth it then. Think I’ll dump it
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013I think you can check your status with them. So maybe see if you have made any money before you pack it in. Might be a nice surprise for you 🙂
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Alastair
/ January 20, 2013Cheers I’ll have a look
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013No worries. I never really notice ads on your site 🙂 otherwise ill click them and make you some money 😉
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Alastair
/ January 20, 2013Apparently I’ve not earned anything yet. Think it’s not been long enough yet
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013Damn – nothing ventured and all that!
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Alastair
/ January 20, 2013Yeah. I’ll give it a while longer. Not sure how long I have had it on there
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013Think I did it for a day….. Where does it put the ads on your site?
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Alastair
/ January 20, 2013Just above the comments
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013So the same as the ones we all have, I may as well turn them back on 🙂
Cheers dude
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Alastair
/ January 20, 2013Yeah … I tend to click on everybody’s ones.
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013Good deed man! 🙂
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Alastair
/ January 20, 2013Well if it gets them just a penny, it will help
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013True, nice move. Maybe I should click more for people! 🙂
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Alastair
/ January 20, 2013🙂
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williamjepma
/ January 20, 2013I just found out there’s ads on my site when a friend of mine read my blog on his phone. I don’t really mind them that much, but would like to have the power to just not have them. I guess if I’m being paid it can be okay, but it’d have to be an ad that isn’t intrusive, has no sound or anything, and doesn’t irritate people.
Which pretty much means no ads. 🙂
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013Yeah I found out by accident too when I used my phone. The only way around it is to pay the $30 or so to remove them for 12 months.
Thats why Im tempted with other methods, I feel I may as well benefit rather than anyone……..but Im not convinced just yet 🙂
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fernandorafael
/ January 20, 2013Unless they’re pop-ups, I don’t mind them.
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013I dont think WordPress ones pop up luckily, I’m the same as you, hate them!!
Cheers for stopping by dude 🙂
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Ryan
/ January 20, 2013I pay the annual fee to have no ads. Can’t stand them, make everything look ugly and out of place. In order to show ads that I actually want, I’d have to move to wordpress.org and right now I don’t really feeling like moving everything over there.
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013Yeah I know WordPress.com are pretty strict, but I’m sure there are some links and ads we could use…..I need to look into it I’m just curious what others do.
I had a feeling you would of paid, given the OCD levels of cleanliness and neatness on your site!! One of the smartest looking I’ve seen dude, you know it! Cheers Ryan 🙂
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Ryan
/ January 20, 2013Hahah, you know it!
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013Lol, but that’s why you win these best looking site awards, god damn you! 😉
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youjivinmeturkey
/ January 20, 2013I Don’t Mind The Ads, And I Have A Very Specific Reason For Having Them On My Page…
…They Allow Me To, Eventually, Splurge On Notepads And Ink-Pens. I Prefer Working Pen To Paper, And The Ads Allow Me To Continue Working Exactly As I Wanna 🙂 Write It Down, THEN Transfer My Work Onto The Blog.
I Like The Idea Of Being “Old-School” hehehe
So, As Long As The Ads Aren’t Blaringly Annoying, They’re Just Fine. 😉
-B.
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013Old school indeed!! So is that the word ads too? Again, haven’t really noticed them on your site…..
Nice reasoning, thanks for sharing Brad!! 🙂
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claratsi
/ January 20, 2013when the time comes for me to part with some cash and get my own domain i will have no aversion to ads and wordpress (free) is such an amazing platform its understandable for them to sell adspace – its a fair compromise considering how social, rewarding and creative blogging/writing can be.
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013Nice approach Claratsi!
Thats it, we have the option to buy out of them, but yeah I dont have a problem with them trying to make some money.
Cheers dude 🙂
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Todd Benefiel
/ January 20, 2013When I started with my baseball game site, I definitely chose to not have ads…I have columns and widgets that I worked hard to arrange properly and keep in-balance (I like order, too!), and I’m sure ads placed haphazardly by an outside source would disrupt all of that. I do have a couple ads on the baseball site that I put there myself, mostly as an in-joke for the people who know me and my game, but otherwise…no thanks!
The same thing goes with my movie review site: I don’t want ads at all, ever, no matter how much money is offered (well, within reason, of course). I’ve checked with a few friends and followers, who’ve told me as of right now, they’ve seen no ads (and none on the baseball site, which has been up since last August). But trust me, the minute people start seeing ads, I’m paying the $30.
I do have a theory on this, however: my little baseball site has just a few followers, and hardly any traffic that I’m aware of. Yet another site I visit, that’s been up about the same length of time, has quite a few ads posted…but they also have a gazillion followers. I wondered if the ads were placed only on sites that had a lot of traffic; perhaps the thinking is, why bother advertising on a rarely-visited site?
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013I just checked both your sites on my mobile, and cant see any ads! So jealous 😉
You know, maybe your theory is correct, maybe they only trigger after so many views. I don’t know, I just assumed they were on all wordpress ones since they are trying to make money as they are hosting our sites for free basically.
Cheers Todd! 🙂
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Todd Benefiel
/ January 20, 2013Hey, thanks for checking my sites for ads…much appreciate the info! Don’t be jealous…I’m sure I’ll start seeing ads at some point, at which time I’ll thank WordPress for their free hosting by offering a donation of $30! 😉
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013Haha, just wanted to check it out.
Im gonna have to pay the $30, but ive already paid for the.com domain, and for the custom colours (and css which I cant work!). Expensive stuff 🙂
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Todd Benefiel
/ January 20, 2013It was my goal with both sites not to pay a dime for either, with the knowledge that the sites would be relatively plain and simple affairs. But I’ve been continually tempted by thoughts of new fonts, new colors, and more of an opportunity to run things my own way.
Yes, expensive stuff…which is why I think I’ll save my money and prepare for the possible ad situation!
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013I know, I started this with wordpress as I knew it was free. And it is, BUT if you want things 100% how you want them, it costs a little. Im in this for the long haul so will be going for it. Just a shame its not a one time only payment, every 12 months is a bit annoying! 🙂
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Todd Benefiel
/ January 20, 2013Exactly. I’m in it for the long haul, too (I hope!), so I’ll be following your lead soon and forking over some hard-earned cash…cash that would’ve gone for a few DVD purchases, I’m sure!
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013Yeah, I get my work bonus next month so figure I’ll use it for sprucing up this little place!
I really wanted start my Walking Dead comic collection though…..and I want to buy a mac……have to put those on the back burner! 🙂
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Austin 'BishopReview'
/ January 20, 2013I don’t mind them on other people’s sites, and I can’t really afford to take them off mine. I did get an email from a company that offered to pay me, but I was unfamiliar with them and didn’t wish to pursue that. I have been tempted to have WordAds, but I get about 2,000 views a month, which doesn’t add up to much money. Maybe some day, when views get higher, I’ll do that.
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013Yeah the emails I get are from companies I’m not aware of. Whilst the money always sounds good, its the old ‘if its too good to be true’ motto which enters my head!
WordAds, seems a few people want to do it but no one so far is convincing me its worth it!
Cheers Austin 🙂
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ckckred
/ January 20, 2013I don’t put ads on my site and can’t view them unless I log out on my WordPress account. I put them on once on my page but thought they looked too distracting.
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013That’s it, we cant see them on our own site really. Its only by accident I found out they were on mine.
Looking distracting and off putting is what really has stopped me doing it so far. I want my site to look presentable, and the more ads around the worse it looks I feel.
Cheers for the comment buddy 🙂
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Mr Rumsey
/ January 20, 2013I tend to forget that they are on my site until occasionally I see them on my phone or in some other way. They then do annoy me, but currently not enough to pay out to remove them. Maybe one day…
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013That’s it, it’s really just the one above our comments, and only if people use their phone mostly. Still, the OCD part of me wants paying for them if they are there……
Cheers buddy 🙂
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gregory moss
/ January 20, 2013I have adverts on my blog?! No – seriously – do I? I’ve never noticed them. I’ve always felt I’ve been left out. 🙂
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013I will check on my phone for you! Normally if you log out they appear, but my phone always brings them up as it has no ad blocker. Apologies for being the one to break this to you Greg! I only found out by accident! 🙂
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Erin @ RiffsAndReviews
/ January 20, 2013My original site is pretty small in regards to views so I’m not too sure if ads are on there, but I went self-hosted on my new book review site and definitely no ads there! I may eventually try affiliate links out on the new site, but for now I just want to focus on content and not money : )
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Tyson Carter
/ January 20, 2013The advantage of being self hosted I guess! Fair enough WordPress want to make some money from us!
Always better to focus on content rather than money, but Im sure some people make some good money from it 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
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Randall A. Golden
/ January 21, 2013Ads don’t bother me as long as they’re silent and not pop-ups — not really something worth fretting about, IMHO. WP didn’t even start inserting ads into my blog till traffic on a few select posts passed a certain level. Since my traffic has been very slowly trending upward over time, I’ve gone ahead and taken the plunge into WordAds, with the expectation of not seeing a single dime for many months…but I figured, if WP is inserting the ads whether I participate or not, I might as well sign up for a minuscule cut of those proceeds.
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Tyson Carter
/ January 21, 2013Fair enough Randall!!
Nice approach, I guess the only difference with WordAds (aside from making money) is they show ads to everyone, whereas now only a few get to see them. I believe anyway.
Thanks for your thoughts buddy 🙂
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Tom
/ January 21, 2013This is a great topic, and something I’ve been kind of on the fence about as of late. I’ve only started up my page in the last 2 yrs (July 2011) and I’ve not really expanded a whole lot. In fact it’s only been until recently that I’ve stumbled out into the world and realized how many more blogs are out there similar to mine and that really gets me excited. I paid WordPress to host my site last year for $19/year, so i guess I . . . don’t?. . . have ads running on my page. However, I am looking for a page upgrade and a new format that will allow me to do more things. You wouldn’t suggest using ads as a way of getting traffic? I would have thought ads would actually help INCREASE traffic and page views.
Also, and slightly off-topic. Is it just me, or does the Stat tracker bar graph on your page just drive one insane? It has been really inaccurate as of late and I’m not sure how many pple are actually seeing my posts. Guess I’m just a newb. haha
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Tyson Carter
/ January 21, 2013Cheers Tom
I don’t know if they would increase traffic as such, I guess they are hoping some of your visitors click their link so they arent really bringing anything to your site I don’t think. You could be right though! 🙂
I quite like the stat tracker! I have no idea how accurate it is, I always just believe it works properly. I do use the stat page a lot though to see which articles are being read. Always interests me and makes me happy to see what is being read!
Cheers for stopping by buddy 😛
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Terry Malloy's Pigeon Coop
/ January 21, 2013I don’t really mind having ads just as long as my page isn’t littered with them or they’re not pop up ones. I can use WordPress for free so it’s a small price to pay in my opinion. Most sites, even the biggest sites that get millions of hits per day have ads now, it’s just the way things work.
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Tyson Carter
/ January 21, 2013Yeah thats it, we just have one really so its not a huge deal when they host it for free, as you say.
It would be nice to choose our adverts, as I guess the big sites do (or they make money from it) but WordPress arent keen on us having our own adverts.
Thanks for your thoughts buddy 🙂
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mettelray
/ January 21, 2013I don’t like it to be honest but I can’t really imagine paying for not having them as I do not earn anything with my blog. If I did, I guess I would take them off. What I do like about it though, is that it could be much worse! They are just a small box, and I don’t mind them in posts because they don’t appear on my front page. Plus, no huge banner images that blink or something. Nothing moving across the screen. So, all in all, they are the best version of a forced add I can stand.
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Tyson Carter
/ January 21, 2013Thats it, there are much worse ads out there, so for free, its not too bad having the one small box. As you say, they arent on your home page.
Thanks for commenting 🙂
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johnlink00
/ January 21, 2013I echo the sentiments above that the ads aren’t prevalent enough to annoy me. I’m not sure if it is because I usually use Chrome, or what, but I can only remember seeing an ad once or twice, and it was always above the comments in a way which was not too imposing.
If they started trying to hit me with pop-ups, I would probably pay the $30… grudgingly.
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Tyson Carter
/ January 21, 2013Yeah always just the one above the comments. Pop ups are horrible though, so yeah Im glad we dont get spammed with them!
Cheers John 🙂
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ruth
/ January 21, 2013I have WordAds on my site. I actually don’t mind ’em so much as they’re not overly intrusive. They don’t have pop-ups though, now THAT’d be extremely annoying.
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Tyson Carter
/ January 21, 2013It seems as though everyone agrees pop ups would be the worst thing! Very nice of wordpress not to introduce them – yet!! Thanks for stopping by Ruth 🙂
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atothewr
/ January 21, 2013I’ve used Word adds and Ad sense on Blogger, but neither one of them brought in much money. On Blogger I tried to put them out of the way so they wouldn’t be a nuisance. I don’t know if that is why they didn’t make anything or not. I just didn’t want to bombard people. If they see it, great, if not, no harm no loss. On WordPress the Word Adds run at the bottom of the post so I didn’t think it would be too big an issue. No one complained so I guess it was okay.
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Tyson Carter
/ January 21, 2013You could choose where to put them? That’s quite cool. As you say, at least now they are pretty much out of the way, and as long as no one has complained you may as well keep trying it. Hope you get more money from it soon dude! 🙂
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sanclementejedi
/ January 22, 2013We added ads when we got our own domain we have been using Adsense with moderate success and Amazon with little success. Hope at some point to defray the costs of running the blog and perhaps even pay for some of those trips to the cinema.
We certainly did not plaster our site with advertisements or anything like that
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Tyson Carter
/ January 22, 2013Seems a lot of people are trying the ads with different levels of success. Wish you luck in making enough money to cover your cinema trips! Thats the dream!! Thanks for commenting 🙂
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Teepee12
/ January 22, 2013I half-heartedly added one advert for a place where I actually buy a lot of my electronic gear, but it hasn’t yielded any returns and I’m probably going to remove it. It’s not that I don’t want to make money, but I’m uncomfortable about the whole thing. Probably why I remain poor.
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Tyson Carter
/ January 22, 2013Not good if it makes you uncomfortable. You should try the wordads ones now your #1 on google and getting crazy volumes of visitors 🙂
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Mark Walker
/ January 22, 2013It would be great to earn some money from blogging but I’m completely against selling someone else’s product to further my own gains. I hate that I’m still on the cheap wordpress site and have no choice in the advert that does appear but I will upgrade someday and that will be the end of that for me.
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Tyson Carter
/ January 22, 2013When you say cheap WordPress do you mean the .com version or that you havent paid to remove their ads?
Im with you, it goes against everything I believe in advertising for money, BUT depending on the money it brought in, I cant say I wouldnt consider it one day if it was financially twisting my arm…..
Thanks Mark 🙂
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Mark Walker
/ January 22, 2013Yeah, just the .com site. The council site! 😉
I suppose if it was lucrative enough to give up my day job then I would give it some serious consideration but I doubt that’ll ever happen. In te meantime, I’ll keep my shoulder to the wheel. 😉
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Tyson Carter
/ January 22, 2013I’d advertise anything if it meant giving up my day job 😉
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Parlor of Horror
/ January 22, 2013F*ck ads. I know these websites have to make money and all, but we are constantly bambarded with ads, its sickening. I hate having to wait for ads to run when I want to see a vid on youtube! If it takes too long, I click off the page. I was offered a revenue thing on youtube and myspace when I was getting a lot of traffic and turned it down. Who the hell is clicking all these ads to make advertisers want it anyway? People have programs that click thru so they can get revenue – its all a farce. Some websites, you can’t even tell what the ads are and what the content is… its dishonest, deceiving and it annoys the sh*t out of me. BTW, like you new gravatar logo – don’t know if I mentioned that yet.
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Tyson Carter
/ January 23, 2013GREAT response!! 🙂
I didn’t know that about the programme people use? Sneaky. Im with you, I cant imagine many people click them, but they must to make it worthwhile I guess?
I hate the ads before videos, I have also clicked off them before!
Thanks re the logo. I will be making a post thanking a special someone for designing it for me very soon! Glad you like it, I love it and appreciate you noticing! 🙂
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Parlor of Horror
/ January 23, 2013I don’t mind the one ad that comes up on wordpress blogs. its not too intrusive and doesn’t start auto-playing as soon as the page loads. I think it says that it is an ad, too – which is probably the most important thing. It would be nice if it was a little more boxed out of the post, but to stay a free blog, I guess we got to put up with a little advertising.
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Tyson Carter
/ January 23, 2013Exactly, it could be SO MUCH worse. And it’s not on the homepage, which is the most important thing for me I think.
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