by Joe Wallace
We all want to make money blogging by inserting Google Adsense, Chitika and other pay-per-click or affiliate links. According to a recent AdWeek story the landscape could be changing, especially for those who struggle with the technology to insert ad code and modify blog templates to accomodate it.
According to AdWeek, an experiment is underway by the Wall Street Journal and other top-level publishers. What do readers get during the test? Something called “interruptive” ads” that pop up as you try to access a web page.
It’s not a new idea, but according to AdWeek if the idea catches on there will be much more intrusive advertising cluttering up our laptop screens.
What does this mean for bloggers?
For those using freebie WordPress, Blogspot and other platforms, some of these ads will happen with or without your permission if the owners adopt a more aggressive ad policy. For others, the challenge will be incorporating these more intrusive ads into their current placement systems. If Google hops on board, chances are the ads will eventually be as ubiquitous as the hated pop-up once was.
For blogging noobs eager to make a buck with as little effort possible, this experiment is probably a welcome development, but for the rest of us who actually care about readership it feels a lot like a step backwards to web 1.0. aesthetics.
In fact, intrusive ads–in the minds of some (me) are just as annoying as pop-ups and (with luck) the shelf life of this not-so-new ad delivery method could be limited. But the future could hold a vast amount of annoyance if this experiment gains traction.
I strongly dislike anything that moves or flashes on a web page. I avoid pages that have such features, and I make sure none of it occurs on my websites.
I do have Google Adsense on one blog, but I would likely remove it if Google allowed interruptive ads.
I’ve been noticing this a lot more lately in general. When I come across one of these suckers, I click, then I stare in disbelief, then I scroll frantically in “make it stop, make it stop, make it stop!” mode. I’m not sure how anybody thinks they’re going to sell products this way.