^ :smile: Rob, happy to donate a fiver towards cost with no strings attached - can I do that through the same site that subscribers pay into?
The ads haven't bothered me up until this afternoon. Not at all keen on the square ones which are intrusive. The others are OK. BTW - one of the ads for cheapie motorcycle gear actually seems quite interesting, but the prices are so cheap, I am wondering how kosher it is. If I try to buy something for about £2, will my credit card details be ripped off, or my address sent to porn merchants? I imagine you have no real say on the companies advertising on the site (or surely you wouldn't have allowed the Thai babes...).
Thanks Chris, that's a kind offer. I don't want you to feel like you have to pay though! Everyone is free to use the site however they wish. I just want people to know that when you install an ad blocking plugin it effects the site. I have changed the notification so it's not so annoying...
It's not just ads that Ad Blocking software stops; there have been many cases of subverting the embedded adverts to push malware onto machines and this is only going to increase. Ad Blocking software helps to stop this and numerous other potential attacks and even tracking software. At the moment your site is like a museum that doesn't charge an entrance fee but suggests a donation if you like it. Some people will pay, some people won't. You may install a cafe to try and make some extra money but not everyone has to use the cafe. If you truly want to make money of the website then you'll have to lock it down and charge a fee to access it all: No fee, no view. Think carefully about going down this route. Maybe the site got popular because it was free entry to start with? Changing this may have a negative impact on visitors and actually do the opposite of what you want (more money) by driving visits down.
In addition to antonye's comment above........ Several 'contributor's' to the Ducatisti website apparently lost their contributions when the site folded........and that wasn't a compuslory contribution site. Making a subscription compulsory will probably drive numerous people away for fear of a similar thing happening again.
The beauty of AdBlocker is you can show it an advert to block. Click on the AdBlocker logo, select Block an add on this page and highlight the one you want blocked. Just for your info, it works on pop up banners too....... Maybe as a user of the site, I should be more inclined to pay my £15 a year, but other forums don't charge so why should this one.
Very rarely do Google ads contain Malware. It's never going to be compulsory. You don't get charged to use this site.
The way I see it is as follows: 1 - You browse the site and display adverts. The forum makes a small amount of revenue from the ads displaying. 2 - You install the Ad Block plugin and have a notification on the site. (You can add the site to a whitelist of allowed sites in the Ad Block settings if you wish to support the site by displaying ads, thus removing the notification). 3 - You subscribe £15 yearly to remove all ads (I will definitely look at reducing this figure as it is quite high). Is that fair?
I appreciate that but other sites don't stick up annoying banners because I have chosen to use a plugin
There are plenty of forums out there which arent as good as this. The traffic on here is very good, the people are great and the forum itself is well built and maintained. But people will always rile against being controlled....thats what the banner feels like.....or did until I used AdBlocker to block it. Ive chosen not to see the adverts. I dont know if your ('barely anything') revenue drops because I use ad blocker...I doubt it, but I'm not interested in Asian brides or having bike gear shoved down my neck. If they were more relevant ads, maybe it wouldnt be an issue?
Another interesting point. Big companies are paying Ad Block companies to be allowed to 'slip' through the ad block filter. Google, Microsoft and Amazon to name a few. The fees are hefty and bank roll the development of Adblock.
What if everyone used Ad Block? What would happen to all the free to use sites online? Facebook/Twitter? I'm not sure, but it's an interesting point of conversation and online publishers need to work out how to deal with it over time. Ad Block software is increasing in popularity; a large percentage of people now use it. I mentioned 'barely anything' to Chris' question about how much revenue I make an hour - which is accurate. However, if 40% of people use ad block, over a month, that can restrict a chunk of potential revenue for the forum.
If it makes a difference, I'll turn off µBlock for this site for a while, and see how annoying the ads become. If they get too annoying, I can turn it back on, then use it to block the "you're using an ad-blocker" banner... ;-) BTW: I've seen similar websites which are generally free, but paying a fee provides access to more features (e.g. being allowed to post adverts in For Sale areas, etc.). I'm not sure if that would be right for here, but it's another idea to throw in to the pot.
Surely we have to understand why people use adblockers in the first place. I use it because the adverts are a) not relevant b) downright seedy and cheap c) irritating in that they are animated Having said that, I've just paused ad blocker and I get Ducati adverts, moo business cards (who I buy cards from) and stocks and shares. Google analytics will push some stuff (if you've ever looked at anything on the Halfords site you get bombarded for weeks with the item you bought....why would I want to buy it twice?!) but surely there should be some justification for putting an ad up by looking at its target audience. Lets run a poll Has Anyone Bought Anything Via Advertising On This Site? | Ducati Forum
Advertising is not just about a direct sale from a click. You can't really expect the poll to determine whether or not advertising is worth it. There lots of reasons that companies advertise online. Brand awareness is a big part of it too. Advertising and marketing influence your decisions you make as a consumer. You may not click on an advert but may later make a purchase, possibly through another channel at a later date. There is far more to it than clicking and purchasing.
Ok, so how much would it generate for a year at 1 hour per day? You know exactly where I'm going with this don't you? :smile:
