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Re-introduction of Banner Ads

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  • 19-09-2012 5:23pm
    #1
    Dav
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,840 ✭✭✭


    Hello all,

    As of tomorrow (20/09), we're going to be enabling 2 more ad slots on our thread view page for logged in members. This is how the page currently works for logged out members with ad slots after posts number 1 and 9 on a thread (and is similar to how touch.boards.ie works).

    This is, unfortunately, one of those difficult but "absolutely essential to our business" sorts of decisions we've had to take. Since we replaced the top banner with the Search box on our older skins and carried that forward to the new theme, we have shown 36 million less ads than before which is a huge chunk of revenue we're missing out on.

    We're working on huge changes to the site at the moment, starting with the Talk To forums which we hope will be our main source of revenue for the site in the future. After that we'll be rebuilding the site from the ground up, completely severing our ties with VBulletin's software which has simply been too much of a hindrance for us for too long. All these changes cost a lot of money and so we need to re-introduce these banners to help pay for them.

    Finally, I would add that if all people are going to do is say "go get Ad-Block and it won't matter" or something similar, I would point out that those ads are quite literally paying the wages of 12 people and that we're not Google with tons of money in the bank :)

    I would also point out that Subscribers don't see banner ads at all, so if you'd like to support the site and not be bothered by the ads, you can see more information on that at the end of this thread.
    Post edited by Shield on


«134567…11

Comments

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    #2
    MugMugs
    Registered Users Posts: 17,875 ✭✭✭✭MugMugs


    Dav,.you've also said that Subscribers will see a better return for subscribing. I subscribe to support the site I use so much however, have you any update on your progress on this direct user orientated source of income?


  • Options
    #3
    Where To
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,455 ✭✭✭Where To


    Subscribers aren't immune from ads on the touch site.:mad:

    Great big scary ones when you scroll to the bottom of the page.

    *shudder*


  • Options
    #4
    minidazzler
    Registered Users Posts: 14,739 ✭✭✭✭minidazzler


    *In before someone gets indignant about you daring to have ads on the site.*


  • Options
    #5
    Boards.ie: Danny
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,609 ✭✭✭Boards.ie: Danny


    Where To wrote: »
    Subscribers aren't immune from ads on the touch site.:mad:

    Great big scary ones when you scroll to the bottom of the page.

    *shudder*

    Can I assume you'll be filing a bug report over in Site Development for this one? :o

    Danny


  • Options
    #6
    Where To
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,455 ✭✭✭Where To


    Boards.ie: Danny wrote: »
    Can I assume you'll be filing a bug report over in Site Development for this one? :o

    Danny
    I will if it is a bug. I thought they were meant to be there.


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    #7
    Boards.ie: Danny
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,609 ✭✭✭Boards.ie: Danny


    Where To wrote: »
    I will if it is a bug. I thought they were meant to be there.

    Subscribers aren't mean to see ads if they have their option set to Remove 'em :)

    Danny


  • Options
    #8
    Where To
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,455 ✭✭✭Where To


    Boards.ie: Danny wrote: »
    Subscribers aren't mean to see ads if they have their option set to Remove 'em :)

    Danny
    My bad:o

    Running adblock, never realised I had ads enabled.

    Cheers Danny


  • Options
    #9
    Boards.ie: Danny
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,609 ✭✭✭Boards.ie: Danny


    Where To wrote: »
    My bad:o

    Running adblock, never realised I had ads enabled.

    Cheers Danny

    No problem, I browsed the touch site with ads removed and found none myself :)

    Danny


  • Options
    #10
    anncoates
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,925 ✭✭✭✭anncoates


    Re: the gigantic ads at the bottom.of the touch screen: it's more accurate to say you've added a small browsing area to the advert.


  • Options
    #11
    Sarky
    Closed Accounts Posts: 31,967 ✭✭✭✭Sarky


    Well if it has to be done, then grand. I *think* the site will manage with a few more ads.

    But if ads with sound ever become the norm then that's it, I'm out.


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    #12
    Micky Dolenz
    Registered Users Posts: 44,080 ✭✭✭✭Micky Dolenz


    It's a free service, the least people can do is expect some sort of revenue making aspect . Advertising is the most obvious way to do so.


  • Options
    #13
    RUCKING FETARD
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,455 ✭✭✭RUCKING FETARD


    Sarky wrote: »
    Well if it has to be done, then grand. I *think* the site will manage with a few more ads.

    But if ads with sound ever become the norm then that's it, I'm out.
    Turn your sound off.:pac::pac::pac::p


  • Options
    #14
    Nodin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 46,938 ✭✭✭✭Nodin


    Dav wrote: »
    Hello all,

    As of tomorrow (20/09), we're going to be enabling 2 more ad slots on our thread view page for logged in members. This is how the page currently works for logged out members with ad slots after posts number 1 and 9 on a thread (and is similar to how touch.boards.ie works).

    This is, unfortunately, one of those difficult but "absolutely essential to our business" sorts of decisions we've had to take. Since we replaced the top banner with the Search box on our older skins and carried that forward to the new theme, we have shown 36 million less ads than before which is a huge chunk of revenue we're missing out on.

    We're working on huge changes to the site at the moment, starting with the Talk To forums which we hope will be our main source of revenue for the site in the future. After that we'll be rebuilding the site from the ground up, completely severing our ties with VBulletin's software which has simply been too much of a hindrance for us for too long. All these changes cost a lot of money and so we need to re-introduce these banners to help pay for them.

    Finally, I would add that if all people are going to do is say "go get Ad-Block and it won't matter" or something similar, I would point out that those ads are quite literally paying the wages of 12 people and that we're not Google with tons of money in the bank :)

    I would also point out that Subscribers don't see banner ads at all, so if you'd like to support the site and not be bothered by the ads, you can see more information on that at the end of this thread.

    Could yez not stick the ad over the first post and under the last on the page?


  • Options
    #15
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    As long as none are animated and/or have sound, then absolutely no problem.


  • Options
    #16
    minidazzler
    Registered Users Posts: 14,739 ✭✭✭✭minidazzler


    Sarky wrote: »
    Well if it has to be done, then grand. I *think* the site will manage with a few more ads.

    But if ads with sound ever become the norm then that's it, I'm out.

    I'm not just out if that happens, I'm coming to burn the servers :pac: It's a crime against my ears to hear a website speaking when not requested to do so.
    RUCKING FETARD wrote: »
    Turn your sound off.:pac::pac::pac::p

    NEVAR, Ads with noise attached make me want to punch children.
    Nodin wrote: »
    Could yez not stick the ad over the first post and under the last on the page?

    That sounds like a terrible place to have it, I want the first thing my eyes to hit to be the first line of the post, in line ads make more sense if it's just views of the ads they are going for rather than clicks. Easier to tune out the noise.
    Deleted User wrote: »
    As long as none are animated and/or have sound, then absolutely no problem.

    Animated is grand as long as it's well done, flashing and being annoying leads to me burning servers...:pac:


    Can you guys tell us if it's pay per click or just pay per x number of views for the ads here? I'll definitely click 20 ads a day if it's pay per click.


  • Options
    #17
    Faith
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,657 Mod ✭✭✭✭Faith


    Suddenly today there's HUGE ads at the end of the screen. Like, full screen size if you scroll down. Is this a mistake or a new feature? I hate it if it's a new feature! I took a screenshot but uploading a picture on mobile is hard so let me know if you need the screenshot or not.

    /edit: This was moved from the thread about touch.boards, so just to clarify, I am talking about the mobile site.


  • Options
    #18
    Dav
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,840 ✭✭✭Dav


    Thanks everyone for the comments, I was really hoping people would be as understanding as this - consider my faith in humanity somewhat restored :)

    First things first, ads with sound are in fact the work of the Devil and Loki and we will have no part of them. Occasionally one will slip through when it's something that's using our "spare" inventory, but our sales team would never willingly take one. Ads that make sound when you do something with them (click/mouse over) are a different matter of course, I'm specifically thinking of the ads that play film trailers and so on. Standard rules of "if you see/hear one with sound, please let us know and we'll nuke it" still apply.

    We're looking at a small change in the layout which may mean that we take the ads from after post 1 and 9 and put them at the top and bottom of all posts as suggested above. I like this idea myself as it means that you have an uninterrupted flow of all the actual page content and whilst you'll see an ad at the top, you won't see another till the bottom of the page.

    Subscribers:
    This has unfortunately gone on the long finger for quite a while as we've had other essential work that needed taking care of. It is something that's always bubbling away in the back of everyone's mind here in the office and we will on occasion think of ideas and add them to our mental list. I'm hoping to have something in place before the end of the year as a revamp of the subscribers package.

    We don't operate on pay per click, it's pay for views (CPM is the business term for it - Wiki Article). Clicks improve the Clickthrough Rate obviously which is useful to us, but isn't the basis of how we sell ads.


  • Options
    #19
    Dravokivich
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators, Politics Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 22,360 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dravokivich


    Dav wrote: »
    Ads that make sound when you do something with them (click/mouse over) are a different matter of course,

    To be honest, this catches me out a lot. Sometimes I scroll through a page quickly and end up with the mouse going over the ad, unaware it's going to trigger a sound until I'm thinking, "wait... I don't remember this part in the song" :o

    Also, the way those kind of adds can be on either side of the page.

    - Browsing through the thread list it's on the left.
    - Browsing through a thread it's on the right.


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    #20
    Toto Wolfcastle
    Registered Users Posts: 25,005 ✭✭✭✭Toto Wolfcastle


    The ads on the touch site really are very very intrusive. I mainly browse Boards on my phone these days but the ads are putting me off. Is there a reason why they have to be so big?


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    #21
    Rev Hellfire
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,346 ✭✭✭Rev Hellfire


    I guess people need to remember; if you're not paying for the product, you are the product.

    geekpokepigsbarnsmall.jpg


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    #22
    quarryman
    Registered Users Posts: 7,496 ✭✭✭quarryman


    FFS. :mad::mad::mad:

    I'll have been a registered user of boards.ie 10 years next year. In that time the site has grown exponentially. However there was always a culture of not ruining what we had by adding advertisements. But they've slowly crept in. It's understandable. With extra page hits, servers need to be upgraded extra.

    But these banner ads are in the middle of the thread-list in the forums and in the threads themselves. This is over the top and I think my use of the site may drop as a result.

    I could understand it for guests but why are logged in users subjected to it? There are no other forums I use regularly that embed adds in the middle of the page like this. Talk about a kick in the face to the loyal users.


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    #23
    TouchingVirus
    Registered Users Posts: 8,584 ✭✭✭TouchingVirus


    Loyal users are the reason Boards needs advertisements. Site growth means more servers, more costs and therefore the requirement for more revenue. For being on the site 10 years, you've never once thought to put your hand in your pocket and give them some money. Neither have I, but I'm prepared to take these ad changes and just go with it. It's not like many, many other websites with popups/popunders/lightboxes over the content.

    Sure if it gets annoying I'll just pony up for a subscription; job done. But audio ads, or video adds even with "mouseovers" are a no, just don't do it. When you put a mouseover ad in the middle of page content you're going to mouseover it on mousewheel scroll and set the ad off, terrible idea.


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    #24
    _blank_
    Closed Accounts Posts: 41,926 ✭✭✭✭_blank_


    Couple of questions.

    1. I'm a subscriber, have been for years. It costs €50 per year to subscribe - if I stopped subscribing and continued to use Boards at my current level, with ads turned back on, would Boards break even on me, be down money on me, or be up money?

    2. Does Boards get paid for every ad shown, or does a user have to click on the ads? (if that's a stupid question, then sorry).


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    #25
    Boards.ie: Danny
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,609 ✭✭✭Boards.ie: Danny


    Des wrote: »
    2. Does Boards get paid for every ad shown, or does a user have to click on the ads? (if that's a stupid question, then sorry).

    Been answered already by Dav, and me a few days ago on another thread. The advertising term is CPM (Cost per 1000 impressions). And impression is an ad that is shown. Users do not have to click on ads or interact with them in any way.

    Danny


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    #26
    _blank_
    Closed Accounts Posts: 41,926 ✭✭✭✭_blank_


    Boards.ie: Danny wrote: »
    Been answered already by Dav, and me a few days ago on another thread. The advertising term is CPM (Cost per 1000 impressions). And impression is an ad that is shown. Users do not have to click on ads or interact with them in any way.

    Danny

    Cool.

    Thanks.

    I'm going to turn ads back on, and see if my browsing is affected by them.

    Hopefully it isn't, and I can keep them on.


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    #27
    _blank_
    Closed Accounts Posts: 41,926 ✭✭✭✭_blank_


    um...where do I do that?:o


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    #28
    Boards.ie: Danny
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,609 ✭✭✭Boards.ie: Danny


    Des wrote: »
    um...where do I do that?:o

    If you go to your Edit Options page, at the bottom there should be an option to Leave Ads alone or Remove them :)


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    #29
    _blank_
    Closed Accounts Posts: 41,926 ✭✭✭✭_blank_


    Boards.ie: Danny wrote: »
    If you go to your Edit Options page, at the bottom there should be an option to Leave Ads alone or Remove them :)

    I see it, thanks.


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    #30
    _blank_
    Closed Accounts Posts: 41,926 ✭✭✭✭_blank_


    Des wrote: »
    I see it, thanks.

    What I'm not seeing though, are ads.

    Checking my CP, this is how it looks

    221333.JPG


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    #31
    Otacon
    Registered Users Posts: 6,721 ✭✭✭Otacon


    Des wrote: »
    What I'm not seeing though, are ads.

    Does your browser have an ad-blocker installed?


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