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Site Ads Overview and Opinions from Members


BowhunterNJ

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OK, so I'm going to kick this topic off to get a gauge for what everyone is seeing and better understand what might be problematic so I can communicate that back to the ad provider I use.

First, let's try to understand that this site costs money (and a lot of time) to operate.  Ads are a way to help pay for the site and keep it affordable, but if anyone has any better ideas to generate revenue or ties to the hunting/fishing industry who'd like to spend money to put ads to your liking in place here, I'm all ears! :up:

Second, if the site earns revenue, can pay for itself through ads and then actually have additional revenue, that is something I can then give BACK to you guys!  That opens the doors to having more product Giveaways to reward the folks who are helping grow the site and contributing content!  Up until now, I've been footing a large and increasing bill and it's just simply not sustainable (or financially wise) for me to continue doing that.  You know how much formula and diapers cost?!?! :) 

Listen, I love being able to give you guys this site, and it's A LOT of my personal time to manage it, but that's what it's about.  I just need to find a way to cover as much of the financial side as I can moving forward.

So given that, let's try be reasonable as to what is tolerable regarding ads versus what is truly impacting user experience and making it a grueling and miserable experience here.  Not all devices are the same and there is testing actively going on to identify issues and optimize ads, and it's certainly possible to make mistakes and create a non-optimal situation for users.  One such case was identified earlier today where ads were displaying on some devices every 1-2 posts which is too much.  That has since been corrected.

Below is a breakdown of the ads that are in place right now and I am aware of and have tested on my own devices.  Note this MAY change as the ad provider continues to tweak ad placements, BUT I want to get an idea of what you guys are seeing versus what you should be seeing to better understand if there are problems going on!

What ads you should see on DESKTOP:

  1. One Site Sponsor banner at the top header (our members banner ads)
  2. One Site Sponsor banner at the bottom footer (our members banner ads)
  3. One sticky footer ad at the bottom of the page, often called a "pop up".  [Removed with Premium NJW&W subscription]
  4. Content ads between every 5 posts or so in a topic. (easy to scroll by)
  5. Sidebar ads (which are to the right and away from content and easy to scroll by)

What ads you should see on MOBILE:

  1. One Site Sponsor banner at the top header (our members banner ads)
  2. One Site Sponsor banner at the bottom footer (our members banner ads)
  3. One sticky footer ad at the bottom of the page, often called a "pop up".  [Removed with Premium NJW&W subscription]
  4. Content ad after the first post in a topic and then every 4 posts after that (these are a little more frequent on mobile because there are no sidebar but are easy to scroll by)

None of these ads should really impact the user experience, they are easy to cruise by as you read the site content and possibly wind up seeing a great deal on something you're interested too.  I know we all love no ads and pure content, but there's a good middle ground that can be had here to make everyone happy (even if it means a little adjusting from what you're used to seeing).  So please keep that all in mind and gauge what is truly an impact vs what is just mildly annoying right now and likely soon to be forgotten and adapted to.

If you are seeing something other than the above or have a strong opinion on something that is completely intolerable, please provide the details and a screenshot if possible as a picture is worth a thousand words!  Then I can review with the ad provider and determine what we can do to improve it!  I'm doing my best to make this site great for you guys and find ways to keep it affordable for me too.  I think that's a really fair and balanced approach, but it is also certainly worth tabling anything that is significantly impacting the members here and would cause a major decline in your interest participating here.  This site is for you guys, so I want to continue providing you a site you're interested in visiting and sharing your experiences with each other! :up:

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Hey buddy  I appreciate your site and the hard work you put in, but ads suck... I rather pay a small fee to be a member than to constantly have to X out all the ads. With that being said, generating ad dollars to keep this thing a float I’m sure is a necessary evil, so I still will continue to visit and contribute. You did a good job getting it up  and running and attracting members from the competing sight. 👍🏻

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6 hours ago, Bowhunter2004 said:

Hey buddy  I appreciate your site and the hard work you put in, but ads suck... I rather pay a small fee to be a member than to constantly have to X out all the ads. With that being said, generating ad dollars to keep this thing a float I’m sure is a necessary evil, so I still will continue to visit and contribute. You did a good job getting it up  and running and attracting members from the competing sight. 👍🏻

I use an ad blocker, rarely see an ad.

 

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2 hours ago, Live to Hunt said:

You’re doing a hell of a job Matt.:up: Where did you get that new Benz I saw you driving :headscratch:

S-Class, wasn't it?   Some of us can only drive the "E"...   I can only dream....

Nothing spooks deer more than my stank… 

16 3/4” Live Fluke Release Club

I shot a big 10pt once….

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1 hour ago, Lunatic said:

I can tell you what I see. Ads and  blank spaces for ads between posts.

68A65609-96A2-4710-98C2-D6B1ED0445B4.png

4BB6D147-7613-499E-BF73-EF533484FD9C.png

The ads are the ads, and the blank spaces are where ads will get filled (i.e. pre-defined locations that are allocated so that the page doesn't "jump around" when ads are filled vs not filled).

Do the ads make the site unusable for you?  How many ads are you seeing in between content and how many it too many?

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28 minutes ago, 3Blade said:

Good job Matt on a well run site! Thanks for your time and effort.:up: The adds aren't too bad, I almost don't even notice them now.

My only complaint would be the "jumping" when I click on a thread.

Mike, keep me posted on whether this continues.  To the point above, the ad spaces should be pre-allocated to avoid that happening.  The jumping around is no good, but it's also possible if the site's pictures in members posts don't load right away or there are a lot of them, it could cause some jumping around.  The ad sizing is known ahead of time so that can be managed, the post pictures isn't, so that will be something to deal with but it shouldn't happen often.

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