Yeah, it's very good. A lot of sites have been blending adsense units like this for quite some time. Just look at ProfileGamer, OnlineGames and MySpaceLot. Just a few I know that are using the same technique, hiding the ads in the content.
Skillz. Yeah. But doesn't that aggravate users also? I'm down with blending, but when the content is nearly indistinguishible from the ads, well ... that sort of bugs me personally. Thoughts?
Skillz. Yeah. But doesn't that aggravate users also? I'm down with blending, but when the content is nearly indistinguishible from the ads, well ... that sort of bugs me personally. Thoughts?
well, it depends on whether the ads are tricking the users into clicking something they're not interested in, or whether the ads have become content where the user is interested in:
On my email marketing site I have ads for Email Marketing Tips blended in.
IMHO this is ads being content, not tricking people in something they don't need or want.
Very clever. The whole question of "tricking" people is an interesting one. I'm of the mindset that if the user wants what is being advertised, and they click, it isn't a trick.
This has been posted on SitePoint as well and just as most of said there I'm sure this is illegal.
I do something similar on Geekstreak, and have never drawn the ire of the big G. Heck, I've even had several conversations with google reps about what I was doing on my website (# of ad units, placement, integration) and they've never once mentioned what I was doing was outside the ToS.
I do something similar on Geekstreak, and have never drawn the ire of the big G. Heck, I've even had several conversations with google reps about what I was doing on my website (# of ad units, placement, integration) and they've never once mentioned what I was doing was outside the ToS.
I think it's acceptable to do it; I think they are even starting to place images next to some ads. There was a thread on here yesterday or the day before; I'll see if I can find it.
Probably the biggest that says that this technique is 'ok' is that they clearly state 'Ads by Google' in the colored box at the top of the two sections.
They are obvisouly not trying to hide the fact that they are ads.
And of course, if I wanted to see some information about Dreamweaver tutorials (or whatever else the ads were about) and clicked them, isnt that the whole point?
if I wanted to see some information about Dreamweaver tutorials (or whatever else the ads were about) and clicked them, isnt that the whole point?
That's the long term idea a lot of people are missing. Short term we may be looking at a portion of the clicks coming from people being tricked; however, the long term idea is to make the advertisements look like content so that our readers will click on them because they feel they will get additional information ont he topic at hand.
