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Another good article linked from this one: https://stackoverflow.blog/2016/02/why-stack-overflow-doesnt-care-about-ad-blockers/ https://stackoverflow.blog/2016/

by vlunkr 10y ago

Another good article linked from this one: https://stackoverflow.blog/2016/02/why-stack-overflow-doesnt-care-about-ad-blockers/ https://stackoverflow.blog/2016/02/why-stack-overflow-doesnt.... Stack Overflow is IMO the site to look to if you want to do ads correctly. So many big sites have incredibly trashy ads, SO shows that they care to not subject their users to that junk.

criddell 10y ago
I'm actually surprised ads work at all on StackOverflow. I would have guessed that most of their visitors are blocking ads.
- nicky0 10y ago
  Most of the ads are served to non-logged-in visitors who come to specific question pages through a web search. SO actually shows you fewer ads the more reputation points you have.
  - criddell 10y ago
    I think I would expect logged-in users to be more likely to have whitelisted the site than random Google visitors.
    - nicky0 10y ago
      But there are a lot more of the random Google visitors than active participants. SO is effectively a machine for getting smart people to create specific, targeted searchable content to run ads against.
  - pbhjpbhj 10y ago
    What's the flow there for a user? They're researching an answer ... do they ignore the issue and run off and buy something? I sometime have poor focus but when you're problem solving it seems the least likely time to distract yourself with shopping. I did once follow a Google ad about 10 years ago, but in my defence I was just surfing cool tech and the image looked interesting. Of course I didn't buy anything, who lets advertisers tell them what to buy? I digress.
    - morgante 10y ago
      > They're researching an answer ... do they ignore the issue and run off and buy something? Yes, that's an entirely credible idea. To use the first ad I found as an example, maybe I'm debugging an annoying issue with migrating my MongoDB cluster and I notice an ad for a managed MongoDB service and realize I'd rather pay them to deal with this. > Of course I didn't buy anything, who lets advertisers tell them what to buy? I do! There are millions of useful services out there and ads are an effective discovery tool.
    - nicky0 10y ago
      Of course, we know you are special. But consider that other people may not be as strong willed and resilient to the advertisers' ways.
- user5994461 10y ago
  Stack Overflow is highly targeted tech content with a variety of detailed, popular and niche posts. I suppose that they get high quality ads (i.e. pay lot more than the average ad + highly relevant so people click it).
- gsylvie 10y ago
  If you turn off your ad blocker for SO, you get to see targeted job postings in your geographic and expertise area.
  - astrodust 10y ago
    This is the way ads should be done. The only reason I run a blocker is because my tolerance for absolute bullshit ran out. No, there is no "one weird trick" to make hundreds of dollars a day and get rid of wrinkles at the same time. Just no. I've seen the quality of advertising plunge to depths I never imagined in the last five years. I yearn for the days of "Punch the Monkey" level dribble rather than the pure poison we see today. How is it that with more tracking, more compute power, more data than ever the ads are so appallingly stupid?
    - criddell 10y ago
      At this point, I really don't understand why people that know about ad-blockers don't use them. Do they also watch commercials when they are playing back a show they recorded on their DVR?
      - astrodust 10y ago
        I honestly want ads. I want them to be of things I could at least theoretically want to purchase. I've never seen an ad for a conference I should probably go to, or of a service that looks interesting, or of a product I want. Not in the last five years unless I've expressly visited their site and got tagged by Google, in which case all I see is ads for that. Instead I'm barraged with bullshit news stories, weight loss products that are total garbage, wrinkle removal creams of dubious origin, and "suggested links" which never, ever deliver on what they promise. The whole advertising industry is in shambles.

by vlunkr 10y ago

criddell 10y ago

I'm actually surprised ads work at all on StackOverflow. I would have guessed that most of their visitors are blocking ads.

nicky0 10y ago
Most of the ads are served to non-logged-in visitors who come to specific question pages through a web search. SO actually shows you fewer ads the more reputation points you have.
- criddell 10y ago
  I think I would expect logged-in users to be more likely to have whitelisted the site than random Google visitors.
  - nicky0 10y ago
    But there are a lot more of the random Google visitors than active participants. SO is effectively a machine for getting smart people to create specific, targeted searchable content to run ads against.
- pbhjpbhj 10y ago
  What's the flow there for a user? They're researching an answer ... do they ignore the issue and run off and buy something? I sometime have poor focus but when you're problem solving it seems the least likely time to distract yourself with shopping. I did once follow a Google ad about 10 years ago, but in my defence I was just surfing cool tech and the image looked interesting. Of course I didn't buy anything, who lets advertisers tell them what to buy? I digress.
  - morgante 10y ago
    > They're researching an answer ... do they ignore the issue and run off and buy something? Yes, that's an entirely credible idea. To use the first ad I found as an example, maybe I'm debugging an annoying issue with migrating my MongoDB cluster and I notice an ad for a managed MongoDB service and realize I'd rather pay them to deal with this. > Of course I didn't buy anything, who lets advertisers tell them what to buy? I do! There are millions of useful services out there and ads are an effective discovery tool.
  - nicky0 10y ago
    Of course, we know you are special. But consider that other people may not be as strong willed and resilient to the advertisers' ways.
user5994461 10y ago
Stack Overflow is highly targeted tech content with a variety of detailed, popular and niche posts. I suppose that they get high quality ads (i.e. pay lot more than the average ad + highly relevant so people click it).
gsylvie 10y ago
If you turn off your ad blocker for SO, you get to see targeted job postings in your geographic and expertise area.
- astrodust 10y ago
  This is the way ads should be done. The only reason I run a blocker is because my tolerance for absolute bullshit ran out. No, there is no "one weird trick" to make hundreds of dollars a day and get rid of wrinkles at the same time. Just no. I've seen the quality of advertising plunge to depths I never imagined in the last five years. I yearn for the days of "Punch the Monkey" level dribble rather than the pure poison we see today. How is it that with more tracking, more compute power, more data than ever the ads are so appallingly stupid?
  - criddell 10y ago
    At this point, I really don't understand why people that know about ad-blockers don't use them. Do they also watch commercials when they are playing back a show they recorded on their DVR?
    - astrodust 10y ago
      I honestly want ads. I want them to be of things I could at least theoretically want to purchase. I've never seen an ad for a conference I should probably go to, or of a service that looks interesting, or of a product I want. Not in the last five years unless I've expressly visited their site and got tagged by Google, in which case all I see is ads for that. Instead I'm barraged with bullshit news stories, weight loss products that are total garbage, wrinkle removal creams of dubious origin, and "suggested links" which never, ever deliver on what they promise. The whole advertising industry is in shambles.