5 ms·

Big Websites Start Running Bigger Display Ads. Big Mistake.

10 points by vaksel 17y ago

pmichaud 17y ago
We don't know if it's a big mistake or not. Of course I'd prefer smaller, zero, or at least very well targeted ads, but whether the new ads are a big mistake or not depends entirely on the data: when the sites roll the ads out and do the analysis, they'll discover how the bottom line is affected. In business, mistakes aren't generally a matter of opinion.
- access_denied 17y ago
  I'd rather be Apple than Microsoft, even if Microsoft makes so much more cash. But that's my opinion.
  - pmichaud 17y ago
    That's probably why you're not wealthy, which is fine, but it's something to bear in mind.
    - access_denied 17y ago
      What I meant is the following: Contrary to what you wrote, there is opinion in business. There are strategic decisions to be made, which are affected by political and cultural goals. And these are off course opinions. As an example I wanted to have cited Apple against Microsoft. A culture that values making money with the right product over making money with as much products as possible.
ojbyrne 17y ago
It's kind of ironic that in the overlaid page, there's two skyscraper ads side by side right above the "fixed panel" and they take up the same space as it does. I've seen the "pushdown" and find it's a great cue for taking a break from the computer.
v2interactive 17y ago
And they neglect the fact that not everybody has wide display or high resolutions. From my google analytics, i still see people using 800x600. Wow.
- axod 17y ago
  If they care about user experience, they'd detect the window size, and adjust the ads / layout accordingly. Hopefully they'd do that, but I'm skeptical.
- falien 17y ago
  I assume (hope) that any sites doing this are already at a fixed width of at least 1024 (or whatever it is to allow for browser chrome).
- tialys 17y ago
  Anecdotally, the place I work has people with wide screen, 19inch monitors that insist on using them at 800x600. It looks awful, but they're used to it being huge, and they refuse to change.
  - tpyo 17y ago
    I've seen a few people like that before myself. I think that at least some of them know they can increase the resolution, and they try it, but they switch back before their eyes can adjust.
mattmaroon 17y ago
Once again, the tech blog assumes everyone outside its own industry is stupid. My guess is every one of those sites a/b tested those ads to see if they lead to significant drops in user retention, and found that the extra eCPM grossly outweighed that. Of course, I'm assuming they're not stupid and know about basic split testing. But the people running New York Times are probably not as smart as Robin Wauters, who is making $10 an hour blogging in his underwear.
- holaberlin 17y ago
  Robin Wauters, who is making $10 an hour blogging in his underwear I'm not sure what kind of point you're trying to make with a bitchy statement like that. Are you saying he makes a lot of money for a blogger or more than he should for someone who writes in his briefs? Also, has he in fact admitted to working in his underwear or are you just trying to smear him? Perhaps it's just a popular sport around here to make ad hominem attacks on Techcrunch writers behind their backs.
seldo 17y ago
Six months from now, TechCrunch will quietly start running XXL boxes instead of the dual-skyscrapers it's running now, and we can all move on.
jrockway 17y ago
Yeah, make ads more annoying so that even Joe Average installs Adblock. Great plan.
jonknee 17y ago
Humorously TechCrunch has a 300px wide ad sidebar on its pages.
qeorge 17y ago
I've been seeing more large, interstitial display ads on Forbes.com et all recently, and I think they are more promising than these formats. I don't mind ads, but I don't like it when they're injected into the content so awkwardly that they detract from the experience. For example, I don't mind Hulu's full-screen ads, but YouTube's smaller overlays drive me crazy.

10 points by vaksel 17y ago

We don't know if it's a big mistake or not. Of course I'd prefer smaller, zero, or at least very well targeted ads, but whether the new ads are a big mistake or not depends entirely on the data: when the sites roll the ads out and do the analysis, they'll discover how the bottom line is affected. In business, mistakes aren't generally a matter of opinion.

access_denied 17y ago
I'd rather be Apple than Microsoft, even if Microsoft makes so much more cash. But that's my opinion.
- pmichaud 17y ago
  That's probably why you're not wealthy, which is fine, but it's something to bear in mind.
  - access_denied 17y ago
    What I meant is the following: Contrary to what you wrote, there is opinion in business. There are strategic decisions to be made, which are affected by political and cultural goals. And these are off course opinions. As an example I wanted to have cited Apple against Microsoft. A culture that values making money with the right product over making money with as much products as possible.

ojbyrne 17y ago

It's kind of ironic that in the overlaid page, there's two skyscraper ads side by side right above the "fixed panel" and they take up the same space as it does. I've seen the "pushdown" and find it's a great cue for taking a break from the computer.

v2interactive 17y ago

And they neglect the fact that not everybody has wide display or high resolutions. From my google analytics, i still see people using 800x600. Wow.

axod 17y ago
If they care about user experience, they'd detect the window size, and adjust the ads / layout accordingly. Hopefully they'd do that, but I'm skeptical.
falien 17y ago
I assume (hope) that any sites doing this are already at a fixed width of at least 1024 (or whatever it is to allow for browser chrome).
tialys 17y ago
Anecdotally, the place I work has people with wide screen, 19inch monitors that insist on using them at 800x600. It looks awful, but they're used to it being huge, and they refuse to change.
- tpyo 17y ago
  I've seen a few people like that before myself. I think that at least some of them know they can increase the resolution, and they try it, but they switch back before their eyes can adjust.

mattmaroon 17y ago

Once again, the tech blog assumes everyone outside its own industry is stupid. My guess is every one of those sites a/b tested those ads to see if they lead to significant drops in user retention, and found that the extra eCPM grossly outweighed that. Of course, I'm assuming they're not stupid and know about basic split testing. But the people running New York Times are probably not as smart as Robin Wauters, who is making $10 an hour blogging in his underwear.

holaberlin 17y ago
Robin Wauters, who is making $10 an hour blogging in his underwear I'm not sure what kind of point you're trying to make with a bitchy statement like that. Are you saying he makes a lot of money for a blogger or more than he should for someone who writes in his briefs? Also, has he in fact admitted to working in his underwear or are you just trying to smear him? Perhaps it's just a popular sport around here to make ad hominem attacks on Techcrunch writers behind their backs.

seldo 17y ago

Six months from now, TechCrunch will quietly start running XXL boxes instead of the dual-skyscrapers it's running now, and we can all move on.

jrockway 17y ago

Yeah, make ads more annoying so that even Joe Average installs Adblock. Great plan.

jonknee 17y ago

Humorously TechCrunch has a 300px wide ad sidebar on its pages.

qeorge 17y ago

I've been seeing more large, interstitial display ads on Forbes.com et all recently, and I think they are more promising than these formats. I don't mind ads, but I don't like it when they're injected into the content so awkwardly that they detract from the experience. For example, I don't mind Hulu's full-screen ads, but YouTube's smaller overlays drive me crazy.