Website Adverts Feedback

[ecs0set]

LeePH said:

Lee here, thanks for the feedback. Here is a further update on online display ads:

A. Large Ad Formats

The online advertising industry has trended to larger formats. We have been trialling new ad formats from agencies and the team have been working hard on the targeting and frequency of these ads. Results have been good for advertisers, with PH often a best performer for a campaign. However from the feedback we are making the following changes:

1. The push down ad which takes over half the screen, will not be continuing bar the exceptional case from a car manufacturer advertiser.

2. We are implementing this week an improved solution to ensure two large format ads do not appear on the same page.

B. Ad Quality

I think it is worth highlighting that the number of automotive advertisers has doubled since last year, so you should be seeing more motoring related ads from manufacturers, dealers, car finance, insurance and automotive services. Demand from automotive advertisers is rising, which with improved targeting, should deliver even more auto relevant and interesting advertising content to you. We are very much focused that targeted automotive advertising reflects the vast majority of the display advertising on PistonHeads.

C. Classifieds
In regard to the classified comments. The classified section continues to grow in audience and stock. The volume of car stock listed, the tracked leads generated and the number of dealers advertising have all risen over 50% on this time last year. This is good news for buyers and sellers alike.

There will be a new test beta for feedback in the New Year of further improvements covering how cars are displayed, searched and browsed.

Any chance of leaving some screen real estate for actual content? Or is PistonHeads going to turn into the advertising equivalent of the local rag?

I'm off to Jalopnik.

[BertBert]

Please can we have some more adverts. I'm not sure where. But I think it'd be good both on the homepage and those videos that start playing inline with the articles.

But really, there's hardly any adverts. PLEASE can we have some more.

Perhaps Pistonheads is leading the way. First we had places that sold stuff. Then they went out of business and were replaced by F&B places. Now those have gone out of business to be replaced by wall to wall adverts. So PH is definitely a la mode.

But, seriously back to the point. The reason I want more adverts is not that I like adverts. Au contraire I hate your adverts you morons.

The reason I want more adverts is so I don't have to read the misinformed, poorly spelt drivel produced by the 5 year olds that you employ as writers.

For goodness sake Pistonheads. Just stand back and look what you have created. I can only hope that it is worthwhile and makes you a fk load of money.

Bert

[Rouleur]

BertBert said:

The reason I want more adverts is so I don't have to read the misinformed, poorly spelt drivel produced by the 5 year olds that you employ as writers.

For goodness sake Pistonheads. Just stand back and look what you have created. I can only hope that it is worthwhile and makes you a fk load of money.

Bert

The articles are dreadful aren't they! It's amazing to think that people are being paid to vomit up the stuff on here and indeed the site itself.

I'm sure we'll now be told that there are plenty of other sites we can visit instead of PH...

[Smitters]

This has been a generally on-topic topic chaps - can we keep it that way please?

Lee - may thanks for the feedback - it's good to know we're listened to. Obviously we're not going to be advert free, and as has been pointed out, you can block adverts, but finding a useable balance between generating revenue and keeping PH going, and ensuring it's an accessible site for the user is key.

Looking forward to seeing the changes.

[Phateuk]

ecs0set said:

LeePH said:

Lee here, thanks for the feedback. Here is a further update on online display ads:

A. Large Ad Formats

The online advertising industry has trended to larger formats. We have been trialling new ad formats from agencies and the team have been working hard on the targeting and frequency of these ads. Results have been good for advertisers, with PH often a best performer for a campaign. However from the feedback we are making the following changes:

1. The push down ad which takes over half the screen, will not be continuing bar the exceptional case from a car manufacturer advertiser.

2. We are implementing this week an improved solution to ensure two large format ads do not appear on the same page.

B. Ad Quality

I think it is worth highlighting that the number of automotive advertisers has doubled since last year, so you should be seeing more motoring related ads from manufacturers, dealers, car finance, insurance and automotive services. Demand from automotive advertisers is rising, which with improved targeting, should deliver even more auto relevant and interesting advertising content to you. We are very much focused that targeted automotive advertising reflects the vast majority of the display advertising on PistonHeads.

C. Classifieds
In regard to the classified comments. The classified section continues to grow in audience and stock. The volume of car stock listed, the tracked leads generated and the number of dealers advertising have all risen over 50% on this time last year. This is good news for buyers and sellers alike.

There will be a new test beta for feedback in the New Year of further improvements covering how cars are displayed, searched and browsed.

Any chance of leaving some screen real estate for actual content? Or is PistonHeads going to turn into the advertising equivalent of the local rag?

I'm off to Jalopnik.

If you reduce the width of your browser (in chrome) you can remove the ads from view

[BertBert]

Smitters said:

This has been a generally on-topic topic chaps - can we keep it that way please?

I thought your topic was anti-ads. We are saying the same thing are we not?
Bert

[rscott]

BertBert said:

Smitters said:

This has been a generally on-topic topic chaps - can we keep it that way please?

I thought your topic was anti-ads. We are saying the same thing are we not?
Bert

Looked to me like it was turning into complaints about the editorial content.

[OttoJ9221]

Maybe if you don't want adverts follow these two simple and easy steps.

1. Install Google Chrome
2. Add the AdBlock Plus extention.

Enjoy advert free browsing.

[Phateuk]

OttoJ9221 said:

Maybe if you don't want adverts follow these two simple and easy steps.

1. Install Google Chrome
2. Add the AdBlock Plus extention.

Enjoy advert free browsing.

If everyone did this, a large portion of websites would close down pretty quickly...

I don't think anyone here is begrudging PH advertising revenue, it's the fact that it's started to take over more and more page real estate to the point where there is a detrimental affect on usability.

[OttoJ9221]

Phateuk said:

If everyone did this, a large portion of websites would close down pretty quickly...

I don't think anyone here is begrudging PH advertising revenue, it's the fact that it's started to take over more and more page real estate to the point where there is a detrimental affect on usability.

Well I know from experience you can limit the number of adverts on a page or on certain urls. I agree it is a problem.
On the flipside it stops your PC, Laptop, Tablet, Phone or whatever from caching pages and eventually slowing it down.

Although if you don't wish to use ABP you can use extensions such as ghostery which stop tracking your browsing activites.

I appreciate it does affect revenue of the website but only very few people use in comparison to those who don't.

[hornetrider]

Phateuk said:

I don't think anyone here is begrudging PH advertising revenue, it's the fact that it's started to take over more and more page real estate to the point where there is a detrimental affect on usability.

We are the product being sold by Haymarket to advertisers. That's why they bought the site. To sell us to them, in order to make money. It's only going one way.

[Bebee]

I made my case here a while ago:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

The last post being myself and to the point of how I feel about it.

I suspect it's only going to fall on deaf ears.

I have have since found a way to prevent this distracting bug, I press Ctrl and roll the mouse to blow the page up until the side adds are no longer visible.

Result!

[Bebee]

PH, if you are by any chance listening to us, I have a suggestion.

Why not offer us (those that it bothers) the chance to make a Paypal payment to opt out of adverts? like itunes/aps do. Say, £2 for a year of adds free.

Edited by Bebee on Wednesday 29th October 19:44

[LeePH]

Hi BeBee, we are actually investigating this - couple of interesting technologies emerging, as you have indicated, enabling simple sage micro cost Itunes style payments.
Lee

[Bebee]

OK Lee, thanks for reply, lets see how it goes then.

[Smitters]

I'm sad to resurrect this, but I guess feedback can only be good. I've noticed in the last few weeks that the larger ads are starting to creep back in. I have always found the most annoying to be ads that manipulate the screen position of PH content. The response above suggested these would be limited to occasional car ads, but I see I now have a Vodafone ad on the main page that shifts things around.

As I've said before, it's obviously a balance of income versus users, but if I review my news reading, I probably have used PH less than half as much as last year for journalism, a significant part of which is because of distracting/annoying adverts.

[Smitters]

Smitters said:

I'm sad to resurrect this, ...

...again.

I was pleased when told the large ads would be few and car based. ASDA just took over my screen. I've got to a point where I don't actually browse the main page any more - I just go straight to the forums. It's a shame as the website has essentially forced me out, incrementally. At this rate, I may actually start buying a car magazine again!

[Jubal]

Regardless of advert size, would it be possible to format the page including advert before it is served up so the content doesn't jump around? On an iPad it's hugely annoying going to click on a link and having it jump around in front of you.

[Smitters]

Jubal said:

Regardless of advert size, would it be possible to format the page including advert before it is served up so the content doesn't jump around? On an iPad it's hugely annoying going to click on a link and having it jump around in front of you.

Actually, this is probably one of the most irritating things, so a great point.

Cynical me thinks that the whole point is you're about to click on a link and an advert drops under your finger/pointer, and you accidentally click the advert. The hope is you're one of the 0.1% who isn't enraged, and buys product x...

[anonymous-user]

Smitters said:

Cynical me thinks that the whole point is you're about to click on a link and an advert drops under your finger/pointer, and you accidentally click the advert. The hope is you're one of the 0.1% who isn't enraged, and buys product x...

I have thought this myself, I don't think it matters whether you purchase anything or not, clicking the link = £ for PH