New advertising strategy..?
New advertising strategy..?
Author
Discussion

Buffalo

Original Poster:

5,482 posts

283 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
Guys

What is with these new adverts..?

I understand why adverts are placed on the site and that they must form a good income, but the adverts to date have always been basically car related - regardless of being in P&P to one of the more trafficked marque forums.

Lately though we are getting the weirdest of adverts; such as dating sites, "zwinky smileys" (WTF? confused ), speed-slimming products and weird baby forums. Yes P&P gets some weird topics posted but some of these adverts are far-removed from from the demographic of most members (as far as i can tell by the opinions posted on various subjects).

Is this a legacy of haymarket advertising..? The car-related adverts i would click on occasionally to oogle their stock. Zwinky smileys..? Don't think so.

bob1179

14,138 posts

238 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
I've noticed this too. I keep seeing adverts offering cheap satellite internet for US military personnel.

Not really sure how that applies to me.

I also understand that advertising is part of the site, and is a form of income, but if we have to put up with it can we have car related stuff that is of some use?

smile

Silent1

19,762 posts

264 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
I gave up with the adverts, they're all blocked now, until they're vaguely related i'm not going to bother looking at them.

Mr Will

13,719 posts

235 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
We are currently trialling Google Ad Sense for users outside the UK in an attempt to provide adverts more relevant to your location.

We have very little direct control over what these ads are, it’s all run on Google’s complicated delivery systems depending on (amongst other things) the content of the page. This means that baby threads will get baby adverts, military threads get military adverts, PHat PHighters will get slimming adverts, etc.

In theory, as long as you don’t click on them, Google should works out that the non-relevant ads do not work and they will be replaced with something different. Hopefully more relevant.


bob1179

14,138 posts

238 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
Mr Will said:
We are currently trialling Google Ad Sense for users outside the UK in an attempt to provide adverts more relevant to your location.

We have very little direct control over what these ads are, it’s all run on Google’s complicated delivery systems depending on (amongst other things) the content of the page. This means that baby threads will get baby adverts, military threads get military adverts, PHat PHighters will get slimming adverts, etc.

In theory, as long as you don’t click on them, Google should works out that the non-relevant ads do not work and they will be replaced with something different. Hopefully more relevant.
I think it's one of those things that in theory should be quite handy. But as I now have an advert for some sort of 'try before you buy' dating website, I feel it may not be working too well.

At least we know why.

By the way Mr Will, why have you decided to use this route for those of us outside the UK? I know that international PHers might not find all of the UK based adverts useful, but I'm sure some of them would be, such as specialist parts suppliers, dealers, etc.

smile

bob1179

14,138 posts

238 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
Mr Will said:
We are currently trialling Google Ad Sense for users outside the UK in an attempt to provide adverts more relevant to your location.

We have very little direct control over what these ads are, it’s all run on Google’s complicated delivery systems depending on (amongst other things) the content of the page. This means that baby threads will get baby adverts, military threads get military adverts, PHat PHighters will get slimming adverts, etc.

In theory, as long as you don’t click on them, Google should works out that the non-relevant ads do not work and they will be replaced with something different. Hopefully more relevant.
I think it's one of those things that in theory should be quite handy. But as I now have an advert for some sort of 'try before you buy' dating website, I feel it may not be working too well.

At least we know why.

By the way Mr Will, why have you decided to use this route for those of us outside the UK? I know that international PHers might not find all of the UK based adverts useful, but I'm sure some of them would be, such as specialist parts suppliers, dealers, etc.

smile

MickC

1,101 posts

287 months

Thursday 10th April 2008
quotequote all
Mr Will said:
We are currently trialling Google Ad Sense for users outside the UK in an attempt to provide adverts more relevant to your location.

We have very little direct control over what these ads are, it’s all run on Google’s complicated delivery systems depending on (amongst other things) the content of the page. This means that baby threads will get baby adverts, military threads get military adverts, PHat PHighters will get slimming adverts, etc.

In theory, as long as you don’t click on them, Google should works out that the non-relevant ads do not work and they will be replaced with something different. Hopefully more relevant.
Well it obviously bases your location on your IP (ok it's the only way) which means since I go through a proxy in Euorpe I am getting the most random of adverts - helpdesk software, zwinkies (WTF), screensavers, even german language adds, all sorts of annoying rubbish. To be honest I am not at all impressed, PH used to have at least a connection with cars/motoring, now it's the same crap I see on any el cheapo website.

I hate it... I don't suppose you care as long as they pay the bills, but I'm tempted to get an addblocker (or maybe will just give up on PH entierly, it's not just the adds that have gone downhill imho).

PetrolTed

34,468 posts

332 months

Thursday 10th April 2008
quotequote all
Chaps are you talking about graphic ads at the top of the page or the Google ads under the news etc?

I suspect it's the banner ads. Some of the 'remnant' stock is filled with 'network' ads that include some of the dross you mention. In theory parameters should be set to exclude crap, but they don't seem to be working. I know it's been mentioned a few times. I'll try and catch up with where we're at with trying to improve the quality.

Buffalo

Original Poster:

5,482 posts

283 months

Friday 11th April 2008
quotequote all
It is both the adverts that embed themselves next to the posts and the banner ads. Mostly the embedded ones. I also put up a post in P&P last weekend i think after seeing an ad for a dating service pop up.

To be fair the ads were vaguely related to the topics that were being discussed, which suggests the google software is half intelligent, but these adverts that are showing are far less in context with the site than before.

Cheers...

PetrolTed

34,468 posts

332 months

Friday 11th April 2008
quotequote all
OK, these are not Google ads, these are banner ads served via another network. I'm in the process of badgering some people to see if we can set a higher quality threshold. I saw an ad last week for a Russian Brides site, which whilst amusing isn't exactly the sort of brand association I had in mind for PH smile

ehasler

8,579 posts

312 months

Friday 11th April 2008
quotequote all
PetrolTed said:
I saw an ad last week for a Russian Brides site, which whilst amusing isn't exactly the sort of brand association I had in mind for PH smile
It would be interesting to know what the click-through rate was though hehe

MickC

1,101 posts

287 months

Friday 11th April 2008
quotequote all
Yep its both banner adds and the embedded adds at the side of the page. Seems to be for IT management tools at the moment. Both have 'ads by Google' on the bottom of them.

Scraggles

7,619 posts

253 months

Saturday 12th April 2008
quotequote all
went onto IE 7 to take a look

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

some mobile phone package

Page not found
We are sorry, the page you requested does not exist

Great adverts smile

edit - another one was a haymarket link to some other site, so as haymarket still involved, not looking good, back to firefox smile

Edited by Scraggles on Saturday 12th April 11:10

PetrolTed

34,468 posts

332 months

Saturday 12th April 2008
quotequote all
Ads for other Haymarket publications are 'house' ads. They backfill where the network ads for breast enlargement and gay dating have been removed. smile

rich1231

17,340 posts

289 months

Saturday 12th April 2008
quotequote all
PetrolTed said:
Ads for other Haymarket publications are 'house' ads. They backfill where the network ads for breast enlargement and gay dating have been removed. smile
Who came up with the gay breast enlargements biz idea? Bit of a niche i imagine smile

Only vixpy will be clicking on those sort ...

Stu R

21,634 posts

244 months

Saturday 12th April 2008
quotequote all
Firefox + adblocker and they're no more. Whilst I appreciate they're there to generate revenue, they slow things down and 80% of them are garbage.

deevlash

10,442 posts

266 months

Saturday 12th April 2008
quotequote all
PetrolTed said:
OK, these are not Google ads, these are banner ads served via another network. I'm in the process of badgering some people to see if we can set a higher quality threshold. I saw an ad last week for a Russian Brides site, which whilst amusing isn't exactly the sort of brand association I had in mind for PH smile
There was, at one point, a thread of about 20 pages discussing that site in the P&P before it was ever advertised on here paperbag

MickC

1,101 posts

287 months

Monday 14th April 2008
quotequote all
Muslim Brdes, Ukraine babes and the Church of Scientology are the adverts in P&P today and over the weekend. Oh dear.

Scraggles

7,619 posts

253 months

Monday 14th April 2008
quotequote all
glad that missed under age brides, bride scammers and cults then smile

Furyous

25,678 posts

250 months

Monday 14th April 2008
quotequote all
MickC said:
.....Ukraine babes and......
:turnsadblockoff:

Hurrys back to gg and p&p.... wink