advertising

From IndieWeb
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advertising is a common business-model for websites, especially silos, but also on some IndieWeb sites, however sometimes with downsides for users such as exploitation, surveillance, worse UX, and encouraging sites to depend on unreliable search traffic.

IndieWeb Examples

Silo Examples

Facebook

Facebook uses their own ad system.

Example ad for example.com:

example-com-ad.png

Criticism

Ad models can be exploitative

Advertising based business models are to be avoided as they are exploitative.

Counter argument:

Nonetheless many companies who provide a "free" service, are actually ad-based businesses

Tracking and surveillance

Funds misinformation

May cause UX failure

Lazy loading ads which reflow the page (i.e. an ad at the top that doesn't take up space to begin with to avoid an awkward blank area at the top of the page) can cause UI elements to move and thus may result in the user clicking on something they did not intend to. E.g. (likely artificially constructed example for illustrative purposes)

Unreliable or false metrics

Encourages vulnerable dependence

Though this article blames Google, the larger actual problem is a false sense of confidence in a singular dependence on "organic search traffic" source for ad-based revenue.

  • 2024-04-03 Google Is Killing Retro Dodo & Other Independent Sites

    … in September 2023 when Google decided to release an algorithm update that completely obliterated thousands of independent content businesses overnight, and we are one of them.

    Since September 2023, Google has hidden our site from millions of retro gamers, reducing our organic traffic and revenue by 85% and causing our business to be on the edge of going under.

  • https://social.sdf.org/@mjgardner/112208710212890879
    • "IMHO, tying your #publishing business model to #Google search traffic is not very different from tying your online content to a third-party publishing host platform like #Medium or a #SocialNetwork like #Facebook. You’re relying on the network effect from an aggregator whose interests can and do drift from yours. Both are examples of #DigitalSharecropping, a term coined by blogger Nicholas Carr back in 2006: https://www.roughtype.com/?p=634#IndieWeb" @mjgardner April 3, 2024. Emphasis added.
  • https://mastodon.social/@lars/112208880378775677
    • "@mjgardner Couldn't agree more. I really feel for what he's going through, and Google's continuous enshittification has forced me to move on a long time ago. But relying on a single corporate entity to drive all your income is bordering on negligence. As you say, their interests will inevitably drift from yours.Hope they find a way to a more sustainable model." @lars April 3, 2024. Emphasis added.

Other Criticisms

See Also