not nearly as bad as this
As you most likely have noticed, we have switched ad networks, from Google Adsense to Adthrive, and the results ads in new locations and formats. And they’re probably a wee bit more obnoxious than in the past. It’s going to take a few weeks to evaluate how the various ad positions are performing, to consider fine-tuning them. But they’re off to a good start. And that’s essential to the future of this site.
And there is an ad-free alternative.
As you may well remember, I “retired” from the site last summer, and the single biggest reason was that our ad revenue had slumped very badly all through 2019. It’s hard to stay motivated after nine years working essentially full-time for some $3/hour. And that lack of revenue meant that there was no way to find a good solution to keeping the site going long-term. I very seriously considered getting rid of the site for peanuts, or just running repeats, or worse.
Thanks to Jim and the others pitching in for five months, I was able to come back with the energy necessary to more thoroughly research the site’s potential, and how to unlock more of that. Thanks to a large daily infusion of visitors from searches, which make up about 50% of our traffic, along with the regular visitors, Curbside is big enough, to qualify for Adthrive, which has been the highest rated ad network for several years running.
The initial results are very encouraging; it’s what I was hoping for. It validates my decision to hire Ed as a part time number two, and it’s going to motivate me to write new longer articles and spend more time curating the content and such.
There is an ad-free alternative: if you’re willing to pay a voluntary subscription, via the “Donate” button on the side, please feel free to use an adblocker. How much is our fresh daily content worth per day? 50¢ ? $1.00 ? You decide. It’s voluntary.
We really need to monetize that 50% of our traffic that comes from searches, and these ads are key to that. They’re a bit more intrusive than they were in the past, but I’ve seen a lot worse. Thank you for your forbearance, and in helping to create a strong and sustainable future for Curbside Classic.
Thanks for the explanation. I shall seriously consider donating.
Have you considered selling a monthly subscription to the site. I’ve been paying $5.00/month to a MotoGP/World Superbike site (Kropotkin thinks . . . . . ) for something like ten years now. His coverage is well worth the cost, even though I find my interesting in both formats dying since my cable provider won’t carry the network that covers both, and doing the monthly payment gets me an ad-free website.
For what it’s worth, it’s easy to do that already minus the ad-free-account thing. I’ve had an automatic monthly donation for months now via the PayPal link.
Paul, maybe you could have an account setting for those who have a monthly donation that you could toggle on your end? It’s been about a decade since I administered WordPress sites so not exactly sure how that would work. I personally don’t care about the ads myself but it might entice more people.
You mean like send those folks an ad-free version of CC? Sorry, that’s not feasible, at least to my knowledge. If you contribute, feel free to use Adblock.
Thanks for bringing this up, Syke, as MotoMatters and CC are the two non-general news sites I read regularly (I do subscribe to our local paper and the NYT online). I do pay for MM annually, but only once or twice for CC.
I confess to being too lazy to remember to turn off my ad blocker so I have just sent a contribution towards helping support CC. I’ve put a reminder on my calendar for June although occasional reminders would not bother me one bit.
At this moment a couple of bi-annual donations are easier to explain to “She To Whom I Must Account To For Continuing Withdrawals”
For what it’s worth, I favor this approach of having ads, with a guilt-free alternative available, over a pure “pay to breach the firewall” alternative.
Thanks for shedding some more light on this Paul, as quite frankly, some of the new ads are indeed obnoxious, especially as they keep reappearing moments after I “X out” of them. I did raise this issue to Ed, who informed me we are trying out some different advertisers.
While I wouldn’t mind paying a small subscription fee to be free of these unpleasant ads and ads altogether, I think it needs to be more long-term, possibly month-to-month option for several bucks with a discounted full-year option for something in the $20s. I think keeping this theoretical structure as simple as possible will be best.
It might also be advantageous to have some extra perk for paid subscribers, but we need to be careful not to alienate our loyal core reader base.
All regular content contributors already support the site that way, above and beyond and expectations, and should feel free to use adblock if the ads annoy them.
I debated whether or not to leave a comment but I don’t actually mind “static” ads in general, sometimes what’s being advertised IS of use to me. For example there is currently one running for Lowe’s reminding me of a sale. I’ve never used an adblocker before and don’t really want to start now, I understand the point of ads.
The ones I myself dislike are the ones that cover the content like what Brendan and someone else is referring to that require a click to remove (and then come back, it’s like a hydra.) I’m also not a fan of autoplay video ads as it’s hard to be confident that they are appropriate in all situations especially if they start to play with audio.
The ads that are now inserted in the posts themselves kind of ruin the flow of the post as well, in my opinion, especially as they often disconnect the text from the picture above it. It seems especially jarring where it does it right at the top of the post. Once clicked through, a reader is pretty committed, so it doesn’t seem that relocating these lower would be a negative – or at least put one of them where there used to be one, right below all the text but above the comment section. It still gets seen or whatever, but doesn’t interrupt the user experience.
Curiously enough, the sticky ad on the bottom of the screen doesn’t bother me much. I read in the middle of the screen.
The spacing of the in-post ads are not always ideal, and options will be looked at. None of this is etched in LCDs, or whatever. As I told you previously, it’s a first shot at it.
Well I’m the typical cheapskate reader who doesn’t yet contribute and support CC. Any and all ads will be kindly tolerated so I can get my daily fix. Compared to a couple other blogs I visit, CC’s ads aren’t even close to as annoying. Thanks to everyone that help keep this machine running so we’ll.
Is any effort being made to attract specific types of advertisers manually rather than relying on automated ad networks, keywords, etc to generate them? That is, contacting businesses that are deemed most likely to be interested in the CC reader base as a place to advertise, say, old car parts? (I’m guessing those who discover CC via Googling a specific car may be a bigger market for them than the regulars, but either way advertisers should be fine with it)
As for the new ads, well at least I’m not seeing that incessant ad that praises Trump before veering off into an unrelated pitch for refinancing, but some of the new ones slow down my browser noticeably, and who do the lower banner ads (especially that tombstone-shaped one) block the view of the main screen rather than appearing below it? I need to X it out just for the site to function sometimes.
That’s just not realistic anymore, unless you’re really HUGE. Advertisers get more bang for their buck using online ads too; it’s more efficient.
Some advertisers will still do that for print, but as is obvious, that’s withering away. But not for online. Times change…
Compared to some other sites I can sum this up in two words
“What ads?”
A lot of thanks and no complaints from this corner.
Europeans like me need a Euro-Donato-Button.
I’m sure you credit card company will just convert that euros. No different than any other international cc or paypal transaction.
You probably have looked into switching to a youtube format. Some people make a few bux off it, though I gather the highest earner is a kid that does toy reviews.
For historical cars, you don’t necessarily need to go out and buy them like Hoovie. The one channel I have found worthwhile does articles on historical warships, another interest of mine. The guy shows still photos of the ships, most of which ceased to existed 70-100 years ago, while narrating with a brief history. The guy has been at it about 3 years and has 94K subscribers.
Here’s a typical entry for his specific ship videos. He also does a Q&A post once a week.
It’s a possibility. But one does need even bigger eyeball numbers to monetize you tube than a blog. Even a million you tube views don’t guarantee big bucks.
One of the fitness channels I subscribe to on YouTube had a video by the guy talking about the money he generates from YouTube. While holding his “One Million Subscribers” plaque, he said he averages about $150 per month from his videos. He said the real money from being a YouTuber is from sponsorships and how he’s able to tie it into fitness counseling. That’s not a great fit for here.
Jim Klein and I briefly tossed the idea of doing a few videos around while Paul was on sabbatical. We thought it would add another dimension to us as contributors but then realized – hey, that’s a hell of a lot of work over and above writing an article. And, I’ll be honest, while I do a lot of news interviews for local television, I will never be nominated for any Mr. Photogenic award. We would want to grow an audience, not repel it.
>>hey, that’s a hell of a lot of work over and above writing an article.<<
Given the several years of CC already in the can, there is a sizeable body of work, pix and words, at hand ready to be assembled into videos and uploaded. You guys just need to audition yourselves to see who has the best sounding voice to read the text of the article into the audio track. Drach has appeared in front of the camera exactly once, to my knowledge, when he was at a conference with a couple other WWII historians. He does have a full time job as an engineer, and a (very understanding) wife, so the time load can't be that bad.
Hoovie has ten times the subscribers that Drach has, but I shudder at how much his costs are as he keeps buying bad cars in need of thousands of dollars of repairs. 2stroketurbo's costs are probably a lot lower than Hoovie's, but he has fewer than 60K subscribers, so I guess more people want to see Hoovie's latest dumpster fire, than 2stroke cruising down the road in a Subie 360.
You guys do whatever you feel is right.
Another Drach fan!
Paul, thanks for the explanation. Just the extra communication makes the ads more palatable.
My feedback about the new ads: the annoying part is that the ads load much slower than the page, so nearly every time when I click on a story or a picture, an ad has just loaded there or somewhere above and I end up somewhere I didn’t want be..
I have noticed the increase in the number and aggressiveness of the ads. I figured that it was a move to bring in increased revenue. I don’t see anything wrong with that. You have worked long and hard to produce this excellent site. You should be compensated for your efforts. Realistically, I should contribute annually because this site is worth it to me, but i’m kind of a cheapskate so I’ll just tolerate the ads, at least for now.
Well, I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of this dialogue. In most cases blog sites, or other special interest type web spaces change formats or impose new guidelines or restrictions that effectively “force” the viewer/reader to comply or “deal with” new inconveniences or expenses, whether it be monetary or time/aggravation. So kudos for this post, as it brings the readership into the conversation.
Yes, the new ad structure is a bit of a struggle…IF the reader has no interest in any of the ads. Fortunately, whether by design or coincidence, I’ve actually clicked and followed a few ads over the years I’ve been here. Granted, it’s probably only .02 percent of the time, but it happens. So ads work. And they’re a necessary evil. Period.
From a personal perspective, I lurk around CC while in the office most of the time. It just serves as a mini break in my workday, and frankly I find that having an interesting post or some rousing comments to peek into between other tasks or while sitting on hold (which in my business is an annoying fact of life) serves to maintain my sanity throughout the day. The new ads don’t really impede the effectiveness of CC for my purposes.
But: is this site worth a few bucks a month? Frankly after 25 years of the same daily drudgery and no doubt 10 more years ahead, yes. Yes it is. Because there are days when I’d quite literally lose my shit if I didn’t have something to distract from the monotony or insanity. I’ll put a few dollars a month where my mouth is. In the meantime I’m more than happy to deal with a few flashing ads. As a matter of fact, I just noticed a sale at Best Buy that actually is of interest to me. So there’s that.
Thanks for giving the readers a forum to at least have a passive say in the goings on around here.
We’ll get used to the new ad placements, just as we got used to the old ones when they were new.
Sites that want to monetize but aren’t ginormous pretty much have to go the route of Adthrive (or Ezoic) with their frequent inline placements and also fly-ins. I see it a lot in the bigger film-photography blogs I follow. It’s not a great user experience, but it’s also pretty much the only way for the site owner not to take a bath running the site.
Keep on keeping on, Paul, we will all adapt.
The way the ads were setup on the website previously were not annoying and blended into the background well. Maybe that was part of the problem. They blended in too well to be effective. The new ads are somewhat more intrusive, but still far less than many other sites. I have one that is popping up at the bottom of my browser screen on my computer and it is somewhat annoying. The ad placed in the articles mostly doesn’t bother me, even though they do hamper the flow of the article. I am sure we will get used to the new model.
I think offering the donation option would be a good option, in particular if it would generate enough revenue to go back to the old ad model. However, I think going to a fully subscribed website would significantly drop off the reader membership. I am sure the core group of us would stick around, but it might be much more difficult to get new readers if they don’t know what they are missing.
I’m ok with the ads as well, and thanks Paul for the explanation. I kinda figured it was something along those lines.
Like some others have said, although it interrupts the flow of the article, the ads in the middle are not really that much of a bother.
The one that sucks though is the banner ad that floats up from the bottom. When I first encountered it, I was trying to type out a comment to post, and my iPad was going so slow, I would type a whole sentence before I started to see my words coming across the screen. I did eventually figure out that if I closed that banner, I could then type out my post normally. I’ve not seen this issue on a PC.
Also with the banner ad from the bottom, it’s a real pain when I click to enlarge a picture, and then when I hit the back button, it comes back. Then I have to zoom back out to close the box and double tap to move back in the read another comment or post my own. I really like to look at the pictures others post, and the reloading each time really does slow things down.
One other point is that the site seems to hang up on me more… like hanging up the phone. I log in, and in the past Word Press would leave me logged in for a few days before “hanging up”. Now it seems to log me off every time I close my browser (if using a PC) and maybe once or twice a day from the iPad. Not sure if it’s related. Perhaps someone with more IT knowledge like Dave Saunders could enlighten us.
You asked us once to not use an ad blocker and I’ve always respected this, and will continue to not use one. I even occasionally clicked on an ad if that counts for something, even if I wasn’t buying anything. I’ve also purposefully waited until I saw a retailer’s ad here a CC, if I was looking to buy something, thinking that maybe CC got some credit for the purchase. Again, I don’t know how all this works, but thought it might help.
One final thought is to chide my own self here… I need to get off my ass and contribute. I’ve been a lurker, and part of the commentariat, but if I ever get some free time, I’d like to write for the site eventually. I think it would be a cool hobby. I should monetarily contribute as well… both here AND to Wikipedia, the latter recently acting like a PBS station as the holidays approached. I’m guilty as charged… I read it for free.
Keep on keeping on, Paul (and everyone). This is the best automotive website out there, even cutting edge I’d say. The Curbside Newsstand is an excellent addition to this site, and sometimes, you guys get the scoop on the big boys like Motor Trend (Now there’s a site with seriously intrusive ads… we’re talking click bait level!) Case in Point: I read about the all new Mazda CX-30 here, a full 3 days before seeing it on Motor Trend. Well done!
Sounds like a reasonable solution. I’m very grateful for this site, being someone who has been in love with cars my whole life and was lucky enough to be a boy during the golden decade of the 60’s. I found this site by accidnet some months ago and have been a daily visitor since.
I don’t mid the ads; my personal belief is that anyone bothered more than a little by ads has been truly fortunate no to have had any real adversity in their lives.
I’m here all the time so obviously the ads don’t bother me. Though perhaps they are a little antithetical to the spirit of CC, as most of the ads seem legitimate; they are not the modern Internet equivalent of the thumbnail ads for sea horses, surplus jets, or portable sawmills that some of us grew up with in the heyday of Popular Mechanics. But I suppose that’s probably a good thing.
Have you considered Patreon? I support a photo web site that I visit daily via an automatic monthly PayPal deduction that way, but it doesn’t have to be just from PayPal, debit or CC cards can also be used. It’s a win/win as I don’t have to remember it every month and the photographer has a known amount of income from it vs an up and down cycle because of holidays, vacations, etc. Something like that plus a reasonable amount of non-obnoxious ads might work.
I hate ads, but I enjoy this site. It would be nice if you had a suggested donation or a managed subscription solution, but some other sites I support ask for $20-25 per year so I’ve used that as a guide and donated $25.
Keep up the good work.
Being a person whose knowledge of computers almost stretches to knowing what the “on” button achieves, I presumed the recent change was some virus (or bacteria or inflammation) that my own device had picked up, as it is certainly not faithful to me or my inputs.
Now that I know it was planned, is it in any way possible to dial it back just a bit? Flashing and otherwise visually shouty ads I can deal with, but the flicky-dicky where-the-hell-am-I-typing-now stuff is a bit much. I thought first that my computer was having a seizure, then I thought (as above) it had been cheating, then I thought I was developing epilepsy, till I realized I was merely behind the times (those times being but days before). Can something a little kinder to the reader be installed? I mean, I just agreed to buy 17 pairs of safety kickers from some supplier in Eugene while trying to type this. Twice.
This is strictly an observation. This is the only site in which my browser is actually telling me in the upper left hand corner that this site is using excess energy.
“This website is using significant energy. Closing it may improve the responsiveness of your Mac.”
Late model MacBook Pro,
2.2 GHz Intel Core i7
16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
I normally run two to three Adobe Creative Suite apps at the same time with no issues.
Thank you.
Ads are fine and necessary, but like now one covers the words I am typing. That particular quirk will get old fast. Other than that, bring on the ads. Reminds me of playing Missile Command back in the day.
I don’t find any problem with the ads, I pretty much stopped using PCs for web browsing and don’t use any kind of ad blocker on me devices.
But has the latest comments sidebar been removed? That seemed to have disappeared with the switch and is quite missed. Also there always used to be adspace above it too that doesn’t seem to pop as well, so all the ads I see are in the header next to the CC logo, the bottom of the article and the new popup one on the bottom. Same amount as before as recall. The old ads seemed smarter too, they were targeted, and I actually would click them from here to buy, but now all the ads seem to be real rigid so far, right now all three are for a Lexus sale, I couldn’t be further from a Lexus buyer!
The new ads do not work with my iPad. Article jumps up and down as I try to read. The ads need to already be loaded. Loading while I scroll makes me loose my place. Sometimes I’ve read the same sentence four times as the ads switch my location up and down. Not acceptable. Like your sight. But it no longer works on my iPad. I don’t comment but read daily.