Ads appear on Wi-Fi Networking News ... what th'?: Some of you may have wondered about the panel of Ads by Google at the far right of each Wi-Fi Networking News page. When Google announced they were launching AdSense, a program that allows sites to split revenue with them without any server nonsense or special relationships, I jumped in immediately. I don't have enough volume to work with any of the big boys in advertising, nor do I want to cope with the problems inherent in that.
Because Google uses its excellent technology to provide contextually appropriate ads by actually spidering and indexing the pages on which each ad appears, and then by tracking response rates and ranking ads on pages based on the clickthrough rate they obtain, the ads at right should not just help me generate some revenue for the site to continue my work here, but should also offer you all items and services that conform to what you need -- not just what the advertiser or site thinks you need.
We'll see how it pans out. Right now, the income from the ads is an awfully nice bonus, the equivalent (if it continues even at 50 percent of the pace) of writing a few features articles for a major publication each year. Google may single-handedly revolutionize the ability of folks like me to afford to run popular editorial sites.
What they're also making clear is that I need to build traffic at long last -- I've resisted in the past, because traffic hasn't translated into revenue. With the ad banners from Google, the more traffic I receive, the more likely it is that the clickthrough rate, remaining constant, will bear more of a return.
I'll never commercialize the site, but I will monetize it in ways that are clearly identified as ads or sponsorships, and which don't compromise the integrity of the news I report.