Bad Revenue

“Is there such a thing as bad revenue?”  I think the answer depends on how much you need it , but it does illustrate the dilemma that a usually positive thing can bring. 

Lately, I’ve pondered this whilst wrestling with the question of whether display advertising should be shown on classified sites. 

At its most basic, the answer is probably “no – it interferes with the user experience”.  Classified sites, unlike content rich sites (eg news, review, blogs etc), make their primary income from the advertising listings on the site.  As a result, it is easy to conclude that this is the purpose of the site and anything that doesn’t serve these advertisers is a distraction.

The case against continues when you think of the space on the site that is given up to display advertising.  Leaderboards sit at the top of the page pushing down any listings, and often relegating the site’s own brand to the next level.  MPUs, the must-have ad-spot today, can look great when served with video, but are of such a width that many classified sites have had to make compromises to make them fit onto the page.  But one of the biggest things that weighs against display advertising is the additional weight they can add to a page, slowing down the speed of response.

At this point, have I made a decision?  Philosophically, potentially…

As ever though, things aren’t that simple.  The revenue that is generated from display is actually quite useful.  It is revenue that we don’t have to ask for from our other advertisers.  It is also a feature that can enrich the general content of the site if it is complementary – though worth noting that very rarely does this seem to be the case. 

In my regular trawl of classified sites, I’ve been surprised by the variety of approaches to display advertising.  Some such as Rightmove look initially brave enough to take it off the site, until you discover some well integrated display slots that don’t interfere significantly with the experience – I particularly like the text links which are on topic .  It seems even the biggest players have not been brave enough to provide a clean experience for consumer or listing advertiser.  Other classified sites around have sacrificed their UX to the promise of making more money from display than listing, a very dangerous model if you ask me.

The majority of this thought is weighted to the negatives of display advertising, but still sites are not brave enough to forego it having structured their businesses around the expectation of receiving it.  Revenue has a way of being quite persuasive.