To Click, Or Not To Click...

[dgridley]

A wise old bard once pondered:

To click, or not to click.. that is the question..

er, well.. maybe he didn't say that exactly but how many of you routinely visit a site and click an ad just to show support or appreciation for the service or value you encountered while visiting the site?

Generally when I visit a blog, for example, I'll show my appreciation by clicking an Adsense ad to "show my support"... do you do this?

BTW- how many also routinely comment on a blog?

I've always been surprised in the lack of comments on my blogs for example.. many are missing the opportunity to score a PR4 backlink!

 

[Mark]

No - I never click ads out of appreciation ... After all , Someone paid for that advertising (Which I have to do every so often myself) and unless you are Genuinely interested in the site advertised - It's just Wrong. I often try to make a point to find the url if possible and enter it through the address bar on my browser as well , Especially If it is IT/ Domain related - and a few other areas of interest to me.

I don't frequent blogs much at all either ....

 

[gingeman]

Hmm, interesting "website ethics" debate coming? I think if its a massive company they're not going to miss those few cents on the ad; I'd happily do it in the right circumstances I think, just not something I'd ever considered before. Guess it totally depends what side of the fence you are standing on...

 

[dgridley]

I see your point, but presumably the ad is related to your interests if it's displaying on a site you've chosen to visit..

I guess I've done it often enough.. I read several blogs on a regular basis, enjoy them, and generally try to click an ad "to help out" if I'm interested.

For me, it's an easy way to show appreciation short of sending a donation and just wondered if anyone else did this?

I'm thinking ethics don't really enter into it as I generally won't click an ad unrelated to my interests.

No - I never click ads out of appreciation ... After all , Someone paid for that advertising (Which I have to do every so often myself) and unless you are Genuinely interested in the site advertised - It's just Wrong. I often try to make a point to find the url if possible and enter it through the address bar on my browser as well , Especially If it is IT/ Domain related - and a few other areas of interest to me.

I don't frequent blogs much at all either ....

 

[B33R]

I agree with everything Mark said. I can't really expand on anything. He summed it up really well.

The one thing I will add is that if I like a site, you can guarantee I'm gonna tell people about it.

If I write a post and think about that site and it's relevant to the thread and what the other people would be interested in, I post about it. Occasionally I'll make a thread if I think a site is particularly good.

IMO more publicity and extra visitors, especially people who would be interested in what the site has to offer, is far better than one click on a 20 cent ad.
((and far more morally right too. ))

 

[LeetPCUser]

I always click ads to sites which I think deserve it. The sites I am not too fond of I don't.

 

[jeter4982]

It depends on if the ad catches my intention at all or not. I am both a publisher and an advertiser, so I think I can see both sides of the issue, but I don't go out of my way to find an ad and click on it to support the site...

 

[ben51959]

Clicking on ads to support the site? Bad idea... Bad bad idea...

Only click on the ads if you are interested in the ad! For one thing, you could get that pubisher banned from adsense if you click on their ads often enough. Anouther thing is that it is generally just bad for CPC.

Ads shouldn't be used as a "Rating System"!!!

 

[ammo]

Ive started to do it recently. Just a nice way too show appreciation, I usually do look at the ads I click as well as they usualy catch my attention. Everyone wins that way!