Where are the ads? - YouLookFab Forum

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Where are the ads?

Greg

By now, a few observant members have probably noticed that (most of) the ads have disappeared from the site. This is temporary as I test a new feature that we will launch at some point in the future.

That is, the ability to pay a subscription to YLF and then opt out of ads. We want to offer you the option of supporting YLF directly if you would prefer that over supporting us by looking at the ads.

For the moment I am just trying to make sure that the ad-free version of the site isn't broken in any way, so if you see anything strange, please let me know, either on this thread, in a private message, or by email to feedback@youlookfab.com.

By the way, ads are only turned off for logged in members, so if you're still seeing ads then you might be logged out. If you're logged in and seeing ads, let me know! It's a bug.

General

19 replies

Latest reply was from Greg

Lisa

Veteran

ok

Inge

(website)

Good to know, thanks Greg.

Sylvie

Veteran

Greg,

In the forum page, I see these fantastic thumbnails from the blog posts across the top of the screen. When I mouse over the images, I see the title of the associated blog post. However, when I click on them, it just links to the current page I'm on instead of the post.

Greg

Thanks Sylvie. Great catch!

I have fixed that bug and the links should now work correctly.

Patty

Veteran

How does that work--ads for support ? Sorry to ask--I've never understood how this works--I'd click all day long if it payed your bills LOL.

Greg

Thanks Patty. For the most part, the way it works is that each time an ad is displayed the advertiser pays YLF a tiny fee.

So in a sense you are supporting YLF just by viewing a page that also contains ads.

Of course, some people might not *want* to see ads and this is why we are planning to offer an ad-free version. The ad free version will also be a little bit faster because the site won't need to load the ads from the ad network.

HeleenH

Veteran

The links in top do work now. I was just going to comment I like the way you filled the advertising space!

krishnidoux

Veteran

Greg, I understand the logic. I am just wondering if the YLF experience will remain the same. If a group is paying and another not. It may feel like there is a clique, just a thought.

Greg

krishnidoux, I agree. That is definitely something to keep in mind.

People feel differently about advertising. Some like it, some are ambivalent, and some really don't like it at all. We would like all of these people to have a good experience at YLF.

I think over time we will offer more choices at YLF to try to make more people feel at home. I hope that doesn't create cliques in the negative sense.

Debora

Veteran

Thanks, Greg, for continuing to make YLF such a great place to visit. I'm sure that there will be members who will appreciate this option.

Jenava

(website)

Veteran

I think it's a fine idea...but I never mind the ads, honestly...I'm sure there are those who do, so it's nice to offer them the option...Just please tell me - are you planning to increase the amount of space dedicated to advertising at the same time that you do this?

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

I wouldn't mind paying for a membership to see no ads - I'm one of those people who get really annoyed by them (but know why they're there).

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

I don't like the time it takes to load some ads, but have never had that issue on YLF. YLF pages load fast! I have that problem mostly with Yahoo and other sites.

I actually find some of the ads interesting and have learned about new products/companies. If the ad is fashion related I am pretty interested. A lot of my ads are tailored google ads, reminders of something I've searched for or shopped for but haven't purchased yet.

So all in all, I am more than OK with the ads on YLF. However I like the idea of supporting YLF directly as well, so I'd have to think about this. I am also curious about Jenava's question.

Greg

Jenava, no such plans.

Sylvie

Veteran

Greg,

When I do a forum search, I see ads in three places on the screen:

Banner at top of page
Ads by Google on top of search results
Ads by Google to the right of the search results

My work screen is 1080 pixels tall and between the banner/ads/etc I can only see the first two search results. If I were using my home laptop (screen height of 768 pixels), I would have to scroll down to see any results.

Obviously, I am happy to support the site by viewing ads or potentially by subscription in the future. I find the product ads on YLF helpful and unobtrusive. However, I do find the multiple Google Ad boxes/not being able to see the first line of the search results on a smaller screen makes it less likely that I'll want to use the search function.

I don't know if these options are feasible from an economic or programmatic point of view, but if the Google Ad box on top of the results only had two links instead of four or if it were replaced by a shorter sponsored banner ad, the search results would appear higher up on the page and be more usable.

Please take this as a very, very gentle request. The site is wonderful as is and I really truly do appreciate all the hard work that you and Angie put into it.

Greg

Sylvie, wow, that's so true. The size of the Google ads on top of the search results page is much larger than it used to be. I haven't searched recently and hadn't seen that before.

I would actually like to remove that block of ads completely and I'm going to check whether that is possible in the Google setup.

One thing I should mention is that we use a Google service to power the search. The ad revenue from that is tiny, but the search itself is pretty good. After all, that's what they do.

This number of ads is over the top though. I'll see what I can do.

stringy

Veteran

Just wanted to add my 2 cents and say that no-ads-for-logged-in-paid-members is the method used on another site I visit regularly, and it's worked pretty well for them with no fuss over who's paid and who's not.

I'd prefer to support YLF with a direct payment rather than by viewing ads, but it's nice to have that as a choice and know that people who feel differently can do their own thing too. And there wouldn't be any need for people to say which they'd chosen, since it only affects your own viewing of the site and not anyone else's.

Kristen

(website)

Veteran

I was logged out a few minutes ago and there were ads, and I am logged in now and there are still ads. I'm assuming your test is done so they should be there.

FWIW, I think the idea of optional subscriptions is a great idea. They have had the same thing over at LiveJournal for years, and it doesn't create any cliques or issues between users. All it changes is how you view the site, with ads or without, and at LJ you also get more bandwidth for photos and more user icons. But every user still has access to all the same areas, tools and support no matter what. They even had annual and lifetime subscriptions, and the lifetimes were sold once a year during a sale. I paid $250 almost 10 years ago for it, and I'm still a regular user.

Greg

Kristen, yes, the test is over.

And thanks for that info about LJ. I didn't realize that they had done this. Interesting.