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FaunaClassifieds Site HELP & Feedback Forum Anything of a nature concerning this website, moderators, admin, or anything having to do with how it is being run, should go here. Criticism is welcome, but abusive antagonism is not. THIS IS NOT THE FORUM FOR FEEDBACK CONCERNING BUYERS AND SELLERS! Such posts are ONLY allowed as replies to classified ads posted by the specific member involved in a specific issue with you.

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Old 04-03-2021, 10:54 AM   #1
SnakeSmithS
Pop-up ads!

What is up with the recent proliferation of pop-up ads on this website? I never experienced this problem until a week or so ago. Perhaps it is just my browser and not an issue that everyone is experiencing... IDK. It is really annoying though. Is there anything that can be done about this issue?
 
Old 04-03-2021, 02:55 PM   #2
WebSlave
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeSmithS View Post
What is up with the recent proliferation of pop-up ads on this website? I never experienced this problem until a week or so ago. Perhaps it is just my browser and not an issue that everyone is experiencing... IDK. It is really annoying though. Is there anything that can be done about this issue?
Google Adsense somehow enabled what they refer to as "vignetting" style ads on this site, and I had them removed very recently. I'm not real crazy about them neither, and as best I could tell, they weren't providing any additional income for this site. So I got rid of them.

I am also trying out a new ad campaign company, to see if the income they provide is worth having their popup ads at the bottom of pages. So far they seem to be a reasonable return for allowing them to use this website. So they will probably remain. I may have them only visible to visitors and regular non-contributing members sometime in the future, but for now I need to get a baseline on what they are providing financially for this site.

These are BUSINESS decisions which I need to consider and implement as I see appropriate and worthwhile for the financial health of this business.

Sorry, but with paying members, sponsorships, and paid advertising dropping off lately, I have to find other means of generating revenue to keep this site running. Yes, I understand that they may get in the way of some people coming to this site to buy and sell their animals and merchandise. But does anyone think it fair that they can use this site to make money for themselves, and yet I should be prohibited from doing the same? How would that be fair? I seriously hope you all don't think I am independently wealthy. Heck, I retired my SerpenCo business and am on social security. That sure isn't raking in the bucks.

Posting ads in the classifieds sections here is for *free*. Sponsorships and other advertising avenues are, I feel, very modestly priced for those interested in helping to support this site. Apparently less people are willing to do that now than they used to. Paying membership costs (and all other offered income producing functions for this site) haven't increased a dime since I implemented them nearly two decades ago. Most member functions are for *free*. Does that mean I should also work for *free*, and pay for the expenses of keeping this site here out of my own pocket and out of my retirement funds instead of trying to earn some money myself from the fruits of my own labors? Do you think it has been a picnic running this site all these years?

Yes, advertising can be annoying. I can't say that I am all that fond of it myself. But if anyone has a better idea about how to earn revenue from this website in a more non-intrusive manner less labor intensive manner beyond what I have already tried, or am trying, I am all ears.
 
Old 04-03-2021, 03:37 PM   #3
SnakeSmithS
Thanks for the detailed response. That makes sense. Certainly this cite is a valuable tool for those of us buying and selling herps and it's only fair that your hard work be compensated in some fashion. If that means having to close out ads every time I visit the site then so be it.
 
Old 04-03-2021, 04:08 PM   #4
WebSlave
Thank you for the supportive response. It is actually refreshing to engage in a conversation of this nature without having someone trying to chew my head off.
 
Old 05-10-2021, 11:24 AM   #5
WebSlave
I recently changed the types of ads being displayed via InfoLinks to see if they work better than the popup ads at the bottom of the screen. Looks like revenue dropped a bit, so I figure I should check with you all to see if the new method I am employing is better than the previous method. If it doesn't make any difference to most people, and I am losing revenue as a result, I may just go back to the original style of ads.

So speak up, please. Otherwise this will be a one dimension decision for me.
 
Old 05-10-2021, 03:57 PM   #6
SnakeSmithS
Personally, I am annoyed more by the pop-up style ads on the bottom that have to be closed out or ignored. However, since you do all the work here I'd argue you have every right to choose the ad type that generates the most return for your investment in time and energy. Cheers!
 
Old 05-10-2021, 07:39 PM   #7
WebSlave
You shouldn't be seeing the popup style ads at the bottom of the screen now. There should be a bar at the top with some text ad links that do mouse-over popups, and a static clickable image ad at the bottom of the screen.

Are you seeing something different?
 
Old 05-10-2021, 09:12 PM   #8
SnakeSmithS
I see the bar with ads at the top these days rather than the one at the bottom that was superimposed over things and had to be closed out ...which is definitely an improvement in overall experience. But again, if you need to reinstate the annoying ads at the bottom to keep the site up then please don't let my personal preferences stand in the way. The important thing to me is to have this resource for finding and selling herps. Thanks!
 
Old 05-11-2021, 11:00 AM   #9
Insomniac101
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeSmithS View Post
I see the bar with ads at the top these days rather than the one at the bottom that was superimposed over things and had to be closed out ...which is definitely an improvement in overall experience. But again, if you need to reinstate the annoying ads at the bottom to keep the site up then please don't let my personal preferences stand in the way. The important thing to me is to have this resource for finding and selling herps. Thanks!


I use my phone to do just about everything now. I turn it horizontally for a better view, and the ads at the bottom were annoying. But however you need to run your site is fine by me. I can deal with ads, if it means that Fauna stays up and running.
 
Old 05-11-2021, 01:32 PM   #10
WebSlave
Well, since I changed the style of the ads from InfoLinks, that revenue has been cut in half for the last two days.

Unfortunately, advertising WANTS to be in your face and prefers to be unavoidable. Honestly, I have been to sites that had so much advertising of every style imaginable, I just quickly exited the site and forgot about pursuing whatever it was that brought me to the site in the first place. Is such advertising still profitable to the website owners? Certainly you would think there is a point at which diminishing returns takes over. Advertising efforts fail if there are no longer any viewers to see the advertising. Advertisers will not pay for advertising if they don't see results from the money they are spending. So companies like InfoLinks are going to try to provide methods that earn THEM money via the advertisers THEY are trying to attract. Honestly, the herp business is a very small pond, and targeted ads for this industry/hobby are hard to come by. So what we see as apparent "spam", is just the advertising company putting anything, rather than nothing, into those advertising slots. Some are targeted via YOUR interests based on websites you have visited. For instance, I went to B&H Photo looking for something, and now I am inundated with ads from that company. Sportsman's Guide is another one that sucks you down into the black hole of their advertising efforts. So at least they are trying to provide you with something that may possibly be of interest to you. But who wants to get smacked in the face with 10 ads all from the same company on a single page?

So the line I need to walk is probably pretty narrow between earning enough revenue to help, and chasing away viewers because it is just too much and gets in the way of what they are here to see.

I have never had in mind making a lot of money off of my sites. I have no desire to get rich, just reasonably comfortable in life. I never buy anything that I can't afford to pay the credit card in full when the bill shows up. Of course, I discovered that I need a new roof on the house which is going to cost a pretty penny, so that means dipping into the retirement savings. But I guess that sort of surprise expense is exactly why you need to save money in the first place.

But that sort of problem is not the responsibility of the revenue from this site. The goal is for my sites to be self sufficient, financially, and quite honestly to earn enough money to make it worth my time and efforts to keep it running. Quite honestly, if I were to be just breaking even, why in the world would I keep on doing this? Getting rid of the Board Of Inquiry was a big load off of my shoulders, but there is still crap that needs to be done to try to keep things running smoothly. Quite honestly, the moderators help out tremendously here, and without their help, I seriously doubt this site would still be here today. I try to weed out as many potential scammers and spammers as I can, but they are the ones who catch most of them via context of what they may post on the site. My checking IP addresses can only do so much, and it is child's play for someone to spoof an IP address via VPN services and the like.

Anyway, back to the issue at hand.

Just for giggles, I may enable every ad function from InfoLinks for a day or two just to see what sort of difference that makes. I do apologize in advance for this, because I am pretty sure the results will be horrible for viewers. But I already know what zero ads from InfoLinks provides for revenue, and I now know what two of the options separately produces. Of course, such experimenting won't show long term effects, as it cannot take into account the people who will see all the ads and just say "Screw this! I am out of here!", and two months later traffic has died off completely.

So bear with me, please. This stopped being a hobby for me long ago and became a business with all the associated headaches and necessities. Just as this site needs to work for the people coming here to sell their animals and merchandise, running this site has to work for me too to make it worth my time and efforts. I would seriously like this site to be successful (or at least useful) for both yours and my sake.
 

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