Inline Contextual Advertising
You’ve seen it before… it’s where select keywords within an article (some call it “in-text” advertising) will be hotlinked to contextually relevant advertising. The companies that have approached us so far includes Kontera’s ContentLink, VibrantMedia’s IntelliTXT, and AdBrite.
You may also recall that we banned Publishers from including this form of media advertising because it falsely implies that the author endorses the link. See section 1.n. in the Publisher TOS.
Here is what it would look like if it was in-text within an article:
(Click For Bigger Image)
My opinion today continues to be that this form of advertising on EzineArticles.com is not appropriate.
Perhaps the best type of website for *inline or in-text* contextually relevant ads are FORUMS.
What about In-Text Advertising in Blogs?
Very well known bloggers have included this type of advertising, but I’m not sure it builds reader trust.
Another type of in-text ads is linking up contextually-relevant words to affiliate program links, such as what Michel Fortin does with his blog. (read his EzineArticles here) He’s pioneering here, so you’ve got to give him credit for trying something new. I’m still not sure it’s the right thing to do because it may confuse a newbie reader that isn’t sure whether he’s endorsing the link or if he’s trying to add value to his blog entries by giving an active link to something relevant. The line is blurred.
Curious: How do you feel about in-text or in-line contextualy advertising?
I’d have to agree with you here. I personally find these types of ads confusing with some blogs.
I prefer not to use them on my main blogs as I find a lot of the ads do not tie in with my post. When this occurs they can be more of a nuisance than value.
It would be interesting to hear from people who have been using them for a while. Maybe they are more suited to news or specific niche blog site.
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