HubPages Ad Program - New Campaign Testing New Ad Unit

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   Marina Lazarevicposted 12 years ago

   For Hubbers who are participating in the HubPages Ad Program:
   
   We are testing a new type of ad unit from now until the end of the month. The campaign is for Mrs. Meyers cleaning products, and the ad unit will expand if a user hovers or clicks on the area marked "click or hover to expand." There will be a 3 second delay upon clicking or hovering before the unit expands to cover the entire window.
   
   In the past our advertising policy required an expanding ad to be initiated by the user with a click. Now, we are testing a more interactive unit, that is still user-initiated, but with a lower threshold for expanding. These types of units are more prevalent and yield higher CPMs than standard ad units.
   
   You may see the ad running on Hubs in the family, holidays, home, pets, and food categories.

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      BRIAN SLATERposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for the update Marina.

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      Ms Deeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Seems a good one to try. Thanks for letting us know.

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      SunSevenposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Any intention of publishing an update? Its almost 10 days, right?
      
      Well, my CPM took a splash after you started testing this.

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   ProCWposted 12 years ago

   Sounds great! Thanks!

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   Nell Roseposted 12 years ago

   Hi, thanks for all the hard work anything that improves and helps hubs is great!

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   RedElfposted 12 years ago

   

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   paradigmsearchposted 12 years ago

   Something wrong. Not right.

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   Peggy Wposted 12 years ago

   Thanks for any efforts on your part to improve $$$'s.  Am certain that all "hubbers" feel the same.

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   Rochelle Frankposted 12 years ago

   I must have run into this accidentally somewhere while trying to view a hub-- don't remember exactly where. I thought I had done something wrong, but apparently I made an unintentional 'hover' at some point.

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   Mark Ewbieposted 12 years ago

   I don't want to be the forum moaner, but aren't this type of Ad just the sort of thing to annoy the casual visitor?

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      Randy Godwinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Or even the occasional well dressed visitor! 

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         Chuckposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks.  I also appreciate all the HubPage team is doing to help us get our traffic and earnings back up.

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      Rochelle Frankposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I found it somewhat annoying because I didn't know where it came from and what, if anything, I had done to make it appear.
      It wasn't something I was looking for, and I hoped it wasn't a virus.
      Also, it didn't seem to have an easily detectable 'close' button. I think I quit my browser and then reactivated to get back to where I wanted to be.
      
      I thought only people who signed on to test this could see it.

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         Mark Ewbieposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         And that is the user experience I'm talking about right there. I was thinking of writing a hub with mouse park pictures on it, so the viewer could be sure they weren't going to get spammed.
         I thought pop ups went out about five years ago?  Or were listed in the most annoying things about pages?
         Back arrow and stop the site from appearing on new searches might just be a user response.
         I know there's a balance between sales and text to be made - please try to put yourself in the shoes of our all too occasional viewers.

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            Marina Lazarevicposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            To clarify, this unit is not a pop-up. These are still in violation of our ad policy. Pop-ups automatically open up a new window over the existing page. The unit we are running is a more conservative "expandable" ad unit, which at the most basic level, is distinct from a pop up because it is (1) user-initiated and (2) expands out of an existing ad unit.
            
            Also, we are testing this unit only with the Mrs. Meyers campaign. It will be done on June 30, and we will assess the impact. Keep in mind that each individual user can see this specific ad just one time a week at most.
            
            Thanks for all of the great feedback!

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               Rochelle Frankposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               It may be user initiated, and not an actual pop up-- but, as some have mentioned, it seems to be opened easily by accident. 
               Also, when I did it accidentally, it covered most of the screen so I thought I had gone to a whole new page. It didn't seem to have an obvious close button. Maybe that was just my experience.
               I ended up closing my browser and restarting, to get rid of it. I wouldn't want my readers to do this, if they had just found my page.

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      DzyMsLizzyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Indeed!  I detest, despise, hate and abhor those kinds of ads.  They are SO very annoying, when you are trying to read an article, and even an accidental bump of the mouse, or when  trying to scroll down the page, if the mouse should wander, a stupid ad pops up right in your face, blocking the very thing you are trying to read!!
      I can't stand those kinds of ads!!  Even though I am not participating in this experiment, I am speaking from my experience as a reader of articles on other sites.  I think this is an extremely BAD MOVE on the part of HP!!

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         Sally's Troveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you for putting the exact words in my mouth.
         
         I detest these kinds of ads, will never return to a site that uses them, and in addition, will not send my friends here to HP to read my Hubs or anyone else's.
         
         Find another way...this ad strategy is not it.

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      Sally's Troveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Close, Mark...they are the type of thing to annoy any visitor.

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         Mark Ewbieposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Yep.  I don't know why I said casual.  I guess mine never seem keen.

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   Marina Lazarevicposted 12 years ago

   Hi all,
   We're trying to gauge how well this ad is received by users. We have the unit running at a maximum of 1 view per visitor in a week. Feel free to post your opinions on the ad unit in this thread.

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    K9keystrokesposted 12 years ago

    Appreciate the steps HP team has been taking to improve author income and traffic. Look forward to seeing how great the test works!
    Cheers~

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    CASE1WORKERposted 12 years ago

    I am not generally in favour of this type of ad as it detracts from the written work- hey i am not in it for the money ( if i was i'd be broke!) but i understand some are and hope that this will bring in more $$$$$$$$$

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    paradigmsearchposted 12 years ago

    HP ads revenue seems to be consistently less that half what it was a couple months ago.
    
    I am depressed.
    
    I am generally anti-mouseover. But since the user gets fair warning with the "click or hover to expand" notice, I don't consider it a no-no.

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    earnerposted 12 years ago

    They're annoying.
    
    I only just logged on to see if there are any reports/measures of Hub ads -v- adsense... as I'm thinking of turning off Hub ads shortly as I'm sure the Adsense CPM was double.
    
    So, came here to read for opinions... then I was going to run some CPM reports and decide.
    
    So you can put your cleaning ad idea right in the camp of "didn't get a vote up" from me.

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    Azure11posted 12 years ago

    I hate these type of ads because I always seem to activate them by mistake and they really annoy me - just hope the readers don't feel the same (and that I don't have many ads in those categories).

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       WriteAngledposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Totally agree.
       
       I also do not return to the offending web site if I can possibly avoid it.

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       Sally's Troveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Agreed.

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    dariashaktiposted 12 years ago

    I have to agree. While I appreciate the efforts of the powers that be, I also never return to a site that has pop up ads like this. Nor, honestly, do I want them popping up on my pages to which I send friends and colleagues.

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    AEvansposted 12 years ago

    Interesting and thanks

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    megmccormickposted 12 years ago

    So appreciate all you do to keep HubPages a viable place for us to write and all your efforts to help us generate extra income is just plain super duper groovy! Thanks so much!

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    Mrs. Menagerieposted 12 years ago

    Oooops,I know we are never supposed to click on our own ads...I accidentally "hovered" too long and opened a Mrs. Meyers ad.  Am I going to get in trouble?
    Now that I know, I can be much more careful in the future.

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       Rochelle Frankposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Yes, this is another problem. We know we are not supposed to click on ads in a casual or flippant way.
       I did it by accident before I even knew what it was. I didn't know I had "hovered". I didn't know what it was. I thought it was a glitch or a virus.
       Heaven knows, I am not much interested in housecleaning, so it HAD to be a mistake.

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       Marina Lazarevicposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       The ad unit will expand if you hover your mouse over the "click or hover to expand" button. The delay is intentional -- the unit will expand 3 seconds after the hover takes place.

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    skyfireposted 12 years ago

    I see only lower values in earning from hubpages ad program. Old format of ad was much better, atleast we used to get adsense clicks.
    
    Now adsense clicks on hubs are so rare that they're appearing like sparrows in concrete city.

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    Sophia Angeliqueposted 12 years ago

    No offense meant, but isn't this the same kind of thing that Kontera used? It's horrible and whenever I come across it when I'm on the web, I leave that place and go find another place to read the same kind of thing.
    
    The other thing, despite the drop in viewers, I still prefer adsense. I made more on adsense - even after the drop in traffic, than I do from your new ad program on impressions.
    
    Again, I was delighted to join HP precisely because it was click per ad and now I'm back to impressions. In my experience, impressions do NOT pay well.
    
    By removing the number of places that Adsense could be, you removed the capacity for adsense to be clicked on. I used to average about 2 or 3 clicks per 100 impressions. Now I average about 1 click every 600 or 800 clicks. That's because the space for adsense has been removed.
    
    I understand that you're trying to improve the earnings for readers. However, I think it would be better just to stick with Adsense and allow the numbers to climb again.
    
    I think you're going in the wrong direction.

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    dariashaktiposted 12 years ago

    Thanks for clarifying that, Marina, that makes me feel better. :}

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    SuperheroSalesposted 12 years ago

    Is the ad easy to close?  As long as the user can easily remove the ad from blocking text if they want to I do not see an issue with it.  I appreciate the opportunity for extra income.  Thanks, HP!

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    soni2006posted 12 years ago

    I am strictly against these types of ads. If I am going through a website and this happens for a single time, I never visit the site again. If the content is too important to be read at that point in time, then I go back to google search where I found the page and open the cached version so that I am able to read the content without any obstruction.
    
    So these types of ads should be total no no at HP.

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    Mark Ewbieposted 12 years ago

    As we are on the subject of adverts I just did a double take on a hub I was looking at.  A moving graphic, very bright and eye catching, telling me my IP address had 'potentially' won a TV.
    
    I don't know if that's a Google Ad or an HP one, and I suppose it works...
    
    But I don't like it.

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       skearposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I'm not a fan of them either but whatever works.  I think more people are becoming ad blind so the marketing people have had to go a bit crazy to get clicks.

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          WriteAngledposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          But it doesn't work! Loud, intrusive, flashing stuff on a web page simply drives people away.
          
          If I land on any web page that has anything flashing or animated in any way, a video or music playing automatically, or large, garish ads, I immediately assume such a site does not have anything of value to me whatsoever. I leave without reading a word and do not return.
          
          I am not the only one to say this here. Why are you not taking note of the fact many hubbers think these ads are driving readers away? Why are you making this site appear cheap and trashy?
          
          I also note that most of the big HubAds, as well as being cheap and trashy, have nothing whatsoever to do with the topic of the Hub. At the moment, I am getting huge ads for putting photos on canvas whenever I look at any of my hubs.

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       Marina Lazarevicposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Mark,
       
       The ad you're describing is in violation of our ad policy. It could have been served by Google AdSense or another ad network through the HubPages Ad Program. If you could grab a screen shot of the ad and send it to adops@hubpages.com, we can verify the network serving it and get the ad blocked.
       
       Thanks!

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          Mark Ewbieposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Ah, OK, thanks Marina.  Unfortunately I can't even remember which hub it was on, but I will try to remember next time I see one that looks a bit dodgy.

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    melbelposted 12 years ago

    Hopefully I don't have too many hubs in that category. I don't want to annoy my visitors. :S

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       Sally's Troveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I do have one Hub in a category that would spawn a Meyers ad (that is, if the Meyers ad is content-spawned). If the Meyers ad in its current invasive version shows up on my Hub, my words will look stupid and uninformed, because I don't talk about Meyers products. An unobtrusive AdSense ad, even a larger graphic HP ad for a product that competes with the content of my Hub is fine...because it doesn't obliterate my text.
       
       I know I already had a lot to say in this thread about this new campaign, but I couldn't resist putting in two more of my cents.

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          Mark Ewbieposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          I think this thread warrants debate.  I have been thinking it over. We spend time, or some of us do, trying to ensure an on message read for a viewer that might lead to a click on associated ads.  I don't get the point of unrelated advertising.
          Those fish pedicures were an example.  What on earth?

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             Sally's Troveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             I agree, Mark, but I think that might be another thread, or maybe there's already a thread out there about HP ad relevance.
             
             When HP first started their Ad program in March, I was delighted to see relevant HP ads on my Hubs. That has changed.
             
             However, I haven't done the necessary detailed investigation to show that change, so I can't raise too much of a flag right now.
             
             So if there's another thread out there, let's get involved with it, if not, then I nominate you to start one.
             
             Meanwhile, at the end of this month, I'm disabling HP ads and going back to AdSense. I owe myself that experimentation.

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    manthyposted 12 years ago

    Thanks for the update - I am thankful that HB is looking for more ways to generate income for us!

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    wheelinalloverposted 12 years ago

    Has anyone tried underlining text which would open ads in another window. This is currently the taught method for getting people to other sites to buy things related to content for website owners who use affiliate marketing.
    
    This should even help with panda as there could be less ads on a page but still ways to get a customer based now on content they trust. I understand that this would be harder to teach especially to newbies. I do think however a few good hubs about it would make it viable. In my opinion this lack of being able to hit from content is costing every hubber possible sales.
    
    I am another one who gets annoyed when trying to read something only to have something pop up and cover what I am trying to read. If the information is not something which really holds my interest I will leave the page and not return.

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    Dolores Monetposted 12 years ago

    While I really like the Meyers products (I think it's them) the idea of running those kinds of ads do not make me happy. When I run into an article that displays ads that take over the article, I am so out of there. Do no like this one little bit. (I am usually enthusiastic about HP changes)

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    danfresnourbanposted 12 years ago

    I commend HP for continually trying to improve, however I agree with some of the other comments about agravating links. I trust that hp will implement with cautiion, which it sounds like they are doing.

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    SunSevenposted 12 years ago

    My HP earnings and cpm took a dive after this testing began.
    
    Any correlation?

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    psycheskinnerposted 12 years ago

    I have to agree that I hate these ads and consider them pop-ups. Therefore I do hope they 'fail' the testing....

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    Shadesbreathposted 12 years ago

    I had a person decide to come check out my hubs based on some LinkedIn comment I had made. The reason I know is because this is what she wrote on LinkedIn:
    
    "I went to check out your humor hubs on Hubpages, but I got some weird pop up that blocked out my screen. I didn't know what it was, and I didn't click on anything, so I shut down my browser and left. Sorry."
    
    I actually found myself apologizing.

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       Mark Ewbieposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Great.  So she thinks you're a spam merchant.

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    tlpoagueposted 12 years ago

    I think it is great that HP is going through an effort to make changes to improve the site, but here lately there are a few that I am just not enjoying as much. I have been finding these ads annoying and some hard to find the close button. The flashy ads that were mentioned earlier I have seen show up on some of my hubs. I was once told that they were a scam and had a virus attached, so I avoid clicking on them out of caution since I am not very computer savy.
    Just curious, is there a way to keep the hovering ad from opening so big it takes over everything? I dislike these as much as the one's that talk to you and you can't figure out where they came from until you scroll to the bottom of the page. It is distracting. I wish HP the best of luck working this out.

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    psycheskinnerposted 12 years ago

    Down this road there is places like Examiner.com that I won't even touch now because they strew your screen with pop over and unders and sounds.  Ew.

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