Ads on Your Business Blog? Only if You’re Like Hubspot!

Courtesy of WordPress.com

This may end up being a controversial post i the end, but I just wanted to get my opinion on the matter out there.  Some people will agree with me while others will claim that “any space” is good ad space if you have traffic.  I think that there’s a place for “ads” on business blogs but those are not the traditional ad network banners that most will think about when blog ads come to mind.  Let’s take a closer look at my thoughts and then you can sound off at the end…

Why Ads are Bad for Your Business Blog

Ad spots on business blogs are just unprofessional if they are pasted all over the place with the sole intent of getting them seen or clicked on.  It’s the reason why my sole ad is in the footer.  I want people to use and benefit the program but I also don’t want it to be in your face.  Besides, it’s not the reason why C4B exists.

And, think of this:  Unless you’re doing affiliate marketing (which is what my ad is) then you really don’t have any control over what ads appear in the spots that you set.  Not without a lot of tweaking, anyways.  I remember reading an article online, but for the life of me can’t remember where, talking about this exact thing.  The article was about the ill effects of caffeine and coffee on the body and I think there was even a death involved.  However, that didn’t stop Google Adsense from plopping a big fat coffee ad on the page because it was contextually accurate based on the keywords in the article.

Putting ads on your business blog is a personal choice, of course.  But I’d be that 9 out of 10 business owners would agree with me here.  It just doesn’t send a good message.

Is this site really “ad free”?

Or, can you…

Don’t fret, though!  Get creative and make your own ads for your business blog and site then place them on your pages! Take a look at Hubspot’s blog page and you’ll see a large ad running the top of the page and another in the sidebar…both ads are offering FREE eBooks from Hubspot themselves and helping to build their client and email list while at the same time offering great information for FREE!  I don’t know the analytics but they I bet those ad spots are killing it for the Cambridge, Ma. based business!

Create your own banners and calls-to-action and place them in your sidebars or a few ad spots.  You’ll be keeping your readers engaged with your site and you’ll get additional chances to offer your services and products.  Offer studies, eBooks or “exclusive” content that is not available on the regular site and add the final “hard sell” in that content!