Online Ad Prices Keep Going Up, But Is It Sustainable?

from the bubblewatch dept

Perhaps one of the bigger signs that another bubble is growing is the persistent reemergence of companies and ideas that didn't survive the first bubble, such as the "free stuff (with ads)" business model. Seeing this sort of thing become pretty commonplace again points to the growing strength in online advertising for publishers and content owners: plenty of technological and commercial advancement (like Google AdSense) has been made in the space since the last bubble, while advertisers are throwing more and more money at online ads. However, with ad prices rising, some are wondering if web site owners and publishers might overestimate that strength and jack up their prices even more -- a move that could presage a correction or collapse of the ad-driven business model. Questions are already emerging about the amount of traffic sites are claiming to advertisers, and without solid data to back up online advertising, ever-increasing prices may not be sustainable. In some sense, advertising is to this bubble what VC money was to the last one, and if the massive inflow of money gets cut off, for whatever reason, things could get ugly.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Elohssa, 26 Dec 2006 @ 10:50am

    Well...

    ...if we haven't reached critical mass for porn, what chance do advertisers have to overload us?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Lazerus King, 26 Dec 2006 @ 10:54am

    I think...

    With my trusty Google pop-up blocker no chance!
    Unless Google decides not to block "sponsored" ads.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Brian, 26 Dec 2006 @ 10:58am

    Hmm

    This ecosystem is much more dynamic than the last. The ad buys of '90s bubble startups were fueled largely by VC money (as you said) and bartering with other doomed startups in the name of getting enough traffic to prop up a case for IPO. Plenty of banner-centric blind spending.

    These days there is real ROI being realized through current advertising, more dynamic and granular control of ad buys. I'm not sure you have a point here.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    William, 26 Dec 2006 @ 11:45am

    Ad Block Plus

    I use the Ad block Plus plug-in for Fire Fox and Google pop-up blocker. I almost never see ads online. The only time I ever see any is when it is embedded in video I want to see.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.