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On a PC using Firefox and the stuff all moves around for a while and then the forum shifts left and the STW ad appears over the top.
Any ideas how to stop it without paying?
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I get that with chrome as well
I get that with chrome as well
+1, refresh and it loads proper after a go or two.
Its doing it for me too. minimise the window a little and its fine
It's a rogue ad from a network screwing with the site CSS and stuff. We are trying to track it down now.
Thanks Mark - thought the site was picking on me because I said it is unusable on iPads.
Glad you are on top of this one.
Do ads just get randomly served via a 3rd party or do you vet them all first?
And again. How long before delete?
If you still do not know how to use Firefox you are sssooooo yesterday ... 😆
Same as WCA here. Thanks for dealing it, Mark.
And it's gone! 🙂
oooff.
Ads are a combination of what we call 'Directs' and 'Network'. The Directs are ads that we get to vet because they have been booked with us directly by the advertiser. These tend to be mainly from the bike industry as it's easier for us to have a working relationship with them since we know most of the industry by name.
Network ads come from a variety of sources and we don't know what will appear on the page until it's appeared. We have certain controls over the content of the ads via what is known as a block list. Our block list contains stuff like, Gambling, dating, sexual health, drugs, adult etc. So these sorts of campaigns shouldn't appear.
At the top of the page for me right now is a Volvo ad. Volvo didn't put it there. They paid an agency to distribute it across the internet to a certain demographic. Our website demographic and traffic figures are listed in a network database that these agencies can access. The last stage in the long chain of Network connections for that Volvo ad was Google's ad display arm called Adsense.
There are other suppliers like Adsense that we use. For example Criteo. If you have been browsing the web looking at stuff on retail websites and then noticed the exact products you were just looking at displayed in the ads on here then those ads will have probably come from Criteo. These ads are called retargeted ads. That's one level of targeting but others ads are targeted to the general demographic of the website rather than to individuals (retargeting). Other ads are just very random and the agency responsible for placing it down the line will have just bought cheap inventory that isn't targeted in any way.
Ads on our site are prioritised by us so that the highest paying ads are displayed to you first. Only after a few page impressions into your session should you see an increase in the cheaper, not very targeted ads.
What this means for us is that you are most valuable to us for the first 4 pages you look at. After that the ads that are displayed around the content you view start to pay less and less.
For example, the Epic TV player pays very well but only for the first page you look at. As a test, open an icognito window (if you know about such things) and open a page on the site - You shoudl see the Epic TV ad. Now refresh the page and it will disappear and you should not see it again until 24 hours later.
Most high value campaigns are capped at 4 impressions in 24 hours. The theory being (backed up by lots of data) is that after the 4 time of seeing an ad the chances of you clicking it drop off a cliff, so further impressions tend to be a waste of time.
Hi Mark - I know you have been getting a bit of a kicking over the ads recently but I for one do appreciate you taking the time to explain this to us.
Thanks
Can I just add, that even though coming back to "forum leech" status from a premier trial, the adverts are hardly earth shattering annoying. Yes like the OP, the occasional miscreant ad gets in for a couple of hours but even the tablet specific lloyds/that watch one only tend to pop up when I change forums, not the end of the world.. and as for the 2 free review things, many thanks, couldn't post that on the "news" pages as I'm not a premier member!
Our website demographic and traffic figures are listed in a network database that these agencies can access
How do you (or anyone else) know what your demographic profile is?
(not being accusatory or belligerent - just honestly curious)
I cant stand the Lloyds Private Banking one jamming the whole page of my tablet. rubbish 🙁
How do you (or anyone else) know what your demographic profile is?
user profiling via cookies, loads of sites do this as a service eg
They are on lots of sites and build up a profile (of you) by which sites you visit. They can then average these and create a profile for the average visitor to any site...
Not sure who STW use....
EDIT: Ghostery tells me it is AddThis, Google Analytics and OpenX.
I know you said this...
Any ideas how to stop it without paying?
... but just have a P. It's less than 15 quid for the year, for how much time you spend here it's probably a bargain.
Oh the problems of the common peasantry.
Come on WCA. Stop buying bloody cars at get yourself a nice shiny 'P'. Elevate yourself above the plebs 😀
you are most valuable to us for the first 4 pages you look at
That'll be the pages I see before I log myself back in again 🙂
Oh the problems of the common peasantry.
Peasantry? He's got a bloody hot tub and sauna in his shed!
I don't mind talking about how it works. It's actually fascinating really and unimaginably complicated when you get into it. In terms of demographics of the site, we don't actively feedback anything - it's all gathered by the internet giants as you browse around. Google gives us a daily breakdown of the gender of visitors - if you think about how they know that kind of stuff it starts to get a bit tin foil hatty.
🙂
Wasnt it boots that were able to work out when female customers were pregnant [i]before the customer did![/i] from changes in their shopping patterns?
It says here that you are wearing your favourite lucky pants today Stoner
🙂
I did some work for a global advertising company that basically sold the space people placed their adverts on : eg Billboards, radio, TV etc
They were working on the EYE To BUY process trying to track the punters from when they saw a poster to when it was repeated on TV or radio to when they clicked on the website etc
As Mark says, quite scary thinking about how they track your movements relative advert locations, link it to browser habits and scan postings to trace your TV and Radio preferences...
Mark - Resident GrumpyMost high value campaigns are capped at 4 impressions in 24 hours. The theory being (backed up by lots of data) is that after the 4 time of seeing an ad the chances of you clicking it drop off a cliff, so further impressions tend to be a waste of time.
I see. Good to know.
Can I put in an add just to annoy STW folks? I mean bombard them with my as many smiley as possible with loud noise? i.e. seriously overdoing it to the point that when they sleep they see my "ad".
Ya, that will learn them to bow down to me.
😆
we don't actively feedback anything
No, but you allow the profiling companies to run Apps on your site and hence gather info via tracking cookies on your readers...
Not that I have a problem with that.
Despite repeatedly searching for vibrating butt plugs on Google, I still can't get any ad's from IndustrialGradeDildosRus.com to appear on any STW pages. Google aint that clever!
Mark, that's a brilliant post! Thank you for taking the time to explain it, I now have a vague understanding of how the whole system works, I had absolutely no chuffing idea at all before.
Appreciate it very much. 😀
Most high value campaigns are capped at 4 impressions in 24 hours. The theory being (backed up by lots of data) is that after the 4 time of seeing an ad the chances of you clicking it drop off a cliff, so further impressions tend to be a waste of time.
In the case of the Tudor and Lloyds Banking ads, that is so very, very true!
Despite repeatedly searching for vibrating butt plugs on Google, I still can't get any ad's from IndustrialGradeDildosRus.com to appear on any STW pages. Google aint that clever!
Well it is but...
We have certain controls over the content of the ads via what is known as a block list. Our block list contains stuff like, Gambling, dating, sexual health, drugs, adult etc. So these sorts of campaigns shouldn't appear.
They are not that smart - I keep getting the tripster ad but I've already bought one, and I get other ads for stuff I have bought online. It's taking slace away from ads that might actually sell me something, like for one of those airwheels...
I would just like to say to the lloyds private banking people that have popped up 4 times today that with a combined household income of less than £40k and about, ooooh, £600 in savings and many times more in unsecured debts, i am probably a waste of that 'high value' advertising slot!
Watch advert has given up on me, mind.
Shhhhhh. Don't tell Cougar what's being discussed. He's busy having a meltdown over this very subject elsewhere 🙂
Lloyds ad ends tonight.
How about rubber watch man?
That one is got a while to run yet.
I have just tightened up the capping on it though.
It is currently delivering between 1.5 - 2k impressions a day. To add some context it's now 11:20pm and so far today we've delivered just under 900,000 ad impressions.
Lloyds ad ends tonight.
Tonight as in midnight Friday?
Had it twice early Saturday.
They are not that smart - I keep getting the tripster ad but I've already bought one, and I get other ads for stuff I have bought online. It's taking slace away from ads that might actually sell me something, like for one of those airwheels...
You should be glad that while we (advertisers) "follow" you, we don't always follow you so far as to know that much, certainly I couldnt with the networks on STW and our current setup, its technically possible but the cost of setup outweighs benefits in many cases as the cost is pretty low for those ad types so a bit of waste is not too significant. Admittedly it is a bit of a blunt method but it's all built into the financial models for such adverts, they pay back even if we keep giving the ads after purchase on occasion.
Tonight as in midnight Friday?
Had it twice early Saturday.
And at 8.30 this morning
Our of curiosity, what's the industry standard for click rates? Factoring in accidental. And is there any info on how effective it is in the 'I saw an ad once, then remembered it months later and went to the retailer (etc) in question' and which group is most likely to click.....
Actually, you could just link to somewhere that provides some insights on this stuff. Genuine interest.
ahh yes, clear my history
Just pay your way you stingy gits.
Hey, where's my "P" gone?
Lloyd's very much up and running on two occassions I have visited the site.
Is it really that difficult?
Subscribe to our site, or we'll spam your browser, or get lost. Think I'll hold on to my money for the moment but thanks all the same.
And how else would you pay for the site to be run? People expect something for nothing these days.
Subscribe to our site, or we'll spam your browser, or get lost
It's hardly spamming is it, a few ads on the side, one rogue CSS that buggers the page and the fact that all your expensive tablets can't cope with the normal internet 😉
Mike, did you read the title of this thread before posting?
Ditto - mol, who is arguing against your point?
yep I did, there are 2 issues that are going on and this just seems to be another rambling ad hating thing, Mark explained the rogue CSS thing previously.
Yes, affecting pcs as well as "all your expensive tablets"
What has the cost if the tablet got to do with it anyway???
The explanation only partially holds up to scrutiny though....
mol, who is arguing against your point?
Well enfht seemed to resent both the ads and the fee....
I think that like a lot of people he resents the nature of the recent ads and the fact that kill the ability to use the site effectively.
It's just poor, very poor.
I think most people accept that a certain level of ads are necessary to pay for the site but that a lot feel that it has gone too far when the ads take over your screen and force you to quit your browser to proceed
Edit- beaten to it by thm
Premier offered more than regular.
Regular now gives a sub-standard user experience.
The term Premier is misleading and should renamed Subscribed.
I use the site on iPhone, iPad Mac book. All run Safari and have a pop up blocking set on them. My windows laptop runs Firefox and install a add PPP blocker on that.
Still get the adds on the right and at the bottom but can live with them
In have pop up blocker set but still can't escape them.
You can escape them. It's easy. Get a subscription you tight-wad! 😛
But £1.49 a month would fix it
THM they are trying to fox this. The tech bods are enjoying their weekend off, Mark is promoting his company and trying to look after the site this weekend. They really don't want anyone to have a bad experience.
I love the irony of the people who can be found on other threads going on about their expensive German motors, carbon fibre ego-chariots, and share portfolio's, moaning that something they're not prepared pay for isn't up to their demanding and exacting standards! And then using the very mouthpiece that they consider a couple of quid a month far too much to shell out to support, to bitch and whine about it!
Priceless. Literally! 😆
Have a word with yourselves FFS!!
I love the irony of the people who can be found on other threads going on about their expensive German motors, carbon fibre ego-chariots, and share portfolio's, moaning that something they're not prepared pay for is no tup to their demanding and exacting standards! And then using the very mouthpiece that they consider a couple of quid a month far too much to shell out to support, to bitch and whine about it!
Woah, that's like spooky man,I was just thinking those exact same words 😯
😀
So in return for annoying me, I give someone some money. That's a great business plan, I think I'll try it.
I nearly signed up after Christmas, but I was put off by the smug attitude of some of the (so called) premier members and the take it or leave mentality of the management.
Double whammy - private banking followed by Tudor !
I love the irony of the people who can be found on other threads going on about their expensive German motors, carbon fibre ego-chariots, and share portfolio's, moaning that something they're not prepared pay for isn't up to their demanding and exacting standards! And then using the very mouthpiece that they consider a couple of quid a month far too much to shell out to support, to bitch and whine about it!
They are prepared to pay for it with looking at passive ads, but not with endlessly relaunching their browser. If that's the price stw charge then obviously they will lose customers. It's not a moral issue, just like any other buyng decision.
richmars - MemberSo in return for annoying me, I give someone some money. That's a great business plan, I think I'll try it.
Try and reframe it in your head, is all I can say. Is STW worth the price of admission, if you buy a P? I think for most of us, it is
(I'm a mag subscriber btw, I didn't pay for the site... Probably would though. It's a trivial cost against my time!)
The danger is, all forums are the sum of the people on them... So if we lose enough members and traffic, then it'll damage the forum. That'd be really sad for users and owners but also could mean it'd no longer be worth the price of a P, and simultaneously lose ad revenue.
And underlying that is the fact that the advertisers simply have no reason to care about that, they're migrant hunters not farmers and don't care if they kill the flock. It's barely compatible with a forum's business model, the only place the 2 come into contact is money. All in all it's a pretty abusive relationship, I bet Mark etc enjoy it even less than you do but I hope it's worth it.
Consider some of the alternatives, we've seen the way Bikemagic prostitute themselves to pay the bills, letting advertisers choose their [i]content[/i].
<edit- some people reckoned that was Pinkbike. But I'm pretty sure it was Bikemagic. So just for clarity, maybe it's not 100% certain. But the point stands regardless, people elsewhere in the industry are selling their content not just their ad space>
Are there any other services, provided gratis, that you use all the time, that you'd like to have a good old moan about? Or is it restricted to this forum?
I just don't like being misled.
'It only pops up once a day'. Wrong.
'It finishes Friday'. Wrong.
Are there any other services, provided gratis, that you use all the time, that you'd like to have a good old moan about? Or is it restricted to this forum?
You're talking like we're customers. We aren't. We're the product, wrapped and sold to advertisers.
Awwwwwwww, bless. 😆
Binners, seems like you are failing to understand why forums exist? It's a business proposition pure and simple. The awwwww bless comment seems more appropriately applied to the concept of a free service (bless 😉 )Rich and the Doc get what is going in at least as does Mark.
Drac, yes trying to fix it. But in any business it comes down to delivery doesn't it? And a a number if promises are not being delivered on. Hence the frequency of these treads.
I just don't like being misled.
'It only pops up once a day'. Wrong.
'It finishes Friday'. Wrong.
Mark doesn't like being mislead either so won't be happy that hasn't happened.
The last time someone was reporting that it was appearing too often, it transpired they'd got some sort of cookie blocker installed which was stopping the ads from realising they'd already run. Worth checking.
I honestly think £1.49 a month for use of this forum is a bargain. I don't need a P to avoid ads but am happy to pay as I think it's worth supporting.
When are all the "p" apologists going to start paying £1.49 per month for Google?
DavidB - MemberWhen are all the "p" apologists going to start paying £1.49 per month for Google?
Google control their own ads so avoid it being too invasive or inconvenient, in order to keep their footfall up, so that's never likely to become desirable
If google was suddenly £1.49 a month, I'd find a good competitor or I'd pay it, it is a phenomenal service. And honestly I don't think STW has a good competitor.
I'm going to be giving 1.49 to the postman for delivering my mail gratis.
I honestly think £1.49 a month for use of this forum is a bargain. I don't need a P to avoid ads but am happy to pay as I think it's worth supporting.
I'd be interested to see what the result would be if STW prevented access to the forums and classifieds unless the user paid £15, or even £1.50 for 30 days. I would imagine a significant decrease in traffic, which in turn would decrease their marketable value for ad revenue. Don't underestimate the importance of lurkers and passers-by. They're not freeloaders; they're vital statistics.
@3fish.That's a very good point with us, the critical mass, you P's wouldn't be in any position to exercise your choice. Perhaps remember that when getting all holier than thou about apparent freeloading...
You can carry on bleating all you like about the evil capitalist pig-dogs and their vile adverts. And how you're being 'packaged' and exploited, but the excuse for your tight-waddery all kind of falls down when you consider that those anointed with the Magic 'P' don't actually see any ads.
So £1.50 a month seems quite reasonable for me to feel like I'm not being ruthlessly violated by 'The Man'.
You should try it. See if it works for you. Alternatively just carry on whining, because LIFE IS, JUST, LIKE, SOOOOOOOOOOOO NOT FAIR!!!
And they thoughtfully keep sending me really good magazines that I can read while I'm having a poo. There's simply no limit to the decadent and indulgent pleasures us with the magic blue P get to enjoy 😀