The Google Ads on top are a disaster.  As Heath has pointed out, the Google revenue is never going to match the revenue from sales through modules.  The Google Ads on top detract from the lenses, undercutting their authority.  That will lead to less sales per traffic and more importantly, less traffic. 

Revenue is going to come through traffic.  Traffic will come from authority.  When our lenses are recognized as the most valuable resources on given subjects we'll see traffic.  Many of the most authoratative lens' are made by people who don't care about revenue and really don't want their lenses to be seen as a commercial product (hint: they won't build more lenses).

The Google Ads violate three bottom line and related principles.

1. First impressions are the only ones that really count. 

A Google Ad on top says A). We really want to make a buck on you.  B).  Who the hells knows what it's going to say.  We have no control over what random lunatic take on our content the ad is going to come up with and telegraph to our readers before we can set the tone of the lens.

2.  Tell a Story

Each lens that I build is telling a story.  All my lens together are telling a story.  I work very hard on crafting that story and I believe that when I reach a certain point, it will be a definitive story about food and cooking on the web.

"Seafood Recipes from Albertson's.com" has nothing to do with the story I'm telling about East Coast Chowders.   Cajun Ringtone:Send this ringtone to your phone right now, at no charge!  spicymint.com  Has nothing to do with the story that I'm trying to tell about Cajun Cooking

When a Google Ad is the first thing that people see when they get to our lenses, then a  google algorithm has been handed control of our brand story. 

We've been repeatedly counselled to work on selling our links and taking the time to choose the products we are including on our lenses carefully and to take the time and write descriptions for the products that explain why they are worth buying.  This is part of telling the story of our lens and the Google Ads do exactly the opposite.  When they are at the bottom of margin they are a hopefully relevant source of revenue.  When they are at the top they are the introduction to our story and they are inarticulate and often irrelevent and sometimes embarrassing.


3. "Provide content and figure out the revenue later."  

I've seen this repeatedly as one of the principles to success on the web.  Squidoo is a long way from being a place where people know they can come, do a search and know that they will find the definitive resource for what they are looking for.  The product that Squidoo is selling is authority and the ads on top undermine that project, which is the only project that counts.

Last edited by Marc_Brazeau (06/11/2006 7:44 pm)