Refusing An Online Advertising Opportunity
If you are an online publisher, and someone want to place an ad on your website, why would you refuse the opportunity? There are many reasons why you would (and should) turn down certain advertisers.
They Do Not Fit Your Website: Do you run a gambling website? If not, would links or banners to gambling websites really fit? Would your visitors appreciate them? Gambling and pharmacy sites try to get links from anywhere they can. If they do not fit the classification of your website or are from a distinctly different neighborhood, you should consider refusing the ad. Linking to shady domains could actually cause search engines to penalize your site.
They Offer Bad Terms: Sometimes someone will want to pay you to link to them FOREVER for a set price. These are bad terms, and you should not bite at them, even if the money is good. Getting a one-time fee for a permanent link could prevent you from selling that space when your site is more successful and you can command better advertising rates. In short - if you think the terms are too good for the advertiser, they probably are.
The Ad Goes Against Your Ethics: While it helps to be flexible and work with advertisers whenever possible, sometimes you just can’t accept that once-per-day-700X400-pixel popup ad request. If an ad is too intrusive, you may tick off the most important party of all - your visitors. In the end, its a balancing act between what you want, your advertiser wants, your visitors will accept, and the money exchanged.
The Advertiser Is Likely A Spammer: This is similar to the first point above. If you think (or know) that the potential advertiser engages in naughty Internet practices, do not link to them.
Always check out your potential advertisers, particularly if you are directly linking to them from your website. Visit the website, check out their backlinks, how long the domain has been around, and read what others are saying about them.
To avoid attracting unwanted advertisers, clearly post your ad requirements on your Marketing page and/or your Terms of Use page. State exactly what opportunities are available for what time periods and, if possible, provide ad spec examples. It’s a lot easier to refer to your existing policies than to arbitrarily ‘make up’ a reason why you are refusing an ad. Being up front is always the best policy.
And if you have to turn down the occasional advertiser, just remember that you are simply leaving room for other advertisers who will better fit and ultimately provide better value to your visitors.
