Ads and the Web: Inseparable

Ever since the first forms of media began broadcasting over airwaves, advertising has been integral to the development of content. Somehow that mentality gets lost in translation when discussing the Web.

Ads on the Web are seen as particularly jarring, but they represent nothing substantially different in practice than how we’ve behaved for hundreds of years. Ads are an integral part of the Web ecosystem, and it’s important to understand how and why advertising is necessary.

The Illusion of “Free”

Blogs are free. Starting a blog is free. Reading a blog is (usually) free.

Quality blogs that people actually want to read are not free. People require unique content on a daily basis, and quality blogs work hard daily to fill that void. Ads fuel most of those efforts. Ads are the reason that blogs stay in business because the money advertisers spend on a website allows the editing and production team to spend on quality writers.

A Web without ads is also a Web without paychecks for content creators. While it’s admirable to think of the single webmaster taking on the world, the reality is that the paycheck is the primary motivator in this equation.

Bloggers also can’t afford to spend their time finding advertisers to bid on their audience; they are too busy producing content. Bloggers thus rely on ad networks to efficiently distribute the traffic they have to offer.

Bio: Ted Dhanik is a business leader in the realm of digital advertising. Ted Dhanik is the CEO of engage:BDR, where he takes the role of business developer and technology evangelist. For more insight into marketing and business growth, contact Ted Dhanik at engage:BDR.