Update - Google Ad experiment

[Icemaiden]

I quite like the ranks too. When I first joined, it gave me an idea as to how experienced the people were who answered my questions.
It might also encourage new members to post more often...

[Poultrykeeper Admin]

Hello again everyone.

3 weeks has passed so I'm changing the ads around again to test different positions for the next 3 weeks.

This next one is more aggressive - in between posts.

But of course for 'Full Members' you won't see this

Tim

[Marigold]

It looks as if, with the current number of full members, you'll be about halfway to the target of £200 for hosting for a year, Tim. When will you be able to give us an idea of how much the ads are bringing in?
Several people have commented on the good value of forum Membership, at £10 a year, which equates to 20p. per week. If the sums don't quite add up at the end of the year, I expect most of us would consider raising a bit more to cover costs.

[bigyetiman]

I paid up recently and replied to the link as requested and it keeps bouncing back to me as deliverable, anyone else having this problem? I am not as scary as "bigyetiman" sounds and I am house trained honest

[Marigold]

Perhaps you'd like to send a pm to Tim ("Poultrykeeper Admin', see above? I'm sure he'll be able to sort it out.
I'll give you a good reference for being non-scary and house trained!

[Poultrykeeper Admin]

So, I have a slight problem.

There are 2 people who have donated - but the email addresses showing on the Dreamhost donation list doesn't appear in the forum user database.

In other words, the email address of the person that donated isn't the same email they used to sign up to the forum so I can't work out which username to assign to the full members group...

There was one a couple of weeks back - I emailed to ask them but haven't heard back (maybe spam filter, I will try again using my personal email instead of the forum email) and another one on 7th October when I checked this morning, I have just emailed them.

@Bigyetiman I'm assuming one of these will be you...? so please can you check for my email, or send me a PM letting me know the email you used when you donated and I'll sort it out pronto!

Thanks,
Tim

[valeriebutterley]

Hello Tim,

I have donated and have recently changed my email from <removed for safety>.

Can I also please say at this point, that I just HATE advertisements of all types, wish there were no such thing, so as far as I am concerned, even a little is extremely annoying, trivia I can do without. You do a great job with the forum, long may it continue.

[Poultrykeeper Admin]

I removed your email address from your post Val - sorry it's nothing personal, I just feel it's better not to have it showing to the world with the number of scammers there are on the internet these days.

Your email did match up and I found your username and added it to the Full Member Group a while ago. You shouldn't actually see any ads when logged in. Can you let me know if that's correct?

I understand your frustration with Ads. Without them, many websites could not exist though. What I'd like though is that they are relevant and not too distracting. I'm going to try to fine tune what it shows - get rid of things like dating and gambling adverts.

The Bigyetiman mystery email address has now been resolved, true, it wasn't so scary
Just one more mystery user email donation to uncover.

Marigold, I will share the data for the ads once the experiment is done - it won't mean much unless I have some comparisons.

Thanks everyone for your help / comments and suggestions.
Tim.

[Poultrykeeper Admin]

I have blocked the following categories in Google's Ad settings:

Black Magic, Astrology & Esoteric
Cosmetic Procedures & Body Modification
Dating
Drugs & Supplements
Get Rich Quick
Politics
References to Sex & Sexuality
Religion
Sexual & Reproductive Health
Social Casino Games
Video Games (Casual & Online)
Weight Loss

So I hope this makes the ads people see a little more appropriate!

Tim.

[Marigold]

Not much left, really, then.....