Meta: How much does running an adblocker cost MGoBlog?
I used to whitelist this site, but have decided I'd rather just donate and have a more pleasant viewing experience when I visit.
Does anyone know what a user that visits the site six times a day (I know, rookie numbers) and reads all of the front page posts would have to donate to compensate for my lack of providing ad revenue?
I don't expect a direct answer from Brian or Seth, but can any of y'all that swim in these waters give a decent estimation?
November 1st, 2019 at 11:09 AM ^
With all due respect sir, one million dollars really isn't that much money any more. Why last year MGOBLOG made almost $250 million dollars on merchandise alone
November 1st, 2019 at 3:31 PM ^
I'm liking my "Space, bitches, Space" t-shirt. Wore it for the ND game. I'm wearing it for the MD game as well. There's good mojo with the t-shirt.
Also, if you buy stuff from Amazon, go to Amazon via MGoBlog.
November 1st, 2019 at 11:32 AM ^
Obligatory. This was the first thing that popped in my head when I saw the title.
November 1st, 2019 at 10:43 AM ^
$Texas
November 1st, 2019 at 10:44 AM ^
'bout 350
November 1st, 2019 at 10:58 AM ^
GOT DAMN LOCK NESS MONSTER! GET OUTTA HERE!!
November 1st, 2019 at 11:25 AM ^
3 fiddy
November 1st, 2019 at 12:02 PM ^
tree fiddy
November 1st, 2019 at 11:42 AM ^
havin' a sale on monster cookies!
November 1st, 2019 at 10:48 AM ^
Eleventy billion dollars
November 1st, 2019 at 10:48 AM ^
I have a little experience in this space. Hard to tell how much is CPM vs CPC vs CPA but hypothetically if it's all CPM stuff, you're probably talking a couple bucks/month for a pretty active user like yourself.
November 1st, 2019 at 11:47 AM ^
Yeah, chances are $3-$4 is about your "value" to the site, if my experience in online ad sales has taught me anything (and it likely hasn't).
November 1st, 2019 at 10:49 AM ^
40 pieces of silver and 3 GOATS
November 1st, 2019 at 10:53 AM ^
You really think Tom Brady, Charles Woodson, and Desmond Howard would be willing to be bartered for an ad blocker?
November 1st, 2019 at 10:50 AM ^
It sort of depends on exactly what strategies they are using to monetize (AdSense v. Criteo, Taboola, etc.) and whether they're focusing on clicks or impressions. Also depends on the time horizon. Online advertising is a massive business and is super variable. Let's say they're focusing on impressions and they get $5 for every 1000 impressions. If you visit 6x per day and see 7 ads each time, that's 42 impressions per day. On a monthly basis, that is equivalent to 1,281 impressions, which would equate to roughly $6.41 in site revenue generated by you. Complicating matters is that every time you click an ad, whether accidentally or purposefully, more cost accrues. Let's say one of these ads costs $5 per click. Brian and Co. may get 60% of that number ($3). Let's say you accidentally click 1 ad every 3 visits (2 ads per day). That would equate to 61 clicks per month, which would equate to an additional $183 in monthly revenue that you generate for the blog.
This nets out to a theoretical $189.61 that you generate on a monthly basis.
The problem with this approach is that all of these numbers are variable. The cost per 1k impressions is variable. The cost per click of each display ad on the site is INCREDIBLY variable. The percentage that the site takes is variable. The number of times you click an ad, whether on purpose or accidentally, is variable.
This is all to say that it's essentially impossible to predict and is highly dependent on the site's monetization strategy.
Source: I do this for a living.
November 1st, 2019 at 10:53 AM ^
If I actually purchase a Russian wife, does MGoBlog also get a piece of the action?
November 1st, 2019 at 10:59 AM ^
A piece of which action? The money or...
November 1st, 2019 at 11:07 AM ^
Ever seen a Russian bride after 20 years of marriage?
November 1st, 2019 at 11:08 AM ^
Yeah, they get jus primae noctis
November 1st, 2019 at 1:24 PM ^
"That should fetch just the kind of lords we want to Scotland. Taxes or no taxes."
November 1st, 2019 at 3:34 PM ^
No, she'll enter the portal a month after she gets here.
November 1st, 2019 at 10:55 AM ^
One thing I want to make sure people DON'T take away from this post is the idea that the blog makes almost $200 per person per month. It definitely does not. This is just meant to be a rough representation of how this revenue stream can work.
Realistically, ad click numbers are likely lower. Cost per 1k impressions is likely closer to $3.
Like I said above, this is an UNBELIEVABLY variable industry. The idea that people just print money every time an ad is seen is this weird misconception that permeates a lot of our assumptions regarding monetizing the internet.
When done correctly, online advertising can be insanely lucrative. However, it's extremely challenging to do correctly and there's tons of room between losing money and making a killing.
November 1st, 2019 at 11:15 AM ^
Sounds like the takeaway is to click all the things and make them rich, lol.
For some reason, however, I don't think that would work...
November 1st, 2019 at 1:26 PM ^
It's almost like you'd be in favor of some form of regulation to help bring some sense of stability to those wildly divergent positions.
Off-the-wall question... in online advertising, if you're not making a killing, is it seen as the same thing as losing money?
November 1st, 2019 at 11:02 AM ^
So, should I just click on a lot of ads on purpose to help Brian and keep our site fruitful?
November 1st, 2019 at 11:05 AM ^
Follow up question.... If I click an ad, then say 5 seconds later close that page out, does MGoBlog still get credit for that click thru? Or do I have to stay on that page for a minimum amount of time?
November 1st, 2019 at 11:09 AM ^
Mgoblog will still get credit. The clients that are purchasing ad space assume a certain scale with this business model. It assumes that people will bounce. After all, depending on the lifetime value of a customer, many businesses that aren't straight ecommerce can spend a fair bit to acquire one new purchaser.
November 1st, 2019 at 11:11 AM ^
No, they are able to track this kind of stuff.
November 1st, 2019 at 11:03 AM ^
I ran a web content business for awhile many years ago and had a user who thought he was "helping out" by clicking on every ad he saw. After a couple weeks of that, he ended up getting me put in AdSense jail for a month or two for "click fraud"--I ballparked that he alone cost me around $600-800 with that when I had to runs some junk ROH CPM ads while I appealed to get my account reinstated. Don't be that guy either :)
November 1st, 2019 at 11:11 AM ^
tl;dr - only click some of the ads, some of the time?
Edit: my ads are actually very well targeted towards me - I've been suit shopping lately and there is a Brooks Brothers ad with the products I'm thinking of buying. Assuming it would be fruitful for the blog if I purchased by clicking through the ad?
November 1st, 2019 at 12:07 PM ^
They're getting better for me too. No more ads related to random parties and vehicle rentals in the Caribbean, at least.
EDIT: The ad for Thalia capos is pretty awesome. I'm actually considering one for myself or (more likely) as a gift for a friend who is actually good at the guitar.
November 2nd, 2019 at 5:38 AM ^
I get the ones for erectile dysfunction.
Fucking marketing is getting a little TOO targeted, if you ask me.
November 1st, 2019 at 11:24 AM ^
I don't have to intentionally click on the ads. The page jumps right as I try to click on a message board topic and I end up inadvertently clicking on ads. HUEL!
November 1st, 2019 at 11:36 AM ^
I usually find myself *accidentally* clicking on the ads with beautiful women. It's probably why my computer always seems to run slowly.
November 2nd, 2019 at 3:44 AM ^
This was extremely insightful. Thank you. I did not realize how valuable the accidental clicks might be. I agree with OP on this one. The mobile user experience is challenging with all the ads.
November 2nd, 2019 at 3:44 AM ^
This was extremely insightful. Thank you. I did not realize how valuable the accidental clicks might be. I agree with OP on this one. The mobile user experience is challenging with all the ads.
November 2nd, 2019 at 3:44 AM ^
This was extremely insightful. Thank you. I did not realize how valuable the accidental clicks might be. I agree with OP on this one. The mobile user experience is challenging with all the ads.
November 1st, 2019 at 11:12 AM ^
A penny or two a view per ad
November 1st, 2019 at 11:14 AM ^
Simple answer...use DuckDuckGo as your browser...no ads.
November 1st, 2019 at 3:50 PM ^
Having DuckDuckGo block your ads instead of an ad blocker extension in Chrome or whatever isn't really an answer to the question. You're still costing MGoBlog revenue every time you visit without seeing ads. The question is how much.
November 1st, 2019 at 11:16 AM ^
How much would it cost to have mgoblog update mgoblog 3.0 where the thread creator can edit their own OP?
November 1st, 2019 at 11:21 AM ^
There are a lot of factors to calculate so it's best to do it by time. Figure the ads you see are $3/thousand (depreciating if you click a lot) and they'll change every time you reload the page, or automatically every 30 seconds. Also figure Paypal will take 10% off the top.
Conservatively I'd guess a regular reader is about $5/month annually, some are up to $20, and most of our flyby readers are in the $0.35 to $1.00 range.
We're looking into a membership thing that would serve the site without ads, plus a book and a shirt every year. We won't lock any content behind a paywall though.
November 1st, 2019 at 11:26 AM ^
Would membership include a mobile app?
Asking for everybody.
November 1st, 2019 at 11:39 AM ^
Ideally, but building one that doesn't:
- Suck, OR
- Kill our server again
is proving very difficult and we have other big projects that are taking precedence.
November 1st, 2019 at 12:47 PM ^
While I very much appreciate the content, and would not be averse to paying a reasonable fee in lieu of advertising, that "agreement" comes with the proviso that the site gets fixed and a reasonable app for a phone.
November 1st, 2019 at 2:09 PM ^
So this is basically wrong. Building an app that doesn't crash the server is pretty easy.
November 1st, 2019 at 3:08 PM ^
"Building an *** that doesn't crash the server is pretty easy."
Says every IT guy ever, just before everything crashes in flames.
November 1st, 2019 at 11:27 AM ^
+1 for membership, would do that in a heartbeat.
it's not crazy to put one type of article behind a paywall (added incentive) but understandable that you don't want to do that (even commendable).
thanks!