Blending ads: is it a sustainable practice?

Let's face it, the concept of blending AdSense ads is not completely because of design reasons: part of the deal is trying to trick people into thinking those ads are part of your site's content. Google's "border" rules and stuff only half-heartedly try to prevent this, because they know where their bread is buttered too.

What I'm wondering is, how long before this becomes completely out of date, and the average web surfer is hyper-aware to it? I believe it's already started to happen. When that happens, we'll have to come up with some different design tactics.

What do you think?

 

Some extreme blending is done to trick users into clicking ads but most blending is done to prevent 'ad blindness' so the users actually read the ads. Once they read the ads then they can decide wether to click or not.

Aslong as the ads displayed are relevent then people will click.

 

Interesting idea. Actually true or wishful thinking?

I'd never thought of it that way before.

 

I began about a month ago to invert my ads. Ie, Instead of using the blue link on a white background to make them blend in with my content, I switched to blue boxes with white text. My income has doubled, and has stayed that way since the switch.

 

what's your average number of visits / day?

 

Well ad blending is only half of the equation, as long as you arent misleading (images next to ads), then people of course must be interested in the advertising content. I personally never click adverts, I know they are there but none of the content seems to appeal to me. I know where to find what I want so I dont need some flimsy ad to tell me otherwise. Of course for non-internet savvy users its different but I dont see any changes to my revenue, if anything its gone up month on month. Based on 10k uniques a day.

 

True...We can use terms like Advertiser links etc to make the User aware of it. I think it will be totaly fraud to blend that extremely...that a user assume it as site internal link. However Google is in Safe place with ADS BY GOOGLE tag.

 

The only issue is if the blending of ads reduces ROI for advertisers... if ROI isn't effected if a users knows full well the link they clicked was an ad or whether they didn't then there is no issue. Advertisers want value for money - as long as they get that then there is no issue.

Now I'm not certian but I would say the advertisers ROI is much more dependant on how they write their ad than how it is displayed on a site. Really what should happen is the ads are written in a clear obvious way explaining where the users is about to go, and then the webmaster, us the AdSense users, should make it their job to get as many visitors as possible to read the ad, and if that means blending, then blend.

 

If people know its an ad they wont even read it, whereas if they think its actually part of your site they will take their time and decide whether they want to click or not, if not they will read something else...