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Banner Ads of eCommerce Site 2 on eCommerce Site 1
There is something that’s bothered me for years. Some ecommerce sites (example www.fast-growing-trees.com) have banner ads promoting other businesses. This is the banner ad that’s currently on display at the footer of www.fast-growing-trees.com —
Mind you, www.fast-growing-trees.com isn’t a low traffic site, their traffic is impressive—
I can see why a tiny ecommerce site would have link-sharing with other sites, they are looking to boost SEO rankings. I can ‘somewhat’ see why a giant like Amazon would have links to other sites, Amazon’s ranking are so damn good many shoppers land on Amazon for products Amazon doesn’t carry, so advertising other sites is a way for Amazon to make affiliate fees.
But I cannot understand why a site like www.fast-growing-trees.com would ever want to show a banner ad on their site footer, or anywhere else. Sure it’s for a product that in no way is a threat to their core product (Xfinity isn’t a threat to a tree business), sure it’s a nice way to earn an affiliate fee. But thinking long-term does this strategy make sense? I totally hate it because it dilutes www.fast-growing-trees.com brand. What do you think?
Comments 8
i agree. For me this crushes their credibility when they promote totally unrelated products or services on their site. I mentally move them from the category of “a site just trying to provide a great product” to “a site just trying to turn a quick buck”. Smacks of desperation.
Replybetterretail
Thanks for the feedback.
ReplyHi Rishi.
I think your logic is sound. It’s amazing how much crazy advice there is out there.
In any case, I’m curious how you created that cool blue graph of trees.com unique visitor traffic. Can we do that for Popcornopols?
Thanks, John
Replybetterretail
Hi John,
Thanks for the comment. Those traffic numbers came from compete.com. Compete uses ‘panel’ data (derived from people who have installed Compete toolbar). So, for larger sites Compete’s traffic estimations are fairly accurate (at least directionally), but for smaller sites compete.com doesn’t show anything because those few million people who use the Compete toolbar might not have visited your site. You can see your data here— https://siteanalytics.compete.com/popcornopolis.com
Hope this helps.
Rishi
ReplyMy guess is they are getting a ton of traffic due to SEO from people who aren’t buying so they are trying to take advantage of it in some way. Buying a tree seems like a “research online and buy locally” type of deal to me.
Replybetterretail
Kevin said: Buying a tree seems like a “research online and buy locally” type of deal to me.
ReplyRishi: That’s a good point. They do have tons of buyer reviews so they do seem to be selling a large number of trees. Thanks for the comment!
that would be called affiliate marketing – they are earning revenue from banner clicks leading to sales
Replybetterretail
Hi Mitch, I get that, but do you like the strategy? Would you do it on your own site? Wouldn’t it dilute your brand in the eyes of your shoppers?
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