7 Reasons to Disclose Advertising on Your Site

For most website owners the decision to sell advertising is a relatively straight-forward one. Financial support and profit are integral to their site’s operation, and advertising that’s relevant to the site can build traffic as well as income. The choice for disclosure, however, might be a bit murkier for some, though there are compelling reasons why you should disclose advertising on your site. Here are seven good reasons:

1. Trust – As a content provider it’s important that you cultivate trust from your readers. They should be able to trust that your content is independent of the advertising that appears on your site. Also, visitors want to know if and when they may be subject to spyware.
2. Credibility – Maintaining credibility in the blogosphere is essential to running a successful site. The moment your readers get even a hint that your site is purely ad-driven and lacks impartiality, they will cease to return. Clear distinction needs to be made between ad space and credible content.
3. Cookies – Some advertisers use cookies to store reader habits for future reference, which they use to target their marketing focus. Readers who wish to opt out of these efforts should be made aware that such conditions exist on your site’s advertising.
4. Transparency – It’s always wise to be up front about the purpose of your website, the fact that you sell advertising, and the nature of your relationship, if any, with your site’s sponsors. Readers can then make their own informed value judgment.
5. Traffic – When your visitors know what to expect from you, your content, and your ads, they will be more likely to feel confident in returning to the website, and in referring it to others as well.
6. Disclaimers – As a determining factor in whether to use your content as source material, it is useful for the reader to know to what extent that content is influenced by the advertisers on your site. It’s not exactly a crime to show a bit of favoritism toward a particular product, for instance, provided that your bias is made clear to the reader.
7. Revenue – When your advertising is relevant to the site’s purpose, and is overt and honest, the reader is more likely to click on those ads, knowing that he can trust both you and your sponsor. Ads that appear misleading or intrusive are more apt to have the opposite effect.

There are several reasons to disclose advertising on your site, but it basically comes down to the fact that it’s just good business!

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