Even though I write “Sheldon” for adults, I try to keep the strip family-friendly for all reading ages. I like the idea that folks could share the strip with their children, if they choose.
So it bummed me out to see “Sheldon’s” Google Adsense ads running a tad on the risque side, lately.
Advertising, as I’m sure you know, helps defray some of the cost of giving away two million “Sheldon” pageviews for free every month…but that’s not to say that ads should have free reign around here. Even though most of us (myself included) have an ability to filter out online ads completely, the fact remains that they do exist on the site.
Because of that, I’ve always opted for far less ad subsidy if it meant we could avoid annoying/offensive/cloying ads. Bad ads just aren’t worth it.
Going forward, I’ve decided to do a top-to-bottom change in ad systems and test out new ones over the next few weeks and months. I’m going to be testing out different systems from Yahoo’s Direct Media Exchange, from Tribal Fusion, from Gorilla Nation, from AdsDAQ, and from others.
We’ll find the perfect fit yet for “Sheldon”!