Should you go for ads in your RSS feed?
Now that Google has started accepting applications for is AFF program, there has started to be a little discussion about whether publishers should indeed include them in their feeds.
My heart is trying to tell me that ads in RSS are wrong - RSS is used to push content out to subscribers, and I don’t really class ads as content (I know many would disagree with this). Whether this will ultimately affect the take up of RSS as the lines between advert and content blur remains to be seen. As Robin Good states:
bq. I am not too inclined too push ads into my RSS feeds, unless I can integrate these ads in ways that are complementary and non-intrusive to the feed content.
I tend to agree.
One of the problems with RSS feeds is that it is so easy to use others’ content in other formats, e.g. syndication sites - it is for this reason that many believe ads in feeds may go someway to paying back the original author for their content, but how long before the syndication sites find a way to rip out the ads or replace them with their own?
As with everything in life, I think it comes down to finding the balance. My overall feeling is that if you’re providing full text of your content within the feeds, then it’s fair enough to have ads running alongside them - after all, RSS can effectively kill off the need for visitors to come to your site, and most people want some sort of recognition for their work. If it’s just a summary of the article, then ads may be overkill.
Of course, you could always provide 2 feeds, one with no ads but just extracts, and one with full text and ads. Then it’s up to the user to decide which route they wish to go down. There will no doubt be plenty more about the monetisation of RSS in the months to come.
This entry was posted on Thursday, May 19th, 2005 at 5:18 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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June 6th, 2005 at 8:17 pm
This is a good question, and one I’ve been pondering lately. I tend to lean towards the opinion that if you’re going to publish full posts via your Feed, then it’s certainly reasonable to place ads in it…provided you can keep them from being too obtrusive, the same way you (hpoefully) do on your own site ; )
My blog is brand new so I don’t have enough readers to even apply for the AdSense in RSS program, but I’m keeping my finger on the pulse of this issue so I’ll know what to do when that time arrives…I actually think they should allow you to join the program when you have very FEW readers, because I personally think people are a lot less likely to get offended by your ads if they are in there from the start. To just spring them on your current loyal readers seems kinda’ cruel.