Ad blindness has long been a problem for anyone trying to monetize a site via ads. Site visitors are so accustomed to seeing ads that they no longer really “see” them. If you are hoping that your visitors will actually click those ads, it’s a lot less likely if they didn’t “see” the ad in the first place. So what should you do?

You should occasionally test new placements, new formats, new colors, etc., but you should also be on the lookout for monetization models that stand out from the crowd. In other words, use ads that don’t look like the typical ad. As I come across these types, I’ll share them with you, and today, I wanted to mention one I’ve recently started using - ProfitPeelers.

ProfitPeelers does a few things right.

One, it doesn’t look anything like a banner ad or a text link ad. Instead, it places a graphic like the one pictured here, at the top right corner of your site’s page.

Two, it sits there, drawing attention to itself, but not getting in your users’ way. It’s not annoying, but it’s difficult for a user to resist it.

Three, when a user finally clicks it, it creates a really interesting animated peel effect that you have to see to appreciate. I’ve posted a screenshot below, but it lacks the animation aspect of it actually peeling away, so trust me, the animation is much more interesting than the static screenshot.

All of this put together creates an ad that is unlike any other, and will hopefully help you overcome your visitor’s ad blindness. You might want to give it a try sometime.

(from Smash Mouth. "AllStar" Astro Lounge. Interscope Records, 1999.)

Posted on December 5th, 2007 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Making Money Online