Do you wonder if you should have ads on your blog? There is no display advertising in this blog going forward. What the amount of money KirkTaylor.com is making is practically the same as when the display advertisements were on the blog.
Why you should not have ads on your blog
You probably should not have ads on your blog, and instead, use either text links, and better yet, focus on promoting your subscriber list. Use affiliate links or direct sales when you mail to your subscriber list, and you'll make more money with your blog.
The amount of money you make from having ads on your blog continues to decrease as browsers are automatically blocking advertisements. Even the most prominent traffic sites are pushing more display ads because the amount of money they are making is decreasing.
Sites like Fox News are using annoying pop-up advertisements and allowing spam sites to buy displays that appear as stories. These sites have tons of annoying ads that try to trick you into clicking on links, and it often works. The sites load slowly, and the ads come in over the links you are trying to click.
One of the best online marketers I know, John Chow, has for years said the only reason he has display advertising on his site is due to his advertisers paying him a substantial amount of money for space. He claims that he would have no display advertising if it were not for the presold spots.
The most valuable asset you have in your blog is the subscriber and ads on your blog is the exit door for a potential subscriber to leave. If they click on the advertisement, you are losing the opportunity to market to them over time.
Display ads are banner ads on your blog
Display ads are known as banner advertisements in the blogging world. They slow blog down and don't appear when the ad blockers are turned on. Therefore, you are losing money by running a display advertisement.
Ads on your blog typically make the site look cheap. Why take a chance running ads on your blog when you can have everything focused on getting your reader to subscribe to your site?