Thanks for an interesting question. Here are some of the factors:
- The banner ads can be run by any Registered Supplier, this includes all Supplier categories including the Forum Suppliers
- We have a certain amount of control over the ads as we supply them to the advertising channel
- There is one per page, two on some pages
- Not all Members see them - Subscribing Members don't, for example
- To see a selection of them, use a browser you are not logged in on, as most ads are shown to guests (people who are not logged in)
- The adverts are targeted, at least minimally; for example you will be shown ads for your location. This means ads from vendors in your country, or vendors in other countries who have specifically stated they want to advertise to and will ship to your country.
- The software tries to show you different ads every time you change pages, although this does depend on where you are / how many ads are available for that country / etc.
- Targeting in this market is not yet sophisticated enough to personalise them any further than that (ex: did you just search for 'ego'; some channels can then show you ads for an eGo) - and we might not want the channel to go any further
- You should see all the ads for your country if you keep switching pages
- In theory we could show a page just with ads - all of them - but requests for this are rare, so it's not really going to benefit many people, and there could be a downside that has not yet presented
Those are some of the factors involved, hope it's of interest.
