Do Advertisers Judge You By Design? What Do You Think…
A quickie post today, but one that raises a pretty good question I think.
Mark Sierra from MeandMyDrum.com recently changed his theme design. It looks great, it really does, but it was one of his comments that really caught my attention…
BloggerContests commented, and I quote ” I think you will have more requests to display ads in your site from now on.”
Hmm, interesting. I know that’s something that I never really thought of before. I mean, I do know they look at traffic numbers, readership/subscriber numbers, etc and so forth.
But design? Really? I dunno. I’ve seen some pretty fugly blogs with some pretty serious numbers, haven’t you? (Unless of course they’re faked, which is a whole ‘nother article 
)
What do you think. Could design attract or repel an advertiser?
Never stop pushing forward!
Dennis
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Tags: Advertising, Blogging, Readership, subscribers, Webdesign
October 9th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
I’m not sure design matter personally. I seen some pretty bad layouts on blog but they still have great numbers. I think if the content is good and they offer good value to their readers what does design matter.
October 9th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
They definitely judge you by design. The more professional the whole thing looks the chances you have to receive offers. It’s a complete package, not only you need the numbers, but you also need a professional design to pretend you’re serious about your business. There are always exceptions though…
ANyway, .that’s what I think!
Ben´s last blog post..125×125 advertising experiment
October 9th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
i do think that some advertisers will probably prefer to have their ad shown on an aesthetically pleasing site.
kouji´s last blog post..comment spam filter haiku
October 10th, 2008 at 8:09 am
I would love to believe that design helps out in the sale of advertising, but it don’t think it does. I mean if people picked ad spots based on the physical attributes of a location chances are you wouldn’t ever see advertisements in ghettos in real life or on ugly blogs online. It is all about traffic. You can advertise on an busy ugly site and get a ton more traffic than on a dead site that is beautiful.
Adam
Adam - Creadiv.com´s last blog post..Answer Session 1
October 10th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
I always get the feeling that a well designed site is more professional, and even if the numbers aren’t great now, it will eventually build up to being more popular. Usually if something isn’t designed well, I feel as if no one cares enough about the site to improve it, and may abandon it. Hence, if I were an advertiser, I’d go for the more professional, clean looking one vs. the bad looking one.
~ Kristi
Kikolani - Poetry | Photography | Blogging Tips´s last blog post..Sleep Paralysis
October 10th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Most definitely, most people do judge a book by its cover. You gotta get rid of those “Coming Soon!’ fields dude!
Mike Collins´s last blog post..Free vs Paid Website Hosting
October 10th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Design works well to engage the user, but ultimately content is king
ZK@WebTrafficROI´s last blog post..Awesome Thanksgiving Contest Giveaways
October 11th, 2008 at 2:42 am
I don’t think they give an F about the design as long as there is good traffic, after all if the readers and subscribers have a reason to visit and don’t care about the design, then why should advertisers?
October 11th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
I think design definitely affects advertisers and how they judge you. It also affects how your visitors/potential clients can perceive you. Sometimes a more professional layout can increase your ad revenue however if it is too stale or professional if you have a negative effect on your visitors. It can be very tricky balancing act.
John Edwards´s last blog post..Baltimore Real Estate
October 11th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
I think if everything else remains the same between 2 bloggers (traffic, alexa etc), the better looking design might just give him the edge to the advertiser.
Peter Lee
October 12th, 2008 at 4:34 am
Sorry I’m late y’all! This is good, we have some real good apposing thoughts working here
October 12th, 2008 at 4:36 am
Tsk tsk Mike, you haven’t been Paying Attention
October 12th, 2008 at 4:41 am
I’m thinkin though…if ugly one has 500 readers and non ugly one has 1000….I might advertise on ugly.
I KNOW they can only be there for ONE reason….they like what the blogger has to offer.
What y’all think of that?
October 12th, 2008 at 4:48 am
Kristi - I dunno, are you saying that a site will gain popularity solely on looks?
October 12th, 2008 at 4:51 am
I think John raises an interesting point - keep it sweet and clean, but not too “corporate”.
October 12th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Well, design might matter for some. But in my opinion it shouldn’t. Although when I see a new post in my rss reader from some sites, I do visit them just because I like their design. So, for some matters for some doesn’t.
Andrei Buiu´s last blog post..Moneybites Contest
October 13th, 2008 at 12:15 am
I think they would absolutely. but i dont think it would be the most important criteria!
October 13th, 2008 at 12:30 am
It definitely shouldn’t be. Thanks for dropping by Hugh
October 13th, 2008 at 8:39 am
LOL, you’re right Dennis. I just added my suggestions to your post.
Mike Collins´s last blog post..Article Marketing - The Traffic Generating Machine
October 13th, 2008 at 9:18 am
According to others, a blog which has good design gets more advertisers. It is in the fact that having good design add some points for advertisers’ trust in the blogger.
Hussein´s last blog post..WordPress Theme Weekly: Helium
October 13th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Mike - thanks I’ll check it out!
October 13th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Hussein - I suppose there is some sort of trust issue attached. As others have said also, it looks more like the blogger will be around a while…..especially if they pay for a custom design.
October 14th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
I think design affects advertisers and how they judge you
but again when you want to advertise on someone’s blog you won’t look at how attractive the blog is rather how much traffic it get’s.
Salwa´s last blog post..Avoid These Network Marketing Mistakes
October 14th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
That’s certainly what I look at most
October 15th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Dennis ~ Great topic! I read it a while ago and forgot to comment. LOL … I agree with Adam. I would love to believe design and “look and feel” mattered … but I too have seen some pretty … ummm … crummy looking sites charge big bucks for advertising! I don’t think you should be judged soley on looks … but rather the “whole package.” Thanks again … very thought provoking. *huGs* Suzanne
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October 15th, 2008 at 10:58 am
I totally agree Suzanne. Of course, merely charging big bucks doesn’t always mean they are getting it.
Sometimes it’s not hard to see if it’s really their own affiliates taking up the space.
October 15th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Do you think people have both? If they are short on advertisers … they post affilate ads? I haven’t started promoting ad space yet … but hope to do that (and review posts) here soon.
Do you do any advertising on other blogs/sites? If so, how do you go about figuring out what the ad is worth? How do you determine return on investment? *sigh* Suzanne
October 15th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Good topic. I prefer usability, easy navigation and great content. Usually all three found on blogs with professional/premium theme. Blog author made extra effort to keep visitors around…
Dennis, PLEASE fix these “Coming Soon” boxes.
October 15th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Soon after the contest my friend, no worries.
October 24th, 2008 at 3:44 am
Very well said..
Nice post
I am looking forward for a new design.
David´s last blog post..Monetize your website with SpeakToMe
October 24th, 2008 at 6:19 am
Thank you David and welcome to the blog!