The context of contextual ads.

Contextual ads often seem out of context. Without the human filter to sort out when it is appropriate to say certain things, contextual ads (the most famous service is provided by Google Adwords) just blurt.

We recently spotted these ads attached to a blog post by word-of-mouth guru Ben McConnell. The post was about Ben’s recent discovery that he had cancer.

The post was a touching, personal look at the realities of getting that sort of news. Reading it in my RSS reader, I was moved.

Then I saw the ads. Bleck!

I often wonder if the dollars gained from these ads outweigh the costs: loss of control, incongruent messaging, link AWAY from your site, etc. In most cases, I believe the answer is no.