So extrapolate from this what you will if I had plastered more ads in more prominent places.
[1] http://aerique.blogspot.com/2011/01/baby-steps-into-genetic-...
Then, a week later, you can put the ads back in place. All the linking has been done, so now you get people flowing in thru organic SEO. Those people are more likely to stick around and possibly click ads.
Done right, everybody is happy.
On the other hand most users from these sites will not see the ad in the first place because the use adblock
Percentage of people actually using AdBlock: Much less than 100%
* AdSense is commonly known as blogger welfare. There are a few people making huge money from it, but they use techniques you would probably never want to adopt (content farms, keyword arbitrage, etc...). Generally speaking, you use AdSense to supplement your main monetization strategy that should be something better.
* Boxes, like the one criticized in the article, tend to convert very well.
* Programmers are the worst demographic to monetize, particularly with ads, and even worse with the often not-so-contextual ads from AdSense.
* ProgrammingZen and Math-Blog used to receive similar amounts of traffic when I used to have ads on both. I make 4 figures a year from AdSense ads placed on Math-Blog. ProgrammingZen on the other hand generated a few dollars a month at best, much like your experience. Keep in mind that Math-Blog is still fairly technical, so I wouldn't discount AdSense a priori, but the less technical the better (in general).
* Having a programming or very technical blog I'd suggest that you try to monetize/support it through affiliate links to reputable merchants like Amazon. I make 4 figures a month from the Amazon Associates program alone (albeit not from ProgrammingZen alone, of course).
Just don't complain when people don't like you. And don't complain about content behind paywalls.
I treat people that know me courteously and they like me.
:-P
Websites are a whole different story. You decided to visit them. Once you are on their site, they decide the rules. (As long as they are not doing anything illegally.)
Also note that I sometimes choose to block ads even if it
By trying to decide what is accepted behaviour for web site owners to do on their own web sites. (Apologies if I misunderstood your point.)
> More to the point: if anything is rude, it's tricking users into looking at ads instead of the content they were promised when they clicked on a link.
Do you also complain about advertising at shopping centers, bus stations, airports etc?
The point of Adblock is not to control what web site owners do on their own web sites, but only to control how I experience that content. As I wrote in my OP, "Adblock is one damn easy way to improve your own user experience. [emphasis added]"
Web site owners are welcome to try and get their visitors to look at ads. Their visitors are welcome, in turn, to take measures to block those ads.
> Do you also complain about advertising at shopping centers, bus stations, airports etc?
Yes, as a matter of fact - rather, I don't complain about it but I do try to avoid going to those places for just that reason. However, whereas it's hard to block out billboards in external locations where one is physically present (unless one is willing to accept a Steve Mann-level of technological mediation), it's quite easy to block ads on web pages that are served freely into my own browser, which is installed on my own computer.