3 replies to this topic

[ScottH]

Read this quick before Chris deletes it...

As some of you know, this site is open to the general public now. One thing to think about is this: There are ads placed by Google on here that are strongly tied to keywords in the posts. So, for example, you're looking at a post about tote bags, there are going to be ads surrounding it for tote bags - and they aren't from distributors - they're direct sources. Now, fine that you see them - but everyone else can see them, too. That means your clients are coming to what was supposed to be an industry only site for distributors & suppliers, and see ads for direct sellers and overseas sources for products you sell.

Pretty stupid...

Here's a screen shot if you were looking for T-shirts and found DT. Five different ads for screen printers from GoogleAds. Think your client is going to try to find you? Or click on one of the ads?



This is my last post on here unless Chris figures out that he's screwing distributors & suppliers by having this open to the public.

[Chris Miller]

Scott,

Not sure where you have been for the last 2 years, but this has been discussed in GREAT detail. Have you missed the discussions?

The site is NOT entirely open to the public. There are some public, and some private forums. You can logout and see for yourself.

I don't get your point of how this could screw distributors or suppliers. I make my living as a distributor and have MORE posts than anyone else on this site. Why would I screw myself?

Then you point out the google ads. These ads are just regular google adwords ads. If you look closely, most ARE distributors. Pretty silly that they haven't stopped their ads from appearing on competitors sites, but whatever - that's there issue. These are the EXACT SAME ads that appear on the right side of google during a google search. So when users are searching, they are finding those ads directly. They aren't finding DT and THEN clicking those ads. That actually doesn't make any sense at all.

We've seen no proof that end users are finding DT on the regular and we have also seen NO increase in the number of end users attempting to register. In fact, we average ONE every six months or so. ONE.... that's correct.

You're making no sense. I am willing to listen if you have specific complaints, but I don't feel like you've taken the time to educate yourself on the subject and that's pretty important when you're making accusations.

[ScottH]

Chris,
I apologize. Last week the site was wide open - I could view any thread without being logged in. I went through a minute ago, and now only certain subforums are open (which I still don't agree with by the way). But hey - it's your site.

Guess I'm just accustomed to other industries where their forums are completely private. I work with a number of industry associations (which is what this would resemble) and on their forums, you can't even get in at all without being registered. Heck, I've been a member of car forums that you couldn't read without being a member...

[Chris Miller]

ScottH said:

Chris,
I apologize. Last week the site was wide open - I could view any thread without being logged in. I went through a minute ago, and now only certain subforums are open (which I still don't agree with by the way). But hey - it's your site.

Scott, Nothing has changed with permissions in several months. You might have confused the fact that all THREAD TITLES are visible, but when a logged out user clicks on those thread titles, they get an error message. Consider this "baiting" if you will, it encourages distributors to signup by enticing them with interesting content.

Quote

Guess I'm just accustomed to other industries where their forums are completely private. I work with a number of industry associations (which is what this would resemble) and on their forums, you can't even get in at all without being registered. Heck, I've been a member of car forums that you couldn't read without being a member...

I understand there is some value in having private forums, but I also know there is great value in having public forums. Not just for growing DT, but for several other reasons - some of which benefit the members greatly. I for one have noticed an increase in my sites ranking for some terms in google, because of my participation here on DT, and the fact that I keep my url in my signature. It's a really good thing, and we would lose that benefit if the entire site were to become private. In fact, I might have less of an interest in posting as much as I do if that benefit was not there. I like posting online... I like the exposure that social media provides. Thats why I do it.

My goal is to clearly define ALL of this for the members though so that they can make their own choices on which forums they post in. It's been changed a lot in the past for testing purposes and it's just a matter of finding that perfect balance. Some private, some public. As for me, I post in all of the forums and that won't change no matter how the settings are set. I would probably be more likely to stick with the public forums though. I see no real benefit to posting in a closed forum. Would you rather be on TV or talking in a closed conference with 100 people? Hmmm.....

DT will be undergoing a MAJOR change in the next couple of months, and I will make sure this is included in that.

Oh, and you might notice LESS of these google ads since your post. Your post made me realize that the rotation of those ads was set WAY too high so i've lowered that to get them more in line with the other ads on the site.

Thanks for your patience.