Will Tumblr Become An Ad Wasteland?

Back in April, the Cheezburger Network laid off 35 percent of its staff to reposition their business focus more on mobile audiences. “Mobile continues to grow, but the revenue we generate from it is significantly less,” Ben Huh, CEO of Cheezburger Network, said. “We want to take this year and think about how we can generate similar returns in mobile, or else you are going to have the case of one part of your platform subsidizing the other.”

But while audiences are definitely more focused on their mobile devices, it’s hard to believe that Cheezburger’s decrease in revenue is attributed to lack of mobile content. And their use of ads suggests that the issue isn’t mobile, but a push to stuff the site with dreaded banner ads.

Yahoo and Tumblr: Acquisition fail

The problem with the Cheezburger site now is that it’s cluttered with often irrelevant display and rich media ads. Not only do these detract from the main focus, but it dramatically slows down page load time – and that matters.

And it looks like Cheezburger’s misstep could happen on a much larger scale. One of my favorite places to find memes was Tumblr—I could just type in a tag and I can find hundreds of different videos, animated GIFs and LOL pics of everything I want (knowing me, it’s cat-related). But that changed when I found out that Yahoo had purchased Tumblr back in May.

After the acquisition, Tumblr CEO David Karp and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer promised that they “wouldn’t screw it up.” Seems believable enough, but David Karp then excited announced that ads will make Tumblr “better.” Karp also had the audacity to tell advertisers: “You guys are more talented than anyone in the Tumblr office or in Palo Alto or Sunnyvale.”

LOL WUT?

Are there better ways to monetize your website?

There certainly are better ways to monetize a site than the ads Tumblr and Cheezburger are aiming for. Retargeted ads are effective, but more than one banner ad at the top and bottom of the page is overkill. Here are a few examples of popular sites doing it right:

• Cartoon Brew – As a cartoonist I might be a little biased, but this happens to be a great example. The large display ads at the top are 100 percent relevant to the audience, and there’s a small AdChoice display ad at the bottom right-hand corner. It isn’t overwhelming.
• BuzzFeed – Their idea of sponsored posts likely gives the sponsor the ability to alter content. But for the most part, their role is pretty small. On top of some posts, they’ll list an article that was sponsored by a company. Thankfully, the content is still entertaining and the ads aren’t obnoxious.
• Twitter – The concept of sponsored tweets, hashtags and accounts are a little annoying, but they’re not completely abrasive. Twitter manages to lightly sprinkle these sponsored tweets and accounts – just enough to make themselves known to potential customers. Twitter users also have the ability to interact with the sponsor – to ask questions, make comments and initiate dialogue.

The best way to monetize your site is to directly or indirectly showcase sponsors who are giving you money. Whether it’s through a display ad, a rich media video or brand mention, there aren’t many other ways to get around it – especially if your site is large and you’re supplying the content to the general public for free.

Tumblr still has the ability to turn back from the mistakes the Cheezburger Network continues to make. When I’m Tumblr, I’m not ready to make a major purchasing decision. I’m on Tumblr to find a stupid reaction gif or look at LOLCats. If companies want to sponsor content so badly, make it entertaining or useful. . . or better yet, don’t metaphorically scream at me. Don’t push me—convince me!