This is the only website where I get undesirable ads , some are very "Scamy" like from Temu which was accused by the US Government because of its sister website having given people malware. I also get ads on this site alone that are obviously other scam websites and it's gotten to the point where I'm almost wanting to just leave this site because of those ads, I'm not really sure what to do about it. I get it, sites need ads to make a little extra money, but does it have to be these ads? I'm not really asking for a solution as I'm sure an adblocker would work but I don't have the extra money and given that it would be needed for one website. I don't suppose there's a spell for this? (joke). But in seriousness I'm conflicted.
I think that most often it is the advertiser who selects the ad bundles that get displayed. A website gets offered a contract, usually a sum paid per-click or through periodic payment from the advertiser distributor. Then the website puts in the add-on into their code that the advertising runs through and the web owner has no more input.
It is generally challenging for websites/website owners to vett or even control the ad content unless they go around in individual product/company at a time and make offers to actively pull in and integrate them. Which means dedicated effort in getting ads and dedicated effort coding their presence into the site.
Smaller sites, especially ones catering to niche markets, have difficulty demonstrating the draw-power larger (and more legitimate) ad distributors would want to invest in. So they take what they can get.
There are options, but they all have trade-offs and risks. For example running on donations/goodwill through patron and other funding markets- who all take a slice of the donations to fund their own business, creates a potential paywall for users if it is not set up carefully, and the proverbial floor could drop out at any time if people decide to stop.
Running a site shop (like SoM does as well) is also surprisingly inefficient as overhead in marketing, packaging, shipping, and the products themselves means very little from each sale comes back as usable income. Plus again that niche market bug jumps up and bites again. Once you buy a rock, it will be a rock for millions of years longer than you will ever live so you are not likely to need to buy a second one. Same goes for a very large proportion of the things people of our Ilk buy and use. Books, blades, altar tools, crystals, even resins often only get bought once by any individual. And anything bought regularly is either locally available and cheap/has low margin per unit or it is only worth ordering once in bulk because of shipping costs. So the stores plateau very quickly and are usually fortunate if they break even.
Or, a site might end a shady ad-dealer's contract and go hunting for something better. Which becomes a devil-you-know versus devil-you-don't scenario. It might land something better and more trustworthy, it might land something worse too. This specific market is filled with people who, let's be honest here, are desperate and looking for easy answers to complex (and sometimes self-inflicted) problems. A rife territory of people vulnerable to being preyed on or mis-informed into putting money towards useless or dangerous things under the legal umbrella of *for entertainment only*. So predatory advertising and scams are big business on such a small market. Meaning finding honest ad partnerships is tricky. They -are- out there though. But like the other options there are tradeoffs to the search.
I am not arguing for or against anything, mind you. Just bringing up perspective as food for thought. Truth be told it is a complex issue that is difficult to navigate. Especially without some sort of help by a professional who is paid specifically for their expertise in navigating the marketing minefield. Especially when such people know their worth and rarely (if ever) work pro-bono.
A great deal of how things go rests on the site owner, their gumption, and just how much of a risk-reward dynamic they are willing to dedicate themselves to. And how much good/effective help they can get or pay for. ...I have no idea how this domain is structured, if it is a fully one-person show these days or if the person in charge has a full business structure with staff. But I lean towards assumption of the former with a little volunteer help among the forums.
The best suggestions I could make, given my ameure armchair-professional mini analysis, is that to improve things then more people need to get involved in some way. Like tracking/noting the ads that come in and informing of the predatory or otherwise usavoury content so that they can be reported to the ad distributors. Or other ways to set up a chain of communication and (especially) alternate ideas or options that could replace or add to what is already here. Like different, better advertising sources. New product suggestions for the shop. Maybe even offering your own products to sell through it if you make any. Or offering a port-folio of your skills if they are relevant to the site and you have the wherewithal to do something for it like update the code and capabilities, integrate/upgrade the chat, make the store more efficient or broader. Etc.
But it all relies on having a line of communication available between the owner and staff and those who; want to help, have the technical knowhow to help, and have time to dedicate towards said help.
I suppose, after thinking a bit, is that things boil down to two main factors; What kinds of help the community present can provide, and what amount of help the person at the top of the food-chain in here is willing to accept.
Doesn't matter where you go there is always scam ads even Google, Facebook, and YouTube have scam ads. Most of the time the ads you get in from your search engines. If its to good to be true it might be a scam just beware of what you are clicking on. If you click on anything and it sends you to a login screen do not put any information till you know it's the right website. There is a lot of fake websites of the real one. Yes it would be nice not to have scam ads but its a doggy eat dog world. Any information about you is worth money from what you search up to the phone number that you give out to stores for rewards points is worth money. In the end I just login though the app so I know I am logging on the right one and not the fake one and i don't sign up for reward points at stores anymore unless you like hearing about you car warranty calls haha
