Contextual ads not the end all be all

Don Day March 9th, 2008

Google’s onslaught of not-so-positive press continued this week, as the stock continued to slump. Fortune has an interesting nugget about Google’s much vaunted (and profitable) contextual advertising model. Iggy Fanlo, CEO of AdBrite notes that while contextual ads work perfect for search — there are vast portions of the Internet where contextual ads just don’t work (despite those Google AdsSense boxes pasted all over every blog on the planet).

“Contextual advertising isn’t the right thing for most of the Internet,” says AdBrite’s Fanlo. “It’s like selling Superbowl ads. They don’t sell me cleats, jerseys or helmets. They sell me cars, beer, and erectile dysfunction medication because they know I’m an old, fat guy.”

Fanlo says most advertisers are better off targeting customers based on where they live, who they are, and how they surf the web.

DoubleClick, anyone?