This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Ruby Buzz by James Britt. Original Post: Why The Google Ads? Feed Title: ruby-doc Feed URL: http://www.ruby-doc.org/index.rb/rss0.91.xml Feed Description: New and updates for the Ruby Documentation Project web site. Latest Ruby Buzz Posts Latest Ruby Buzz Posts by James Britt Latest Posts From ruby-doc

Money, really. I added Google AdSense text ads to the site in the hope of deriving some modest amount of money to help offset the cost of running the site. Google offers what may be the least intrusive, least annoying advertising program. The ads are text-only, no pop-ups. With any luck, the ads will be of genuine interest to readers; that, at least, is the whole point from Google's end.

The choice of ad layout was between a longish banner (up top) or what Google calls the "skyscraper." The latter shows four ads, and covers a larger area, but I sort of preferred it because I was hoping to place in such a way that, unlike the wide-style banner layout, it would seem less intrusive. Sadly, it seems that trying to place the AdSense script in the sidebar does not sit well with the current Blogtari code, so top banner it shall be until I sort stuff out.

So, if you want to help defray some server costs, click through the ads. You don't have to buy anything; payment is based on traffic from the ads, not purchases. Of course, if you see something you like ...