Does WikiTree run advertisements?

Question

Today I opened the descendant report of an ancestor before logging in. I was astonished to see a syndicated advertisement inside the report. And indeed, the page source reveals an asynchronous link to Google's ad server.

I can't imagine Firefox being clever enough to put the link just there, so WikiTree does it instead of the usual stuff that I see when logged in.

May I respectfully suggest that this syndicated ad be replaced by a message explaining that you only see this because you are not a logged-in member, culminating in a pretty link to our standard spiel explaining the benefits of membership?

 

 

 

Comments

WikiTree is financed entirely by people clicking on the ads.

It's rather odd that logged-in members don't get advertised at much, considering they aren't paying subs.

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So, what we all should do is to log out occasionally and click a few ads off WikiTree pages? Hey, this is not a bad way to spend ten minutes when one's brain is too tired to concentrate.

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Great suggestion, Dirk!

I normally go straight to the login page, but now I think I'll start helping WikiTree earn those revenues that keep it free for us members!!

If we all follow Dirk's suggestion, maybe we can keep the internal advertising to a minimum - at least for now, RJ!

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Dirk and Lindy, I appreciate the sentiment, but we can't ethically recommend that. It's also not in our long-term best interest to have people clicking on ads if they're not interested in what's being advertised. Advertisers will realize that too many of the people clicking on ads are not going on to make purchases.

Active members don't have to see ads because we're a fraction of the total number of visitors. Over 50,000 people see WikiTree pages every day. Only a couple thousand are logged-in and contributing.

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You DO realize I was joking, Chris?

And who says we aren't interested in the fine products and services from MyHeritage? Otherwise, why would we accept their advertising dollars?

Again, joking!!

Answer 1

Hi Dirk,

RJ is correct. WikiTree is financed entirely by ads. Because of these ads, WikiTree is free for all members.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/About_WikiTree
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/WikiTree_FAQ

Chris