eBay Ads Covering Embedded YouTube Videos
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Thank you, WordPress.com. The videos no longer have these huge blue banner ads on them.
Hope it stays this way.
As the editor and blog owner of my blog, I’m responsible for the posts looking as good as possible for all my different writers. Having these huge ads right in the middle of the blog posts just didn’t look right. It looked junky/tacky.
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The Ebay ads on video’s in my blog http://groupieblog.wordpress.com/ do not appear on my newest posts but are still there on older posts.
Please remove them on all WordPress blogs. -
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We had already decided before this to get the no-ads upgrade anyway, because we didn’t want anyone to see any ads on our posts ever, and when you have one blog it’s a good price… but the blue ebay ad debacle has left a bad taste and actually almost changed our minds, LOL.
You would think that thing could have been made any color or put anywhere when it was being tried. Big and neon and over content? *smh* Just sayin’.
Really glad things look to have worked out for everybody.
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I just found this thread by Googling “why are eBay banner ads on YouTube videos.” The blue banner ads that say “get today’s best eBay deals” appear on YouTube videos recently embedded on my blog. Now I realize, the ad is also on past posts from 2012, 2011, etc. where they did not appear originally.
I had assumed it was something YouTube was doing on embedded vids and not a WordPress ad. After reading the above comments, I’m confused. Is something WordPress is trying out on ALL blogs across the board with no opt out? I have “No Ads Upgrade.” I am also in the WordAds program, which I thought consisted of three ads–at the top, the right column and a video footer. This is something different.
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staff-blorbo
I read through this thread a second time and clicked on everyone’s links. I do not see eBay banner ads on anyone’s videos. Did WordPress specifically remove them from those individual’s blogs? Because I still see them on vids embedded in my blog posts. Why? This is very confusing. You suggest that people get “No Ads Upgrade.” I have had it for three years. Just to be clear, the eBay banner ad is not on the Word Ads YouTube vid at bottom of posts. This does not seem to be a Word Ads issue.
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These can still be part of the WordAds program, which is not affected by the No Ads upgrade. If you see them, it means you’re making the same fair revenue share from them as the other ads.
If you have any questions about that, please contact us separately via http://wordads.co/contact/
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Oh my stars and garters. So that’s where those horribly obstructive bright-blue-entire-top-half-of-YouTube-screen covering-you-couldn’t -click-’em-off-and-would-end-up-whizzing-through-cyberspace eBay banner ads were coming from?!?
WORD ADS?
I’m feeling quite faint now.
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staff-blorbo
I did email a query to WordAds after posting here, since they’re knowledgeable about ads. But I am surprised by your suggestion that the eBay ads are part of the WordAds program. That can’t or shouldnt be true. There is no mention of such ads on the WordAds site. It says quite specifically on the FAQs:
Q: What do the ads look like?
A: WordAds currently has two placement options:
My blog has the second one
2) The Optimized Ad layout has what are called a ‘Leaderboard’ horizontal in the header, a ‘Skyscraper’ horizontal in one of the borders and a “Middle Rectangle” under the first post.
There is no mention of WordAds placing ads on videos that a blogger embeds within posts. And, as I said before. the eBay ad is NOT on theWordAds “Middle Rectangle” below the first post, only on the vids that I posted.
I really thought this was a YouTube thing until yesterday when I came across this thread. I couldn’t be more shocked.
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I was totally confused about this ad issue. Those ads violated Google’s/YouTube’s advertising ToS (Terms of Service) in every possible way.
After doing some sleuthing, my only guess was that eBay’s ad department had tried to skinny past YouTube’s rules for some nutty reason. (They may still be behind this nuttiness! I do not know!)
When it went on for a number of weeks, I finally sent Google/YouTube a letter, with screenshots and a query, in regard to their advertising ToS and those dang ads.
Here are the specific violations of Google’s/YouTube’s advertising TOS that I wanted to know about (and they are surprisingly strict!) in this case:
One The eBay ads were completely opaque— YouTube doesn’t allow ads that aren’t in some way see-through.
Two The eBay ads were not removable— YouTube insists that all banner ads be visibly removable.
Three The eBay ads were in a physical place on the screen that YouTube doesn’t allow for Banner Ads. Especially the opaque ones. That you cannot remove.
Soon after I posted that letter, the ads disappeared. Could be coincidental. Could be that a bunch of people sent letters. Could be someone actually read it. I don’t know.
The only fact I know for sure is that I now have an irrational dislike of all things eBay and an unexplainable twitch in my eye when I see anything on the web tinted “Egyptian Blue.”
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Definitely not WordAds as my blog does not participate in that program.
Bluebirdblvd, thank you so much for going to Google/Youtube. That may indeed have had something to do with the removal of these ads.
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If you folks are still seeing the ads, please give me a direct link to the post or page showing it.
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staff-blorbo
The banner ad “Get today’s best eBay deals” now appears on all of my YouTube videos going back to 2010. Here is the link to the category of posts with videos. http://amusingthezillion.com/category/video/
Can WordPress remove them? I am still confused because it seems like the people who posted earlier in this thread were successful at getting the ads removed. I don’t see it when I click on their links.
But a reply that I received today from WordPress support saysI see that you are in the WordAds program, and we did briefly run an Ebay ad that had an issue. That ad has since been removed, which is part of what the thread you related to.
If you have ads on a video you embedded in a post, WordPress.com is not placing that ad there. That is an ad placed by YouTube, and we have no control over that.
Again, who is responsible for the ads — WordPress or YouTube/Google
In the meantime, I have stopped embedding YouTube videos on my blog. -
We had removed them from the general WordPress.com ads, but not the WordAds program.
However, I don’t see the blue eBay ads on your videos. I see the green share icon ad instead, which only appears if the mouse is hovered over the video.
Would you please try clearing your browser’s cache? http://en.support.wordpress.com/browser-issues/
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staff-blorbo
Thank you, I will try that. Maybe it’s already gone? I just heard back from WordAds support with the answer: they have been testing the ad and its been paying well in tests. They will remove it from my site if I wish. -
staff-blorbo
Here are two (of more) links that show the blue eBay ads on my blog
http://groupieblog.wordpress.com/2008/04/29/wheelchair-groupie/
http://groupieblog.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/213-groupie-luv/The ads only show in the browsers:
Internet Explorer 8 (XP)
SRWare Iron -
groupieblog, I’m similarly not seeing it there, but please contact us via http://wordads.co/contact/ if you still are after clearing your browser’s cache.
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A-yup. Right after I wrote my last comment, I went back to my blog to do some work, and those ads were back.
*Siiiiiiiiiigh*
I do nine posts a week on Bluebird Blvd— four are original content only, and five are music-based posts, combined with liner notes or tidbits or some interesting thing I found that goes well with the featured song/piece of the day.
The eBay ads appear to be on all recent YouTube embeds from the last three months, possibly more. (Originally, those obstructive banners were on every single YouTube-based Bluebird Blvd. 5-Minute Dance Party from the beginning until now, as far as I could see and/or sample.)
And, as I said— they went away and then they came back.
Here are BB’s 5-Minute Dance Parties from the last week with those WordAds:
Bluebird Blvd.’s 5-Minute Dance Party [Death Proof— Kate Nash]
Bluebird Blvd.’s 5-Minute Dance Party [Blue Monday— DJ Zebra]
Hear are samples from previous months:
Early in March:
Early in February:
Bluebird Blvd.’s 5-Minute Dance Party [Stephen Fry— How to Be Gorgeous]
Lately I’ve cleared my cache on my browser several times a day, in fact everything on my browser— automatic passwords, forms, cookies— because I have been researching and reporting WP splogs that turn up on my blog.
As for the ads, I have screenshots of each obnoxious banner on the links posted here.
As you know, these ads completely violate YouTube’s advertising ToS in three different but crucial ways.
On a personal note— do you know I came really close to boycotting YouTube over these ads? Do you have any idea the depth of the bad feelings I have towards eBay right now? I am really, really unhappy about this turn of events initiated by WordAds.
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Thanks, MacManx! I just sent a letter with much of the same info. to WordAds just now. The ads are still active. I appreciate all of your hard work, MM!
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