Legal considerations with online advertising
There are publishers out there who believe that making money with ads on their website as simple as running any kind of ads from any sources and hoping for the best. The reality here is that you need to be really careful about what you choose to display on your site, especially if you want to avoid potential legal issues that could arise. One of the best ways is using only reputable ad vendors: starting with a
dependable ad server to partnering with trustworthy ad networks and exchanges. But even then, there might still be some ads that can slip through the cracks. Here are some things to be on the lookout for when you start serving ads on your website:
Illegal services or products
There is big money to be made from advertising certain products and services, but when the amount that you are making per view or per click seems too good to be true, it probably is. Gambling sites are very popular, as are websites that sell marijuana goodies or stock/investment schemes, but if one of those things are not legal in the area where you live or operate your business then steer clear of ads promoting them.
False or misleading ads
Advertisers often try to promote their products by making wild claims about their efficacy or returns on investment. Not only is this misleading to the consumers, it is also illegal to state that a product can deliver something that in reality it cannot. Before you place these types of ads on your site, you need to do some research to see if the claims being made by the advertiser are valid. If you do not believe these claims or are unsure, it is better to ask more questions or even avoid those ads.
Fraudulent ad activity
While some advertisers will only pay you based on sales made from clicking the ad on your site, there are others who will pay by impressions or clicks. These two options can leave some advertisers open to potential fraudulent activities, like inflated ad views and clicks. If an advertiser is using a good ad server that details those clicks and impressions, your fraudulent activity will stick out like a sore thumb. It is for your own benefit to monitor your traffic and ensure only human viewers are reading the pages.
Privacy considerations
Internet users now widely accept the fact that there are going to be ads on the sites that they visit, but they still expect a certain level of privacy. You need to be very careful when collecting data from visitors, and you also need to seriously think about how that data is stored and used. Constantly hounding or bugging site visitors using the collected data is annoying and is not a good way to do business. There is a fine line between actively staying in touch and spamming or stalking.
Wrongful audience targeting
If you are going to place ads on your website, you will have much better success if those ads are relevant to what your website is about. Yes, there may be more money in certain types of industries but displaying non-relevant ads on your site can lead to potential legal issues. For example, how do you think parents are going to react if they see adult-themed ads on a website that is devoted to children’s products and services? Keep the ad relevant and suitable for your audience.
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