You may see native advertising widgets on some Websites that look like this:
This is an example of a general-purpose native advertising widget by MMDI.
Or this:
MMDI manages many Websites. You may see native advertising widgets like these on some of them.
Native Advertising Complements Web Content
Native advertising has been growing more popular with Website owners over the past decade. Designed to complement and add value to a Website’s own content, native advertising creates a less intrusive and more natural user experience.
Not all native advertising is paid for. Some advertising networks use native advertising widgets to cross-promote content within a Website, something like a “related posts” widget on a blog. The publishers (site owners) may have some control over how many ads for other sites appear in the widgets and how many of their own pages are included.
MMDI does not accept payment for inclusion in our widgets. Nor do we charge clients for inclusion. We make an editorial decision about both which sites are promoted and where to place the widgets.
The MMDI Promise to Website Visitors
We hate those endless slideshow “articles” as much as you do; perhaps even more. We’ve clicked on many of these native advertising links only to find ourselves on Websites that are so badly designed and which create such an awful user experience they have been thrown out of search engine indexes and forbidden from buying advertising in normal channels. All that’s left for them is to promote their content-flavored advertising in bottom-of-the-page widgets through the cheapest networks.
And we mean no offense to the advertising networks who create a valued means of revenue for many small Website owners.
MMDI will never include a link to a slideshow in our native advertising widgets. If we discover that a page has been converted to a slideshow we’ll remove it from the native advertising inventory.
We only want to recommend good, user-friendly content to you. There may be some advertising but it will be non-invasive advertising. We don’t use or accept popup, pop-under, or floating advertising.
Our native advertising grids will always say “Results by MMDI.”
Rules for MMDI Native Advertising Widgets
To be included in our high quality widgets, pages must:
- Provide clear, useful information
- Create a great user experience
- Use only non-invasive advertising
Site owners should not submit affiliate or “pass-through” links for inclusion in our native advertising program. All affiliate and advertising content should be published in compliance with your network’s programs. In our experience, all the major advertising and affiliate programs require that you use their media to promote their content.
MMDI reserves the right to remove a link from a Native Advertising widget at any time for any reason. If you have recently purchased a Website that displays MMDI native advertising, you may not continue to benefit from our advertising. If you recently bought a Website that is included in an MMDI native advertising grid, we will remove the site from the inventory. You are not purchasing a right to participate in the MMDI native advertising program.
We may, at our discretion, include other sites per a working agreement with site owners.
Answers to Questions about MMDI Native Advertising
What is the purpose of the MMDI Native Advertising program?
MMDI creates native advertising and other promotional campaigns to build visibility for and awareness of the Websites we manage or assist. This is an exclusive program that creates real opportunity for Websites. We may or may not own the Websites.
Do the Links “Count” with Search Engines?
The goal of native advertising is to create visibility for brands, products, and services outside of the traditional search environment. Native advertising services generally exclude search engine robots from crawling their advertising links. MMDI blocks all search engine crawlers from our advertising inventory. We do not believe the links will influence search engine results in any way.
It is safe to include these native advertising widgets on a site and to benefit from these kinds of links.
What Kinds of Sites Do MMDI Native Ads Promote?
Although MMDI does manage and promote adult gaming Websites, we do not manage, promote, or support any Websites that contribute to, encourage, glorify, assist, support, or promote content of a violent, illegal, or sexual nature. We believe in creating family-safe content that everyone can enjoy, although some of the Websites we manage and promote may recommend or promote services only legally available to citizens of certain nations and/or of a certain age.
How Do Your Customers or Partners Get Into the Program?
We make that decision and contact site owners when appropriate. There is no application process. It is purely an editorial decision. And site owner has the right to refuse inclusion in the program and the right to request immediate withdrawal from the program.
There is no compensation for inclusion or participation in the program. Any benefit is derived solely from the visibility our native advertising creates and the pass-through traffic the widgets send to destinations.
Why Does MMDI Need a Native Advertising Network?
We like the idea of native advertising. We believe it brings together the best of both worlds, allowing publishers to earn money without destroying their visitors’ user experience. We also wanted to provide Website visitors with alternatives to disappointing native advertising experiences. We believe our editorially chosen promotions take you to good, interesting, informative, even well-researched content. We want to earn your trust in our recommendations.
Are these Native Ads GDPR-compliant?
The advertising widgets do not set cookies. However, when you click on a link several things happen. You are sent to our advertising server, which records your visit and some incidental information including your browser information, IP address, operating system, and the ad you clicked on. This data is purged from our server on a regular, periodic basis. We do not store the data in an alternative format or create user profiles. You’ll never be subjected to creepy “retargeted” advertising by our network based on what pages you visit or click on.
We also use a 3rd-party analytics tool (Google Analytics at this time) to collect information about advertising network performance. The Google Analytics service is GDPR-compliant.
Can People “Opt Out” of Seeing MMDI Native Advertising?
The grid-based widget is hidden by the browser-based ad blockers we have tested. We have not attempted to evaluate them all. We have not taken any special steps to prevent ad blockers from detecting and hiding these widgets.
Some other advertising widgets using different formats may not be hidden by ad blockers. Those widgets do not create cookies. They may contain links from affiliate networks but we do not collect, store, or analyze user data through those advertising widgets.