I'm in a dilemma as to whether to allow my competitors, mainly subscription based pay sites, to put ads on my site. I have blocked them from showing up on Adsense but I'm thinking that is likely costing me several paying click throughs a day. I have toyed with the idea of making my site a subscription site but I know I will lose 70% to 90% of my regular traffic. Heavier traffic with adsense and good SEO may pay better. But do I really want to send potential paying customers to my competitors? I figure since my site is free I wouldn't lose them for good as they will likely check out my site daily. But if I do end going to a subscription based site, these people are already paying elsewhere... and I would have sent them. So, take the money your competitors are willing to pay you or keep blocking them? What do you do? Thanks.
I allow competitors to advertise on my site via adsense I don´t fear competition but this is maybe because my site is a niche site, it is free, has a unique system and mostly my competitors are no real competition for my site I like the idea that they pay me money for my users to check them out and in the end wount gain much from it Even in my forum I have an advertise subforum where everyone (registered) is free to advertise. I had one or two competitors post there link in this forums and my members took them apart hehehe
the more clicks your competitors adverts get (or impressions counted) the less $budget they have left. Hopefully there pockets arnt bottomless which means eventually they'll run out of funds leaving your site the only one in the advert network
It up to you, man. You got to balance which one is profitable? 1 click (From your competitor) or visitor purchase your products?
The main thing is to make sure that you are offering something better than your competitors. Being free will help alot. Most people are unwilling to pay for content unless they really get something they kind find elsewhere. As long as you are offering a better service than your competitors then you will be fine. Having them advertise on your site shouldn't be a problem. You get paid out of their pockets, your visitors get a chance to see what else is in other, and then realize that you are the best option. A win-win situation.