their website, it will look acceptable. Who, then decides what sort of screen savers they should sell,which ones will be acceptable and not acceptable and where the income will be directed to. As this will mean employing more IT staff it will lead to increasing the budget and changing the internal procedures.

This brings me to the famous line by Links guru Eric Ward, he is quoted saying "A librarian at a school in the middle of South Dakota might just hold the key to your Web site" This statement can be a reality if the myth around links and policies for non-commercial websites is debunked. As it currently stands, requests for web sponsorship, advertisements on institutional web sites, sell-throughs and

Web Advertising

I was chatting with a group of web marketers in a seminar recently when one of the participants asked, ''why are public bodies not allowing advertisements on their web sites as a way of raising money?" To which I replied; "advertising on a website is a legitimate means of obtaining extra funding but the greatest fear in the industry is that by so doing they will compromise their neutrality, moreover such advertisement will add little value to the services rendered."

My comment drew all sorts of responses, most notably the view that, by accepting some adverts and not others, the public will assume that those companies advertising have been officially endorsed. Other voices said that public bodies such as schools, colleges, local authorities and churches can throw caution on the adverts, as usual, warning readers that they are not responsible for contents and any commitment thereof. The argument seemed to coalesce on the view that this is a banana skin and should be left alone.

Reflecting on this discussion I have been wondering whether this is the next big thing in SEO marketing. If public sector bodies will not provide information on social events or services, who else is trusted enough to help the public become aware of the existing choices? Should a church carry an advert of a product produced by their youth group if they can not do this and how will the public know about their entrepreneurial endeavours? If a local authority Notice Board hosts mirrored logos of their suppliers, can it be assumed that this is indirect endorsement? What characteristics make an ad an advertisement? It may well be the degree of intrusiveness that should be used as a measure of acceptability, yet if affiliate links on a non-trading site lead to click throughs, would this not be an indirect sponsorship of commercial activities?

I think that short unobtrusive messages, or links to externally hosted web sites providing useful services free to a public body, are a good idea. While it is true that unless properly placed and worded, adverts can distract by beaming unrelated themes, I feel that the crux of the matter is to set the standards within which to operate rather than sweep the issue under the carpet and do nothing about it. A clear legislation or institutional policies dispelling any confusion by members of the public, explaining that their policies are not influenced by the sponsors and reigning on advertisers not to entice the public, may open up this sector.

Google Affiliate program is a case at hand. In the past small and medium web sites earned money simply by providing a search box on their website. This sort of scheme can help public bodies plug funding holes. If a council decided to host dynamic maps of local sports grounds offered by a screen-saver selling company in return for a link on their website, it will look acceptable. Who, then decides what sort of screen savers they should sell,which ones will be acceptable and not acceptable and where the income will be directed to. As this will mean employing more IT staff it will lead to increasing the budget and changing the internal procedures.

This brings me to the famous line by Links guru Eric Ward, he is quoted saying "A librarian at a school in the middle of South Dakota might just hold the key to your Web site" This statement can be a reality if the myth around links and policies for non-commercial websites is debunked. As it currently stands, requests for web sponsorship, advertisements on institutional web sites, sell-throughs and

public bodies such as schools, colleges, local authorities and churches can throw caution on the adverts, as usual, warning readers that they are not responsible for contents and any commitment thereof. The argument seemed to coalesce on the view that this is a banana skin and should be left alone.

Reflecting on this discussion I have been wondering whether this is the next big thing in SEO marketing. If public sector bodies will not provide information on social events or services, who else is trusted enough to help the public become aware of the existing choices? Should a church carry an advert of a product produced by their youth group if they can not do this and how will the public know about their entrepreneurial endeavours? If a local authority Notice Board hosts mirrored logos of their suppliers, can it be assumed that this is indirect endorsement? What characteristics make an ad an advertisement? It may well be the degree of intrusiveness that should be used as a measure of acceptability, yet if affiliate links on a non-trading site lead to click throughs, would this not be an indirect sponsorship of commercial activities?

I think that short unobtrusive messages, or links to externally hosted web sites providing useful services free to a public body, are a good idea. While it is true that unless properly placed and worded, adverts can distract by beaming unrelated themes, I feel that the crux of the matter is to set the standards within which to operate rather than sweep the issue under the carpet and do nothing about it. A clear legislation or institutional policies dispelling any confusion by members of the public, explaining that their policies are not influenced by the sponsors and reigning on advertisers not to entice the public, may open up this sector.

Google Affiliate program is a case at hand. In the past small and medium web sites earned money simply by providing a search box on their website. This sort of scheme can help public bodies plug funding holes. If a council decided to host dynamic maps of local sports grounds offered by a screen-saver selling company in return for a link on their website, it will look acceptable. Who, then decides what sort of screen savers they should sell,which ones will be acceptable and not acceptable and where the income will be directed to. As this will mean employing more IT staff it will lead to increasing the budget and changing the internal procedures.

This brings me to the famous line by Links guru Eric Ward, he is quoted saying "A librarian at a school in the middle of South Dakota might just hold the key to your Web site" This statement can be a reality if the myth around links and policies for non-commercial websites is debunked. As it currently stands, requests for web sponsorship, advertisements on institutional web sites, sell-throughs and

ntrepreneurial endeavours? If a local authority Notice Board hosts mirrored logos of their suppliers, can it be assumed that this is indirect endorsement? What characteristics make an ad an advertisement? It may well be the degree of intrusiveness that should be used as a measure of acceptability, yet if affiliate links on a non-trading site lead to click throughs, would this not be an indirect sponsorship of commercial activities?

I think that short unobtrusive messages, or links to externally hosted web sites providing useful services free to a public body, are a good idea. While it is true that unless properly placed and worded, adverts can distract by beaming unrelated themes, I feel that the crux of the matter is to set the standards within which to operate rather than sweep the issue under the carpet and do nothing about it. A clear legislation or institutional policies dispelling any confusion by members of the public, explaining that their policies are not influenced by the sponsors and reigning on advertisers not to entice the public, may open up this sector.

Google Affiliate program is a case at hand. In the past small and medium web sites earned money simply by providing a search box on their website. This sort of scheme can help public bodies plug funding holes. If a council decided to host dynamic maps of local sports grounds offered by a screen-saver selling company in return for a link on their website, it will look acceptable. Who, then decides what sort of screen savers they should sell,which ones will be acceptable and not acceptable and where the income will be directed to. As this will mean employing more IT staff it will lead to increasing the budget and changing the internal procedures.

This brings me to the famous line by Links guru Eric Ward, he is quoted saying "A librarian at a school in the middle of South Dakota might just hold the key to your Web site" This statement can be a reality if the myth around links and policies for non-commercial websites is debunked. As it currently stands, requests for web sponsorship, advertisements on institutional web sites, sell-throughs and

the matter is to set the standards within which to operate rather than sweep the issue under the carpet and do nothing about it. A clear legislation or institutional policies dispelling any confusion by members of the public, explaining that their policies are not influenced by the sponsors and reigning on advertisers not to entice the public, may open up this sector.

Google Affiliate program is a case at hand. In the past small and medium web sites earned money simply by providing a search box on their website. This sort of scheme can help public bodies plug funding holes. If a council decided to host dynamic maps of local sports grounds offered by a screen-saver selling company in return for a link on their website, it will look acceptable. Who, then decides what sort of screen savers they should sell,which ones will be acceptable and not acceptable and where the income will be directed to. As this will mean employing more IT staff it will lead to increasing the budget and changing the internal procedures.

This brings me to the famous line by Links guru Eric Ward, he is quoted saying "A librarian at a school in the middle of South Dakota might just hold the key to your Web site" This statement can be a reality if the myth around links and policies for non-commercial websites is debunked. As it currently stands, requests for web sponsorship, advertisements on institutional web sites, sell-throughs and

their website, it will look acceptable. Who, then decides what sort of screen savers they should sell,which ones will be acceptable and not acceptable and where the income will be directed to. As this will mean employing more IT staff it will lead to increasing the budget and changing the internal procedures.

This brings me to the famous line by Links guru Eric Ward, he is quoted saying "A librarian at a school in the middle of South Dakota might just hold the key to your Web site" This statement can be a reality if the myth around links and policies for non-commercial websites is debunked. As it currently stands, requests for web sponsorship, advertisements on institutional web sites, sell-throughs and other schemes have been branded illegal intrusions and are deleted on sight and some times reported to ISPs.

There is great potential in this sector and many benefits to the public. However, only time will tell whether our peculiar SEO sector will warm-up to this idea.