Biggest issue with this is the modern web ads don't even work.

You get ads for fridge AFTER you bought one since they now know you browsed them.

What works is content based advertising - so advertise a power drill on a woodworking hobbyist site. No tracking required there. Conversion can be obtained when user clicks a link via redirect. Like in the good ol times.

But this modern approach that massively invades privacy has been sold to businesses and now they require it even though it is probably ineffectual.

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debazel 3 hours ago | parent [-]

> What works is content based advertising - so advertise a power drill on a woodworking hobbyist site. No tracking required there. Conversion can be obtained when user clicks a link via redirect. Like in the good ol times.

This still requires tracking to follow the user through the whole flow, which is required unless you want to be defrauded with fake users at the very least, but also very important to track the actual performance of each ad source.

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AlexandrB 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Why do things that are important to the advertiser trump what's important to the user? I don't care how hard it is for you to track the performance of your ad sources, I just want you to stop tracking me.

	▲	debazel 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Because without ads we're not profitable so there would be no service? You can't just buy a domain, put your service out there, and expect it to gain traction. Advertising that you actually exist is essential for any service, but especially so for smaller businesses and startups.