Forbes.com links words to ads

Forbes.com has begun linking words in its news stories to ad messages, becoming the first major online news site to do so, DMNews reports. Vibrant Media's IntelliTxt technology puts double blue underlines on paid hyperlinks, and when users hover over IntelliTxt links, a pop-up box appears with a "sponsored link" heading and ad text.

So far 150 content Web sites, including IGN and Popular Mechanics, are using the technology.

Forbes.com has been a leader in online advertising, pioneering the use of ad-supported video and the half-page ad unit. The site began using IntelliTxt links in June and plans to

This is a very risky ad format. It could alienate users, and also has the potential to influence writers, who might feel pressured to use certain words or possibly avoid others. Seems unlikely that this will spread to many large news sites... but if it works and brings in $$$, who knows...

Aug 03, 2004 | E-MAIL | SAVE | PRINT | PERMALINK | DISCUSS(0)

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