Back on March 12th Linden Lab blogged about advertising on Second Life properties. There has been no further update but the people behind Fennux breedables have managed to take advantage of Google advertising by getting an advert for their product and website onto the Second Life website, well the forums in my case, that’s where I saw the advert.
I’m not sure whether they’re engaged in a general google advertising campaign or whether they’ve targetted the Second Life website for their adverts.
The thng is, however they’ve done it, that advertising money is going to Google, rather than Linden Lab, although Linden Lab will earn advertising revenue if people click the advert, the lion’s share will go to Google. That’s fair enough as they’re using google services to run their advert, but it also points to a missed opportunity for Linden Lab to earn advertising income generally.
I support Linden Lab’s move into advertising revenue but I also feel that having adverts such as the Fennux one, which is related to Second Life itself, is better for consumers and in the long run Linden Lab. This advert exemplifies what can be achieved by advertising on Second Life properties and it may get people talking about the advantages of advertising on Second Life properties, so it’s probably good in the long run for Linden Lab for adverts such as this to be appearing.
Now, the big question is whether the appearance of adverts such as this will push Linden Lab into moving their own ideas on advertising on their properties forward.