Many times we’ve sent users to a download site only to have them come back and tell us the download came from C|Net or it wasn’t the right program. So we’ve gone back to the site to check the links and the links were fine.
If you have ever gone to a site to download a program, you probably have noticed you have to negotiate a virtual minefield of links to find the actual ink to the program you want to download.
Sites who rely on advertising for a substantial portion of their income get paid (usually) by the number of clicks (called CPC) and not by the number of times the ad is viewed (called CPM). Unlike TV advertisers who pay for a certain number of viewers, Internet advertiser pay only when there is some action taken by a viewer (a click, or a sign-up). So if you’re running a site you might be inclined to put ads nearest where they’re likely to be clicked. On download sites which depend heavily on advertising revenue, you might find that the real download link is buried among other links which may even say “Download now!”.
Above you see a screen shot of a download link for a freeware program called “Cookie Monster”. Notice the confusing way the download is presented. The actual download link I used (highlighted in yellow) is surrounded by a big green “Download” button and a link to a download manager. But the green button and the download manager link are ads. If you’re in a hurry you might click the big green download button and end up with something you don’t want. If you are having problems downloading, you might be tempted to click the link for the download manager (which would be mistake because download managers cause more problems than they solve).
Why is it so confusing? Some download sites (especially freeware download sites) earn most of their revenue from advertising. The more confusing they can make it for you – the more likely it is you’ll click an advertisement and the site will get paid. Making downloads confusing is an attempt to get more clicks on ads and increase revenue. There’s nothing wrong with advertising. It’s necessary if you want free things. We have advertising. Without it, we’d not be able to stay in business. We’re struggling financially and advertising pays only about 1/3 of our bills. The rest comes from the support you give us by buying products we advertise and by your subscription to this newsletter. We do object to making download links confusing as a way to increase the number of clicks and therefore revenue. We don’t believe in tricking people into clicking an advertisement. But many use this tactic.
When we send you off to download something, we are counting on you to be careful where you click. We’ve received a few emails regarding a recent freeware pick that it wasn’t free. Well it the program was freeware – we found out later that these people had clicked an ad that displayed a big green download button. Since the ad was for a program similar to our freeware pick it was an easy mistake to make.
When downloading freeware you have to be really careful where you click. If you hurry you may make a mistake and download something you don’t want. Pay close attention when downloading and take a few extra seconds to make certain you’re downloading the right program.
Great article! This could save people a lot of trouble down the road and, yes, C|Net and MajorGeeks (for example) are major culprits when it comes to trying to divert one’s attention away from the actual download they really want.