There is what I find an odd dichotomy in how people think a virtual world should look, be, and what people actually want. The infamous Second Life ad that some saw as negative and detrimental to the popularity of Second Life probably is suggestive of the problem.

I know that ads like these are tracked. Google Analytics provides an extensive set of tracking tools. One can track the person from their click on the ad through the web site it sends them to. I can see what they click on while in the web site and if my site is hooked into Google Analytics I can track how many clickers actually signed up. Gotta love those tracking cookies…
The stats tell me which ads are most effective for pulling in signups. I push the most effective ads to run more often. I think it reasonable to think most advertisers do the same.



