Ads in RSS feeds

Published on:

John Robb writes (emphasis is mine):

What I would like to see:  a method by which Google's AdSense or Overture's Content Match could be applied to a single post.  This would allow the inclusion of ads within RSS (not ad boxes, but simple text with the label advertisement).  I really don't want to see ads in my RSS, but it is inevitable.  For qualified content, like what I am working on with the Weblog Network, it is a must. Should ads get their own treatment or should they be included in the description?

Two examples of RSS feeds with ads (I don't have many more, I really dislike ads in RSS feeds, and unsubscribing is even easier than subscribing):

  • Ben Hammersley's Dangerous Precedent (RSS | web site) — the ad is always present after the first fresh entry in the feed
  • MacMerc (RSS | web site) — this one shows the same ad at the end of every post

Eventually Adrian Holovaty will need to complete his article on how to separate ads from content in all browsers.