Ads on forums are often a necessary revenue stream, but they can also disrupt the user experience. How do you balance monetization and user satisfaction? Have you experimented with less intrusive ad formats, or do you rely heavily on them for funding?

I don't use ads on my forum because it's a Christian forum (ethical concern). However, though, I did use them on employment blogs in the past and it worked wonders (could have just as well been an employment forum), but that niche is highly favorable to ads (people visit the site to click the ads, generally), unlike others where they need to be toned down to various degrees.

 

Note: even on the employment blogs I had, I tried not to go into overkill, and, for one thing, too many ads just look ugly, honestly.

Too many ads on your website does not mean you will be earning a lot. using just one or two contextual ads can be better. I don't think few ads will harm the forum

Another problem with a lot of ads is it can drag down the site speed. That would hurt SEO.

Forum advertising can impact user experience by potentially distracting or annoying members, especially if ads are intrusive. However, well-placed, non-intrusive ads can generate revenue without disrupting discussions, enhancing the experience if balanced carefully.