I was checking out Zecco when I noticed multiple Google Adsense units on their homepage. They are placed directly beneath the large $0 stock trades image on the front page of Zecco’s website. I snapped a screenshot of the Zecco banner and the Adsense units as visual evidence. There are 5 ads in total on the homepage: 3 Adsense Text units, 1 link unit, and a small Wall Street Journal banner.
Snapshot of the Google Adsense Units on Zecco’s Homepage
You can see two Google Adsense units at the very bottom of the screenshot, including one advertisement for Forex trading. I don’t think investors visit Zecco to gather more information on the foreign exchange market. They are searching for a new broker.
The Cost of Losing Potential Customers Vs. A Quick 30 Cent Profit
I’m all for Adsense on content heavy websites, but seeing Adsense on a brokerage site shocks me a bit. Why would Zecco want to lose a potential life-long customer for a quick $0.30 Adsense gain? This makes no sense. A Zecco customer would be very profitable over the long run, and may spread the word about Zecco. Word of mouth is the most effective type of advertising, and it’s free. I guess Zecco is struggling to turn a decent profit, which also puts their $0 commission offer in jeopardy.
Does Anyone Else Find This Irrational? Next thing you know, Zecco will raise trading fees.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I find this a bit irrational too. You wouldn’t see Adsense on Ameritrade or Etrade.
I noticed you have the Wall Street Journal ad too. Where can I sign up to do that?
Go to Commission Junction.
I find it a little odd, but if they need it to keep their price low, I’m sure their customers don’t mind.
But they do need to learn how to use the competitive ad filter to filer out other brokers and just leave stock picking sites. OTOH, they’re probably large enough that they should just bypass Google all together and sell ads directly to the companies that won’t compete with them.
Same here, when I see google ads on brokerage companies it makes me wonder.. are they desperate for spare change?
If it allows Zecco to keep their fees down, then I’m all for it. I have thought about switching from Sharebuilder to Zecco for a while now. I’m not sure what’s holding me back.
How else do they make money if they allow 10 free trades a day, 40 free trades a month and charge only thereafter. But to have adsense on a site like that is quite strange, they must be desperate for money, lol.
The lure of making a quick buck gets to most of us !! tck tck
I switched from ShareBuilder because they charge too much for limit trades. I always like to be in control of my buy prices. Market trades are too unpredictable.
lol. Well put!