Overview
The advertising model offers a product free to users and monetises their attention by selling it to advertisers. The users are not the customers — the advertisers are — and the 'product' being sold is access to the audience the free service attracts.
It scales beautifully with reach and engagement, but it creates a structural tension: the incentive to maximise attention and data can pull against what's genuinely good for the user.
How it works
Attract a large, engaged audience with a free product.
Collect attention (and often data) that advertisers will pay to reach.
Sell targeted access to that audience; revenue scales with reach and engagement.
Where you see it
Search & social
Free to use; revenue from targeted advertising.
Ad-supported media
Free content funded by the ads around it.
When it works
- The audience is large, engaged, and attractive to advertisers.
- You can target ads well enough to command good rates.
- The ad load doesn't drive users away.
When it fails
- The audience is too small or low-value to interest advertisers.
- Heavy ads or data use erode user trust and engagement.
- The interests of users and advertisers diverge too far.
Frequently asked questions
If the product is free, who is the customer?
The advertiser. Users get the service free; the business sells advertisers access to those users' attention and data.
What's the built-in tension?
Maximising attention and data for advertisers can conflict with users' interests — the model rewards engagement even when it isn't good for the user.