Nasdaq.com Is Littered With Advertisements - Why?

Have you been to Nasdaq.com lately? The site looks like it's being run by an Internet marketer, and not by one of the largest stock exchanges in the world.

I mean, it's their site - they can do whatever they want with it. However, the amount of advertising and other money-making schemes that are present on Nasdaq.com seems (to me at least) to be a bit unbecoming.

For instance - why is the NASDAQ pushing credit cards on their site? What does this have to do with the Nasdaq exchange?

Yet, if you head to Nasdaq.com, you will see a "Credit Card Center" prominently featured on their site. If you decide that you want to apply for a "Gas Card" and find yourself applying for a "Discover Open Road Card", then the Nasdaq will make money if your application is approved.

It gets better though (or worse, depending on your perspective).

On the main page of their site (Nasdaq.com), Nasdaq has sold three "blocks" of sponsored links.

Now, some people may see these links and think that they are endorsed by the Nasdaq. Ads such as:

"3 Unknown Stocks Could Turn Every $300 into $1.3 Million - Free Report"

"Options Trading Wiz Kid Makes $4 Billion During Bear Market, Learn His Secret Now!"

"Best Obama Stimulus Stock - New Government Cash Will Soon Make These Stocks Shoot Up 40-1"

Now, the Nasdaq might plead ignorance here, claiming that their sponsored links are sold through a third party. However, they undoubtedly have the power to screen out certain ads (I can do it on this site).

The Nasdaq needs to be more responsible - I mean, imagine sec.gov selling some of these ads on their site?

It doesn't stop there.

There are ads for "Free Credit Reports" at the bottom of this page that aren't really free at all ($29.95 per month will be billed to you as a "membership fee" if you don't cancel after your 7-day trial period).

There are also forex ads over all the site - ok, this isn't as bad, but still.. does the Nasdaq need the $ this badly? Doesn't this sully their reputation a little bit?

It seems to me like one of the higher-ups at the Nasdaq said "We've got a strong site here, let's do what we can to extract every dollar that we can from it". Shouldn't they have a strictly informational site, like NYSE.com, instead of trying to make money from their traffic?

What do you think? Am I the only one that thinks these ads are ridiculous? The Nasdaq OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) is a $4.5 billion dollar company - do they really need to have ads touting stocks that are going to "shoot up 40-1" on their Nasdaq.com web site?

Filed under: General Knowledge