Who funds this site?

theseus82
theseus82 Posts: 255 Member
edited September 22 in Introduce Yourself
I looked in the FAQ under help. I was wondering how this site is funded, as there are no fees.

Is this a non-profit agency? Or is it funded by a government (such as the U.S.?). I'd just like to know who is responsible for providing this AWESOME service!

I've only been a member here for a day, but I love the community and the tools. I've had a lot of success on other diets, but finances are tight and I made the transition to this site yesterday to cut back on expenses.

Replies

  • HerbieSue
    HerbieSue Posts: 288
    I'm guessing all of the pop-up ads you see are funding this site.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    It is funded through the selling of the ads that come up.
  • KendalBeee
    KendalBeee Posts: 2,269 Member
    not sure....I think its free because of the ads, definitely don't believe its the government though....
  • Fruit4dessert
    Fruit4dessert Posts: 150 Member
    Because there are advertisements on every page of this website, I have assumed that it is funded by advertising dollars.
  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
    Tha advertisements on the website fund it. Yay, advertising!
  • Chiquita_Banana
    Chiquita_Banana Posts: 500
    mike made the site... he posts on forums about the rules of the forums and stuff once in a while
  • Craig772
    Craig772 Posts: 100 Member
    I am guessing the creator built it up as a project and earns a revenue from the adverising above and to the right. It's targetted based on your settings and other data collected. There might also be a revenue from selling eating and exercise patterns that we all record daily.
  • theseus82
    theseus82 Posts: 255 Member
    Ahh. I know that Google ads generate very slight income to the website. But I guess I neglected to think about it.

    Anyway, I'm very glad for this website. I believe in any business model that provides a legitimate service to its consumers.

    Congrats Mike on running such a great website. I hope the revenue stream grows so you can expand your operation. More traffic means more servers and more advertising revenue!
  • sheenabe
    sheenabe Posts: 61 Member
    I have NO ads on my pages???? Is it because I live in Canada? Weird!
  • Aeriel
    Aeriel Posts: 864 Member
    I have NO ads on my pages???? Is it because I live in Canada? Weird!

    No, I bet you are running a browser like Mozilla Firefox with an ad blocker.....I don't get any ads either!
  • alantin
    alantin Posts: 621 Member
    Lots of non-profit sites are funded by the Google adds. Don't really know how much income they really produce but I think, it should be enough for the server and internet connection costs for the more successful sites. I don't think Mike would turn any donations away but I don't remember seeing anything about them on the site.

    Mike, If you're reading and there isn't a way to donate in use, you should think about it! Somewhere in the side of the home page perhaps.. Lot's of good work with the site and the mobile app! I'm sure, many people would like to show their appreciation!
  • BughaBear
    BughaBear Posts: 201
    Im guessin cause of the ads also!
  • nilisabel
    nilisabel Posts: 338
    awesome site. so glad mcjabber told me about it. just wonderful. Webmaster, you're a Godsend.
  • Jena_72
    Jena_72 Posts: 1,057
    I was thinking about something earlier If Mike were to sell MFP T-shirts to us he'd make a killing! I would love to have one someday, with my total amount lost.... something like I LOST 70 Pounds With myfitnesspal.com! Or I :heart: MFP
    AND The fact we would keep needing new smaller sizes would double and triple the income!! :tongue:
  • MrsRios
    MrsRios Posts: 56
    Yes I know I would love to have a T-shirt as well!!
  • LadyPersia
    LadyPersia Posts: 1,445 Member
    Mike created this site you can email him with all of your questions. He responds rather quickly. Look under forums-- technical.
  • alantin
    alantin Posts: 621 Member
    lol
    T-shirts..
    Now, that's a business idea! :laugh:
    You could have MFP coffee mugs and kitchen scales too! :laugh:
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    you don't need much money for a site like this. You can set up a pretty decent presence (like this one) for about 30-50 bucks a month if you look around. And that includes a relatively robust MySQL back end database with backups. I know on 1and1 you can do it for about 25 bucks a month, dunno what Mike uses, but I'll bet it's something like that.
  • Jena_72
    Jena_72 Posts: 1,057
    lol
    T-shirts..
    Now, that's a business idea! :laugh:
    You could have MFP coffee mugs and kitchen scales too! :laugh:
    AND WATER BOTTLES!!! :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:
  • alantin
    alantin Posts: 621 Member
    How much does the site get from add in a month?!

    I know the google adds system but don't know how much daily traffic is needed to generate enough hits to cover that 50 bucks..
  • ImCeltic
    ImCeltic Posts: 29 Member
    Great idea only if Mike wants to get some type of order fulfillment process going for products.
  • Sparklewolfie
    Sparklewolfie Posts: 271
    I have NO ads on my pages???? Is it because I live in Canada? Weird!

    No, I bet you are running a browser like Mozilla Firefox with an ad blocker.....I don't get any ads either!

    :laugh: I have no ads either! Though sometimes it will say "Jillian Michael" at the top of the page???:tongue:
  • Scorpiomom222
    Scorpiomom222 Posts: 1,462 Member
    There is Mike and one other guy. I am assuming from the advertisements on here that whoever has them approved to be on here pays Mike for the advertisement.
  • Fit4Vet
    Fit4Vet Posts: 610 Member
    To the OP:

    This is MIke
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/mike

    And, his partner's name is Al. Although, I've never "met" Al, Mike does refer to him in his blog as his partner, ie "Mike & Al".

    And, I'm with the others on assuming that ads pay for the site. And, I think that the Tshirt, water bottle, "store" idea is Killer!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    I think it's google Adsense based on the page source. But I have no idea how much it pays or whether it's click through payment or a percent of purchase generated from traffic redirected from the site. Your guess is as good as mine on that one. You can, actually make quite a pretty penny with it from what I hear. You have to have a lot of traffic on your site though to make low percentage advertising work for you.
  • Scorpiomom222
    Scorpiomom222 Posts: 1,462 Member
    I was thinking about something earlier If Mike were to sell MFP T-shirts to us he'd make a killing! I would love to have one someday, with my total amount lost.... something like I LOST 70 Pounds With myfitnesspal.com! Or I :heart: MFP
    AND The fact we would keep needing new smaller sizes would double and triple the income!! :tongue:

    Or something like MFP Made Me A Medium! lol
  • carolww
    carolww Posts: 143 Member
    Yay for MFP and Google adsense!!
  • vishaltayal
    vishaltayal Posts: 5 Member
    http://www.freewebsitereport.org/www.myfitnesspal.com
    The above link mentions around USD 2,666 from daily ad revenue which must be good enough IMHO to run the site.
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    Non e it s free
This discussion has been closed.

Categories