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16 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog
You've got your blog set up and you've started posting pithy, useful information that your niche market would benefit from and enjoy. Days go by, you keep publishing, but no one comments and your traffic stats are barely registering. What do you...
Blog Search Engine Increases Searches By 10% - Here's How!
The Blog Search Engine , a search engine for blog entry results, has recently announced that it has increased blog searches by over 10% with the implementation of a new Blog Search Toolbar powered by EffectiveBrand . Search toolbars allow users to...
Blogs: Why, Where and How
So you have heard about the blogs or you are sure you are now going through one of the blog. You might have seen blogs in the search results and would not have noticed it. Yes blogs are now making news but still a large number of people consider...
Brief History of Blogs
Summary: A quick look at where blogs came from, where they are and where they're going.
So where did all these blogs come from? How did they get from an underground geek toy to a mainstream tool that has revolutionized politics, journalism,...
Can blogging increase web traffic?
Blogging is merely keeping of a log at a website. It is a combination of the words "Web" and "log". Blogging is carried out through a blogging software that maintains the daily posts on the site. It doesn’t take long to set up blogs and once...
Can You Really Earn MONEY As An Affiliate?
Copyright 2005 Jugglingmum The answer is a most definite yes! After researching the topic of Affiliate Marketing for a few months (I like to be thorough!) I decided to run a little test and see if I could earn some real money – not pennies. I used...
Differentiate and Dominate
Copyright 2005 John Jantsch Quite often small business owners will ask me to reveal the most powerful marketing strategy I have seen. I can say without hesitation that the most powerful marketing strategy has little to do with advertising, direct...
How MSN and Yahoo Sells Your Traffic
Yes, it really happens. Now you might find it hard to believe but
you will understand after I explain.
Prior to late 2004, Google undisputedly ruled the search engine
world. During the second half of the year things took a dramatic...
RSS Explained
What is RSS? To begin with, it's one of those things everyone says is easy to understand. And it is, as soon as you have your own 'ah-ha' moment. I think the easiest way to explain it is to walk you through an example of RSS in action. I'm not...
Top 10 Reasons WHY RSS Autoresponders Are Becoming A Permission Email Marketers BEST Friend
Copyright 2005 The IWE, LLC. All Rights Reserved. IS Permission Email Marketing In Trouble? With the rising concern of Spam Filters/Blockers, Blacklisting, Bounce Backs and CAN-SPAM Act laws, email is sadly becoming a VERY unrealible vehicle to...
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Primer to Selling Advertising on Your Site
The number of sites on the Web today is almost infinite, with new ones popping up every day. There are multiple types of sites: portals, "brochureware," content sites, directories, search engines, and ecommerce sites, to name a few. Those that do not sell product or services directly or indirectly on their site often rely on advertising revenue to support operations.
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So how does one get started getting companies to advertise on a site? Here's a quick primer to getting out of the gate.
Google AdSense
Probably one of the most simplistic ways to place advertising on your site is to sign up with Google as one of its AdSense Publishers. The Adsense program displays text ads rather than images on your site. Google then serves ads based on the content on on the page containing their ad code. For example, if we post a tip on our site about email marketing, Google ads will likely deal with email marketing services or products (see our archived tip, How Email Formats May Affect Response Rates, as an example).
Just in case any of your competitors show up in these text ads, you have the option to pre-block them with an ad filter. Google pays a percentage of the revenue it earns (it does not disclose exactly what that percentage is) and sends checks to publishers monthly, provided that the publisher has generated at least $100 in ad revenue.
Affiliate Programs
The next easiest way to get advertising on your site is to sign up with an affiliate program (or multiple ones) as a publisher. You will then have access to listings of hundreds of merchants (a.k.a. advertisers) who offer a financial incentive for you to promote their products. Though typically you only get paid when there is an actual sale (versus getting paid just to display their ad), all you have to do is place the ad on your site or in your newsletter, etc., and the affiliate program will take care of the rest.
Some of the most reputable and well-known affiliate programs are:
* Commission Junction
* LinkShare
* Affiliate Shop
* Commission Soup
* DarkBlue
* Amazon Associates
* Primary Ads
* Affiliate Fuel
Ad Networks
An ad network is essentially one centralized re-seller of advertising space which brokers sales for its network of publishers at mass or liquidated pricing in exchange for a percentage of the ad buy.
There are various ad networks out there and joining them is rather easy, but before you do so you should ensure that your site is up to date and meets the criteria of
the network. Typical criteria include:
* Minimum page views or visitors per month - Some networks require little or none while others want anywhere from 3,000 to 250,000 page views a month or thousands of visitors per month
* Content - Your site content should be relevant and regularly updated
* Targeting
* Residing on own top-level domain - Your site should not be hosted on free providers
* No excessive amount of advertising - A site cannot be all advertisements because that won't appeal to anyone
As a publisher, you just don't want to "give away the shop" and sell your soul for a bit of advertising revenue. Here are some particulars to be aware of:
* Percentage of revenue - Legitimate networks should give the publisher the lion's share of the advertising revenue; somewhere in the neighborhood of 55 to 70 percent of revenues generated by the site is common
* Exclusivity - Avoid ad networks that do not allow you to serve ads from any other network
* Payment terms - Many times you will not be sent your check until 30 to 90 days AFTER the month in which your balance has reached a pre-determined amount.
* Dependability - As with anyone else you might be hiring, contact some other sites
* Publisher veto power - Like Google AdSense, does your ad network give you the power to reject specific campaigns or ads shown on your site?
Feel you are ready to accept network advertising but don't know where to start? Here's a list of some small to mid-sized ad networks to contact:
* Search Feed
* Adtegrity
* BlogAds --specifically for blogs
* Burst Media
* Fastclick
* ValueClick
* x10 Networks
* Clicksor
For sites attracting visitors on a larger scale, some networks for you to also consider include:
* Blue Lithium
* AzoogleAds
* Advertising.com
* MaxOnline
* 24/7 Real Media
* Ad-Up
After you have met the requirements needed for a particular ad network and have decided to sign up, you may also want to keep a few things in mind. Without a doubt you should read the contract word for word and make sure you comprehend all of the information. Then take into consideration the ad rates, types and formats. Would you like to offer targeted or non-targeted advertisements or both? Just don't throw caution to the wind for a quick buck. Be sure to retain the upperhand when dealing with any kind of advertiser or advertising network. It is, after all, YOUR site.
About the Author
WebAdvantage.net's company president Hollis Thomases is an editorial contributor to both online and off-line publications and public speaker at Internet-related conferences and educational events. For more information, visit WebAdvantage.net’s web site at http://www.webadvantage.net or call 410-942-0488.
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