Tag Archives: ad serving

AdBrite instead of Google AdSense / AdWords

Advertising, Search, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’ve had a chance to spend some time with AdBrite and I’m impressed with the opportunity for you, us, as marketers and publishers. Coincidentally, they are set up in the booth next to ours at SES so I’m sure I’ll get a chance to chat with them during the conference and may follow up with some thoughts, for now, give AdBrite a try:

Advertisers

  1. Easy City/State local targeting enabling national advertisers to target ads locally and local advertisers to reach relevant customers.

  2. Simple action/conversion tags allowing you to measure effectiveness end-to-end and optimize performance for a specific ad or placement.

  3. CPC based Text ads, CPM banner ads, and Interstitials to get you right in front of the audience while mitigating risk by paying for traffic or reach.

  4. Category, Demographic, and Keyword targeting.
The long and short of AdBrite for advertisers is that it is easy to use, supports targeting, and drives efficient marketing through turnkey tracking and optimization.

Publishers

  1. Option to control the advertising instead of being forced to run those in the ad network. You can opt to only allow banner ads giving your site the perception of a little more credibility.

  2. Enable local advertising

  3. Like an ad server, allow advertisers to buy media on your site alone

  4. Auction model in which ads are auto optimized to favor those that deliver the most revenue

  5. Back fill with another ad network! This alone is why you should use AdBrite on your site. Enter your AdSense code and eCPM and AdBrite will run Google ads when CPMs are not high enough to favor their own. You are ensured of making MORE money by only running AdBrite ads at rates higher than that which you already receive.
My only criticism is that they should allow banner advertisers to pay on a CPC basis. Display ads are CPM only. Obviously, they are trying to reinforce that display ads have brand/awareness value but if their goal is to support an auction model for advertising, they should go all the way. If display ads truly ad incremental value over text ads, CPCs will reflect that.


By the way, (and no, this isn’t the reason for this post) We’ve set them up on Zvents, allowing advertisers to buy locally targeted inventory on the network. Okay, maybe the reason for the post IS that I’m using it. None-the-less, check them out and give yourself 20 minutes to set them up in support of your site or as an advertiser, you can’t be disappointe

Top Questions to Ask a Potential Paid Search Vendor

Paid Search, Search, Vendors / Agencies, , , , , , ,

There are hundreds of blog posts, sites, and articles about questions to ask an SEO vendor:

Heck, see for yourself
I’ve even taken a stab at the top 10 questions to ask an SEO Consultant

There are far fewer lists about paid search; arguably, a much more complex opportunity and certainly, one with greater risk as you are paying for placement as well as support.

Let’s give it a shot:

  • What is your knowledge of and experience with our brand, website, products and services, and marketing campaigns?
  • How long has your company been managing search? How many programs and total $ value do you support?
  • What measurement criteria or metrics does your company have in place to track performance?
  • How do you provide online real time reporting and tracking? What tools do you use? Are any of these tools proprietary?
  • How would you measure and track ROI for campaigns?
  • How do you think that search industry is going to evolve in the next 12/24 months?
  • Characterize the purpose of search engine marketing; how do you define its role in an integrated marketing plan? What benefits does search provide beyond supporting a brand and driving awareness and business?
  • How do other online marketing or website opportunities and considerations (i.e. affiliates, landing page design, natural search, datafeeds, advertising) play a role or contribute to paid search management?
  • How is the company organized to support advanced search strategies and development? How many permanent search experts are there in your company?
  • What is your company’s Account Management level annual attrition rate, as a percentage?
  • Describe skill sets, related experiences, and project roles of the staffing you would provide to perform these services.
  • Do you subcontract or outsource any of these services that cannot be accomplished in house?
  • Is your company a leader in the search industry? How so?
  • How do you stay ahead of the competition (e.g., in technology, tools, training, processes, etc.)?
  • What are your strategic relationships or partnerships (search engine, technology, or tracking)? How will they help us?
  • List the search engines your toolset automatically links to for the purpose of automated bidding, campaign management and reporting.
  • What type of bid management system do you have for keyword buys?
  • What are your company’s top 5 core competencies? List in priority order and describe them.
  • What are your expectations of the advertiser? What do you need from us?
  • What is your typical turnaround for new programs and how do you ensure programs are delivered on the agreed time line?
  • How do you work and coordinate with other agencies?
  • How do you track/manage agreed upon budgets for projects?
  • How and when do you report changes in budgets?
  • Over the last year, how many times did you exceed the approved or revised, agreed budget on a project?
  • What is your total fee / commission for services?
Anything to add?