Archive for the ‘Advertising’ Category
by David Peralty on November 28th, 2007
This is continuing coverage of the nextMEDIA conference in Toronto. To find all the posts related to nextMEDIA, check out Splashpress’ Blog
The third session of the first day was by Robert Jenkyn, the VP of On Demand Media. They consider themselves media experts, and have customers like Telus, WestJet, Best Buy and Futureshop.
Robert was quick to point out that with advertising online, most companies are beyond the point of asking themselves “if” they should enter the space, but instead are saying “how much?”
They want to know how much time, money and resources they should be investing into the ever growing market of web users in the world.
In Canada alone, eighty-two percent of adults have Internet access, and out of an audience of nearly fourty million, half use the Internet, every single day. Canadians spend more time online than reading books, magazines, watching television or listening to the radio.
And what’s great about all this is that it is highly measurable with things like impressions, clicks, sales, rich media interactions, and brand awareness.
Robert said that what web publishers and content producers need to deliver to get advertisers interested is information like their audience composition, niche, ad inventory, and create valued editorial environments.
He brings up two studies in his talk, and the more compelling one to me was their Telus example. Telus is a cellular service provider in Canada and is one of the top three companies in its niche.
Recently, there was a shift in the legal requirements of cell phone companies to allow consumers to bring their number from one carrier to another, rather than having to sign up for a new number with each carrier.
On this day, Telus made it a point to advertise all over every Google property, including YouTube, targeting Canadian consumers, welcoming them to Telus with the telephone number they valued so much.
They used multiple advertisement formats, on every site they could afford, and tracked the awareness, web traffic and reach of their message.
Once bloggers noticed that Telus was buying up all the advertising spaces on Google owned sites, they began to write their own reports about Telus, and what it was doing, further expanding the reach of their idea.
Over the course of twenty-four hours, Telus received fifteen million unique visitors, which accounted for over 64% of all Canadians online during that day.
They continued to receive traffic that ballooned to a 250% increase for the month, and they found their visitors were much more likely than regular search traffic to view multiple pages on their website.
Telus concluded that this advertising was much more effective and cost effective than either a television roadblock or full page ad on all major daily newspapers.
Robert definitely made it look like companies are waking up to the value, cost effectiveness, and reach of the web.
Categories: Advertising, Interesting
by David Peralty on September 21st, 2007
Make Easy Money With Google And AdSense is one of my favorite sites for reading about AdSense and Google projects in general, and with the Canadian and American dollar hitting parity, I really appreciated their latest post entitled “Google Should Switch To Euros“.
I have posted about the implications in a weak American currency before and so I have to admit, I would enjoy seeing Google switch their AdSense payouts to a currency that converts better to Canadian dollars, and is more stable.
Here is a bit from the article:
If you’re a US publisher then this probably doesn’t mean too much to you, but it definitely affects those of us on the outside, as Google’s US-denominated payments are worth less and less to us once they’re converted over. On the flipside, however, non-US advertisers should see their AdWords costs decrease because the conversion to US dollars for bid prices will be cheaper.
Now if only Google would switch to Euros as its base currency for advertising transactions. The exchange rate is much better…
Has the shift in the value of the American dollar effected you? Let me know in the comments below. I would love to hear some kindred spirits feeling the pressure due to the online economy being so cemented in the US greenback.
Categories: Advertising, Blogging Sense
by David Peralty on September 4th, 2007
Over on Mashable, they have released a post that includes the 17 WordPress Plugins for AdSense. Some of which I have used myself, others that I have never heard of, but all in all, if you are looking for an AdSense Plugin for WordPress, this would be a great starting point.
Like it or not, many blogs survive thanks to Google AdSense – a fact that’s leading some to debate the use of ad blocking software. However, implementing and tweaking AdSense ads on a Wordpress blog can be tedious. We’ve gathered 17 Wordpress plugins which help you implement, control and overview AdSense ads on your blog.
Categories: Advertising, WordPress News
by David Peralty on May 31st, 2007
Today I got to meet up with Ted Murphy of PayPerPost at the Mesh Conference. He was really down to earth and easy to talk to. He laughed at the mention of the verbal jab Michael Arrington directed his way the day before. Arrington called Ted Murphy the “the most evil person” in the room.
Talking about PayPerPost and its features, he believes that they are the only worthwhile system in regards to companies paying for such content. He talked about the features in the system and their work at combating the issue with review quality, and blogger quality issues that have been plaguing the system. They have added a way for their users to have their reviews ranked by the purchaser, so others have a way of telling how good or bad a writer is.
It is understandable as currently, they are the biggest system that I know of. He brought up the number of features they have brought up over the course of nearly a year. PayPerPost’s one year anniversary is coming up soon.
He also let me know that there is a new release of features, or information coming out in the next week or two. He wouldn’t pin it down any more than that, but he said that it will get people talking again, more than even PayPerPost Direct, one of their newest services.
Overall, he wasn’t as evil as people believe. He really stands behind his product and compares it to paid search results. He believes that the industry of blogging was hurting for a better monetization system, and that is what PayPerPost and its counterparts have provided.
An interesting breakfast indeed.
Categories: Advertising, Interview
by David Peralty on May 25th, 2007
One of my favorite building alexking.org posts has to be the recent one on the monetization of his site. It goes into details on what has worked for him, and what hasn’t, something that will really help some bloggers, and maybe mislead others.
Monetization of a site really varies from site to site, but it is always interesting to see what successes others are having. Here is a bit from Alex’s post:
While I may not like the way it looks, “in your face” advertising definitely seems to work much better than tucking the ads away in a sidebar. Putting the ads at the top of the page seems to work a little better than in a sidebar as well, but I don’t like the way it pushes the content down.
However, this is my personal web site, so I can choose to keep the ads somewhat out of the way instead of trying to squeeze every dime I can out of the site.
I also recently turned down sponsored posts and an opportunity to put a flash banner ad on my home page. Sure it probably would have made a few bucks, but I felt it would really detract from the overall site experience. There’s definitely a “just because you can doesn’t mean you should” side of how you choose to implement advertising on your site.
This is something that all the Bloggy Network sites have had to deal with as we continue to make producing content our full time jobs. We have to balance our needs to pay our bills, without going too overboard on advertising, and sometimes it has to be a bit “in your face” but we try very hard to blend, and stay away from certain types of ads.
Check out Alex’s full post for more details on the things he has tried. A great article.
Categories: Advertising, Blogging Sense
by David Peralty on May 24th, 2007
So the news broke, and some of my colleagues in Bloggy Network have already expressed their opinions when it comes to Google buying FeedBurner for $100 million dollars and so I wanted to recap some of what they have said, and add in my own thoughts on the acquisition.
Ahmed believes that this will provide Google with even more information about the elusive blogosphere and has published a post entitled Google & FeedBurner: Double Whammy.
So the acquisition of FeedBurner gives them a ton more information. They know clickrate. They know the subscription # of a lot of sites. They can find information/data they previously did not know existed (which I touched on briefly).
I talk about covering the A to Z process for our properties – Google has done the same. They know what end-users are doing (via Google Analytics). They know what end-users are reading and finding interesting (via Google Reader). And now they know how popular blogs are, and what people find interesting on those specific blogs (via Google FeedBurner). And don’t forget they can trick your ad habits now – not just via AdSense/Adwords, but also through DoubleClick now.
Griffith, over on Forever Geek, has published a post called Google acquires FeedBurner for $100 million.
He goes over more of the meat and potatoes of the deal, and give a quick nod to the possible inclusion of Adsense in RSS feeds.
Although FeedBurner already gave you the option of adding advertisement to your feeds, my guess is that now it will be Adsense exclusive, if it isn’t already (I haven’t checked in a long time). Other than that, you can probably rest assured that it will remain free for everyone. The only difference is that it will probably be integrated into more Google products.
I agree with both of them. This gives Google even more information on a wide variety of sites, and while Google is not really known for improving the features of a service they buy, they have started to make some serious headway with their Blogger platform, and I can see FeedBurner becoming an integral part of their Blogger blogs. As well as providing them with a large user base that they can get using Adsense both on their sites, and in their feeds. With FeedBurner, Adsense, and Analytics, they will be able to provide you with advertising and statistics to cover every angle.
I think this was a great move for both Google and for FeedBurner, and I look forward to seeing what interesting ways that FeedBurner is integrated into Google’s already powerful brand.
Categories: Advertising, Blog Statistics, Feed Tools
by David Peralty on May 24th, 2007
So the news broke, and some of my colleagues in Bloggy Network have already expressed their opinions when it comes to Google buying FeedBurner for $100 million dollars and so I wanted to recap some of what they have said, and add in my own thoughts on the acquisition.
Ahmed believes that this will provide Google with even more information about the elusive blogosphere and has published a post entitled Google & FeedBurner: Double Whammy.
So the acquisition of FeedBurner gives them a ton more information. They know clickrate. They know the subscription # of a lot of sites. They can find information/data they previously did not know existed (which I touched on briefly).
I talk about covering the A to Z process for our properties – Google has done the same. They know what end-users are doing (via Google Analytics). They know what end-users are reading and finding interesting (via Google Reader). And now they know how popular blogs are, and what people find interesting on those specific blogs (via Google FeedBurner). And donât forget they can trick your ad habits now – not just via AdSense/Adwords, but also through DoubleClick now.
Griffith, over on Forever Geek, has published a post called Google acquires FeedBurner for $100 million.
He goes over more of the meat and potatoes of the deal, and give a quick nod to the possible inclusion of Adsense in RSS feeds.
Although FeedBurner already gave you the option of adding advertisement to your feeds, my guess is that now it will be Adsense exclusive, if it isnât already (I havenât checked in a long time). Other than that, you can probably rest assured that it will remain free for everyone. The only difference is that it will probably be integrated into more Google products.
I agree with both of them. This gives Google even more information on a wide variety of sites, and while Google is not really known for improving the features of a service they buy, they have started to make some serious headway with their Blogger platform, and I can see FeedBurner becoming an integral part of their Blogger blogs. As well as providing them with a large user base that they can get using Adsense both on their sites, and in their feeds. With FeedBurner, Adsense, and Analytics, they will be able to provide you with advertising and statistics to cover every angle.
I think this was a great move for both Google and for FeedBurner, and I look forward to seeing what interesting ways that FeedBurner is integrated into Google’s already powerful brand.
Categories: Advertising, Blog Statistics, Feed Tools
by David Peralty on May 16th, 2007
Over on adClustr there is a post describing the different tools and services you can use to get your RSS feed to earn a bit of money through advertising. I am not sure what the average going rate is for an advertisement in a feed, but it seems to be growing in popularity to monetize them as many of the bigger sites I read have already used one system or another to implement them.
I have to admit that I find advertisements in feeds a little less glaring than most on site advertising, but at the same time, I have never clicked an advertisement in a feed.
Some of the tools and services mentioned in the article include Text-Link-Ads Feedvertising, Feedburner Ads, Pheedo and Kanoodle.
Check out the article for some details on these services, and if you have thousands of feed readers, and feel you should monetize them, then one of the mentioned sites will help make that happen.
Categories: Advertising
by David Peralty on April 12th, 2007
The Text Link Ads service has added a new service that lets you sell single post advertising, which will allow you to easily monetize your WordPress blog.
Deep linking is excellent for advertisers as it usually gets more benefits and allows a more specific and/or concentrated approach to advertising. I have always found Text Link Ads to be less intrusive than Adsense, but remember, there are some Google Page Rank effects to your site as you add more and more outbound links.
Installation is easy as they have made it into a WordPress plugin which you upload and activate on your site.
It could be interesting but I look forward to seeing how people do with the new addition to their popular advertising system.
Categories: Advertising
by David Peralty on February 20th, 2007
Aaron Brazell has posted about his attempted Technosailor sale. He didn’t end up selling his blog, but he learned many valuable lessons worth passing on.
Here are a few:
- Perceived value is in the eye of the beholder. More specifically, no one values any site more than the owner. This is natural as the owner puts “blood, sweat and tears” into a site and sees value that maybe is not there. Do not think that depth of archives necessarily translates to value.
- Private is always better than public. Maybe my biggest mistake in this process was posting the auction at SitePoint. I recieved derision and ridicule by onlookers not interested in bidding, but interested in making sure everyone else knew how they felt. This was numerous people and it probably contributed to the anger mentioned in bullet point 3. The private discussions held with two particular parties, however, was quite good and open and honest. Though the sale did not develop as I had hoped, I definitely have a respect for the parties and would be interested in doing business in the future.
- Value is found in the blogger and this was an eye opener to me. I expected to sell Technosailor and be happy, but the interested parties were more interested in me. Though I was flattered, sometimes business gets in the way of business and no one wins.
Check out Technosailor for the rest.
Categories: Advertising, Blogging Sense
4 Comments
