Advertising | On Target Professional Website Design

Selling Ad Space on your Website

Mar 132010

Should I Sell Advertising Space on my Website?

Consider the advantages: income; and disadvantages: it could be distracting to your visitors, taking them away from the process of buying your products or services and sending them to another business. Of course, if most of your traffic is from visitors actually typing in your website address, chances are they will be able to get back to you no problem. I would also suggest having the links open the pages in a new window that can easily be closed when the visitor is finished.

Remember that your greatest source of income should be your readers, so don’t include so many ads that you annoy your visitors or detract from your message.

How long should my site be up/how many page views must I have before I can offer advertising space?

Create your site with advertising space in mind. Leave room for all the advertising options (text links, sidebar banners, header banners, etc.) Include an “advertising” page to outline options and allow potential sponsors to contact you for more information. Even if your traffic is very low, it may give you some idea of the interest out there and make it easier to incorporate ads when you’re ready.

Consider filling empty spots with Google AdSense or affiliate banners while you wait for more profitable advertisers.

For many, many reasons, make sure your website is attractive, uncluttered and very easy to navigate before you consider offering ad space.

How much should I charge?

You should have a good idea of your traffic already (I recommend Google Analytics). Some advertisers will be interested in your first-time visitors, while others will be content to know your page views per month. While most resources say that for a 125x125pxx banner in the sidebar, a CPM of $.50-$2.00 is reasonable (that works out to $50 – $200 for a site with 100,000 page views per month), consider how much you would pay for an ad on your site, consider your potential advertisers and what they may be able/willing to pay. For other ad sizes, adjust the cost accordingly.

When first starting out, consider offering 2 weeks free. At the end of the two weeks, show them how many visitors they have received as a result of their ad!

Should I do it myself, sign up with an ad marketplace, or use an ad manager?

Selling directly to advertisers is going to be your best option to get the highest return. Most ad marketplaces charge 50% to recruit and bill advertisers. If you’re just starting out and you don’t want to invest too much time, consider using a manager like TextLinkAds.com. They’ve been around a while and get consistently positive reviews.

Another option is to use an ad manager that you can integrate with your site. Several, like OIO Publisherhandle not only ad purchases, but subscriptions and advertiser traffic data as well. They also offer an advertiser marketplace where your advertisers can leave feedback regarding their experience with you.

What kind of advertisements should I offer?

Text links or banner ads?

Text links are the least distracting and look less like ads. They may get increased traffic because they look like part of your site, but are likely to surprise visitors by sending them to another site. Consider adding text links to a bulleted list labeled “Sponsored Links” and remember to add the “no-follow” tag to prevent page rank dilution. Use caution when using text links in the content of your site.

Banner ads tends are more obvious advertisements which may catch the eye of your visitors and by their nature supply more information. Banner ads run from a 125x125px sidebar to a 728x90px heading or footer banner.

What if someone requests a refund?

Clearly state your refund policy. It is not unreasonable to make a one-day or even one-hour refund policy. Also, make sure you clearly state that you are selling ad space, not website traffic. The success of their ad depends not only on your visitors, but also on the perceived value of the resource by your customers and the quality of their ad copy or banner.

How do I convince advertisers to space on my website?

Start with a top-quality advertising page and make it simple. Thank your readers for their interest in advertising on your site. Smart advertisers only advertise on relevant sites, so let them know immediately who your audience is. Will you supply data to show how well your advertisers links are performing? What types of ads are available, where will each appear, and how many total ads are being offered?

Supply information on your statistics, including:

Unique visitors – a must
Page views – a must
Average length of visits
Number of new visitors
Newsletter subscribers
Facebook fans

Is there anything else I should put on the Advertising Page?

Specify your guidelines. Consider items such as:

Who will supply the banner or ad copy?
All advertisers, banners and ad copy are subject to approval.
Will you accept adult/gambling ads?
Disclose that you will use a “no-follow” attribute on all ads.
Refund policy
Are prices subject to change?

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Free Marketing Secrets – Yahoo! Local

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Dec 292009

A free Yahoo local listing displays your address, phone number and website. You can put your business in up to 5 categories and list products, services, brands you carry and more.

To see where results appear, search for ‘roofing new braunfels tx’ on Yahoo! The top listings are from Yahoo! Local, and we all want to be listed at the top!

To Add Your Site:

Go to the Yahoo! Local Listings page and click on “Sign up”
Sign in with your Yahoo! ID, or register for a new account.
Enter as much information as possible.
Choose appropriate and specific categories for your listing.
Click on “Continue”, review your listing and submit.

In 3-5 days your listing should appear. Return to your Local listings account at any time to see the status of your listings. Encourage customers to leave reviews on your listing.

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Free Marketing Secrets - Bing Local

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Dec 192009

NOTE: As of December 19, 2009, there is a backlog of listings. I requested inclusion for two sites on December 20th and have yet to receive my verification PIN for either. Hopefully they’ll catch up soon.

The Bing business listings come from publicly available local telephone listings. To see how this works, go to www.Bing.com and search for – house painting new braunfels, texas. The very first set of listings will be “Listings for house painting near New Braunfels, Texas”. If your business is not listed – and surely you want it to be, click on their “Local Listing Center” link at the bottom of the page. Then, click on the link to “Add new listing”.

Enter your business information. If your business listing appears, click on the “Change your business listing” link in the right-had column and follow the instructions so you can add more information. If your business is not found, follow the instructions to add your business information. In either case, you will need to have a Windows Live ID to proceed. You can create one at this time.

Make sure you add as much information as possible. Use the “supplemental websites” area to add extra links to your listing. For example, a roofing contractor can add additional links to their contact form, customer comments, BBB listing or even reviews on sites like Google local.

When visitors see your listing, they’re already interested in what you have to offer. Make it easy for them to choose you by making it easy to contact you and obvious why you are the best choice! This is definitely worth your time. Of course, if you choose a custom website from On Target, your Bing listing is included!

Bing requires verification for listing additions and changes. You should receive a verification PIN in the mail. Return to your Local Business Listing Center and follow the instructions, logging in with your Windows Live ID.

Encourage your customers to write a review. Make it easy by sending a link right to your business listing.

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Free Marketing Secret - Google Local

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Dec 172009

It’s true. There are numerous free marketing opportunities that you’re not using to your advantage! Here is the first in a series of three.

Google Maps / Google Local

For example, Google the term – facials canyon lake texas. The top results are Local business results for facials near Canyon Lake, TX. If you click on that link, you get about 4 pages of listings. If you wanted your business to be displayed here, you would go to the bottom of the page and click the Information for Business Owners link.

Once you have signed in, click on the “Add a new business” button and enter your information. Make sure to follow through with all all verification procedures.

Suggestions on creating a great listing:

Basic Information
To help readers make their choice, make sure you include as much information as possible. Always enter the official business name and mailing address. Be sure to include your area code with your phone number. Make sure to list your office business website. In the description field, tell readers what makes you stand out from the competition. If your business does not appear on the map in the correct location, click on the “Fix incorrect marker location” link and follow the instructions.

Categories
Choose accurate, descriptive categories. Feel free to create your own category if you don’t see one that fits. Be as specific as you can.

Photos/Videos
If possible, include a photo or video to help your listing stand out.

Additional details
Include anything else you’d like readers to know. For example, list the brands you carry, services you offer, or added perks (like free parking). Your ranking, in part, depends on its relevance compared to the key words entered. So, make sure you list as much information as possible.

When you’re done, encourage your customers to write a review on your listing. This can help improve your ranking. Log in to your Google Local Business Center Dashboard from time to time to see how often your site is appearing in the listings, how often people click on your listing and the top search queries that lead visitors to your listing. You can also add a coupon for free!

Don’t have a website? Need a few changes or a complete overhaul?

When you choose a custom website from On Target, listing creation for Google Local is included. In a brief phone call I’ll show you exactly how easy it can be to get started. Call 830.822.6589 today!

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