Tuesday
May152012
Testing a New Advertising Network
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
For years, I've been selling all of my own ads on this blog. That means that every single ad that shows up was approved by me before it shows on the site. I do this to avoid having, for example, formula ads showing up next to breastfeeding articles or having ads from companies that I do not support next to my carefully crafted message. This is a labour intensive process, but is a way to ensure that the companies I am working with are ones that I support.
There are also a great many advertising networks out there that automatically feed ads to bloggers. In the past, I've looked at and then rejected many of those ad networks because they didn't pay enough for the space they were taking up, they didn't allow me to block companies or categories that I wasn't comfortable with, or they demanded exclusivity on the "above the fold" area of my blog.
Recently, I was approached by an ad network that will allow me to block entire categories, specific companies, and specific ads. It will also let me place the ads wherever I want on the page, so I can continue to sell my own ads and provide the companies that I work with the best space. This seems like a good fit, and while my ad spaces were fully booked with a waiting list too a few months ago, interest seems to have slowed this spring. So, I've decided to give this ad network a try on a trial basis to see if it is a fit for my blog.
That said, one of the issues with ad networks is that I don't get to see all the ads that are on the site, since they change quickly and are often geo-targeted (e.g. people in the United States will see a different ad than people in Canada). I've sent the company a list of categories and brands to block and I'm now testing things out.
The new ad appears on the left-side, under my "No Nestle" graphic and above my "recommended books" section. So far, I've seen some ads that I was happy with (one was for Shopify, which is an amazing Canadian company offering a great ecommerce store service). I've also seen some ads I wasn't happy with and that I added to my "blocked" list (e.g. scams offering to get you thousands of dollars of government grants).
I'm going to give it some time and see if a bit of tinkering gets it to a place where I'm happy with the type of ads that are showing and the revenue that it is bringing in. If that doesn't work, I'll get rid of it and continue with the approach of exclusively selling my own ads.
As I evaluate and tinker, I'd love your help. Would you drop me a comment and let me know what ad you are seeing in that space (again, it is below the "No Nestle" graphic and above the recommended books)? That will help me get a better picture of what ads are showing up, even if they don't show to me.
Thank you for your help and your patience as I fiddle with this.
There are also a great many advertising networks out there that automatically feed ads to bloggers. In the past, I've looked at and then rejected many of those ad networks because they didn't pay enough for the space they were taking up, they didn't allow me to block companies or categories that I wasn't comfortable with, or they demanded exclusivity on the "above the fold" area of my blog.
Recently, I was approached by an ad network that will allow me to block entire categories, specific companies, and specific ads. It will also let me place the ads wherever I want on the page, so I can continue to sell my own ads and provide the companies that I work with the best space. This seems like a good fit, and while my ad spaces were fully booked with a waiting list too a few months ago, interest seems to have slowed this spring. So, I've decided to give this ad network a try on a trial basis to see if it is a fit for my blog.
That said, one of the issues with ad networks is that I don't get to see all the ads that are on the site, since they change quickly and are often geo-targeted (e.g. people in the United States will see a different ad than people in Canada). I've sent the company a list of categories and brands to block and I'm now testing things out.
The new ad appears on the left-side, under my "No Nestle" graphic and above my "recommended books" section. So far, I've seen some ads that I was happy with (one was for Shopify, which is an amazing Canadian company offering a great ecommerce store service). I've also seen some ads I wasn't happy with and that I added to my "blocked" list (e.g. scams offering to get you thousands of dollars of government grants).
I'm going to give it some time and see if a bit of tinkering gets it to a place where I'm happy with the type of ads that are showing and the revenue that it is bringing in. If that doesn't work, I'll get rid of it and continue with the approach of exclusively selling my own ads.
As I evaluate and tinker, I'd love your help. Would you drop me a comment and let me know what ad you are seeing in that space (again, it is below the "No Nestle" graphic and above the recommended books)? That will help me get a better picture of what ads are showing up, even if they don't show to me.
Thank you for your help and your patience as I fiddle with this.
Reader Comments (122)
Apple MacBook Air 11.6-see today's best price- shop now- CDW People Who Get It.
I'm seeing an Office Depot ad.
The ad I see is for SendGrid. Email Delivery. Simplified. sendgrid.com. Sign Up for FREE
Domino's pizza
I'm seeing an ad for ZOOSK, "the romantic social network." Good luck with the ad network!
Now I see DeVry University ...
Autismspeaks.org
I see Autism Speaks
I'm seeing an ad with a Can. gov't cheque and the line "How I got a $12,000 Check [sic] from the Canadian Government"...
I see an ad about getting $12,000 from the government. Looks a little scammy.
autismspeaks.org
Now it's Koodo.
A Momzelle Nursing Wear ad - seems a bit more apt than the others!
MomZelle Nursing Ware
Domino's Pizza.
"Fast and FREE DELIVERY on qualifying orders of $50+"
Autism speaks
I'm not seeing anything there.
USA.... ST. Jude's Research Hospital
AutoTrader.ca (one of my husband's favorite sites!)
baby gap here in Toronto!
Threadless t-shirt ad. Nothing scammy. All good.
Free printable coupon for Totem.
autismspeaks.org (viewed from Quebec)
autismspeaks.org
I'm seeing a dude wearing a sandwich board, and in a layer over it, it says, Will the right ad find you? No idea who the ad is from. Maybe the ad network?
From australia
Autism Speaks here too.
FYI I have read a bit of criticism of Autism Speaks eg on Tiger Beatdown.
Me too!
Autism Speaks here, on my iPhone.
Shutterstock (from Texas) A bit odd.
I'm seeing the same ad right now too!
I'm viewing on an android phone and that space is completely blank.
I'm actually not seeing anything at all -- USA.
Apidexin weight loss pills. Maybe it reads the user's cache because I totally searched for diet pill info today!
Discount School Supply :)
Using my nook color with android hack and have blank space
WorldVision.org
PB Teen
Save 50% on shipping
Ugh, that is one that was supposed to be blocked.
Why is that odd?
That's awesome! I work with Momzelle already (see their ad above my "No Nestle" button).
Sounds appropriate for you. :)
Thanks. I'll look into it.
How I got $12,000 from a Canadian government grant
...and then...
Koodo
Athleta - New York area.
Also Orbitz and Mitsubishi.
Crocs - 10% off purchase
Here on my desktop in the US, I saw an add for a TiVo (good luck, advertisers, as I follow about than TV shows) and then "BrightRoll: Now That's Smart Video Advertising."
I got Zoosk too!