On Using an Ad Network

Most site owners aren’t adept or don’t have the experience to find ads for their sites. Perhaps you don’t have the staff to manage ad campaigns. If you would rather let someone else handle that, joining an ad network is the way to go. You will split the ad revenue based on how many clicks or how many times the ad is views.

MarketingSherpa just published another part in their series about ad networks about what works best. The article is only accessible for a week.

As you probably know, people often don’t click on banner ads, text ads usually perform better. But there is still a place for them and the more targeted they are to the site, the better.

Initial research you need to do.

• MarketingSherpa suggests evaluating things like, if you’re trying to build your brand or trying to sell something.

• Review terms and guidelines before you design an ad. Networks may restrict where ads can go and sizes of the ads.

• Know what actions you want someone to take and map out the path to get them there.

Calls to action
If you’re trying to promote something calls to action are usually: ‘buy now,’ ‘act now,’ ‘get free info,’ or ‘get more info.’ I know graphic designers cringe at this, but buttons in eye-catching colors are normally more effective. In test after test I’ve seen the ugly orange or redish buttons outperform ones that match the site or the rest of the ad.

Ad Placement
The best place to put an ad is “above the fold” or in the top half of the page.

List of ad networks (I also found another list of ad networks that has ratings and more info about each)
To wrap up, I wanted to list ad networks from MarketingSherpa, and I added a few to the list. Please comment if you have any information about any of them or want to add your own ad network.

24/7 Real Media:

http://www.247realmedia.com/EN-US/you/advertiser-solutions.html

Adtegrity:

http://www.adtegrity.com

Advertising.com:

http://www.advertising.com/index.php

Affiliate Fuel:

http://www.affiliatefuel.com

Aptimus:

http://www.aptimus.com

Audience Marketplace:

http://www.audiencemp.com

Azoogle Ads:
https://www.azoogleads.com/corp/index.php?
BannerSpace.com:

http://bannerspace.com

BlueLithium:

http://bluelithium.com

BurstMedia:

http://www.burstmedia.com

Casale Media:

http://www.casalemedia.com

ClickXchange.com:

http://www.clickxchange.com

Collective Media:

http://www.collective-media.com

ContextWeb:

http://www.contextweb.com

CPX Interactive:

http://www.cpxinteractive.com

enCircle Media:

http://www.encirclemedia.com

FeedBurner:

http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/home

Google:

http://www.google.com/intl/en/ads

LinkShare:
http://www.linkshare.com
Martha’s Circle (geared to the Martha Stewart brand):
http://www.marthastewart.com/marthas-circle
Premium Network Inc.:

http://www.premiumnetwork.com

Pulse 360:

http://www.pulse360.com

Quigo:

http://www.quigo.com

RealTechNetwork:

http://www.realtechnetwork.com

Remix Media:

http://www.remixmedia.com

Real Girls Network (upper income, educated women):
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30237
Specfic Media:

http://www.specificmedia.com

Tacoda:

http://www.tacoda.com

Traffic Marketplace:

http://www.trafficmp.com

Travel Ad Network:

http://www.traveladnetwork.com

Tribal Fusion:

http://www.tribalfusion.com

Undertone Networks:

http://www.undertone-inc.com

ValueClick:

http://www.valueclick.com

Yahoo!:

http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/as

International ad Networks:
ad pepper media:

http://www.adpepper.com/en

Hispanoclick:

http://www.hispanoclick.com

Mooter Media:

http://www.mootermedia.com

Rydium:

http://www.rydium.com

SinoTech Media Ltd.:

http://www.sinotechmedia.com.cn/sinotech/index.shtml