Technorati Switches On its New Engage Ad Network

by Rene LeMerle

After years of speculation and an acquisition back in October, Technorati have switched on the beta version of their new ad network – Technorati Engage.

The beta launch of the ad network has occurred with little fanfare. It hasn’t even earned a mention on the Technorati blog as yet, which suggests they’re not 100% ready to open up the floodgates.

After acquiring AdEngage back in October to help power the new network, they immediately announced the launch of a private alpha of Technorati Engage. The rapid execution suggested Technorati was keen to keep momentum moving and its no real surprise to see the beta live so soon.

Richard Jalichandra had this to say back in October regarding the ad network:

Step one for Technorati Media was to get the network up and running with a smaller group of bloggers. But our ultimate goal is to help bloggers at all levels make money, while at the same time creating an effective and safe vehicle for brand advertisers…

…so step two is to open up something that works for everyone, and that is ideally suited to the long tail. While the audiences here are smaller, the levels of engagement, influence and expertise in the audience can be exponentially higher.

So with step 2 complete, what does Technorati Engage have to offer?

The network currently offers 3 ad options:

• Text Ad
• Photo Ads
• 125 x 125 banners

There are plans to extend the ad standards offered through the network once it’s launched officially.

For advertisers, there is useful stats about publisher sites, including Estimated Clicks/Ad/Week, Avg Weekly Views/Ad and a geographical breakdown of click sources. The information provided is very similar to that offered by networks such as AdBrite.

Even though it’s only in beta release, there appears to be no restrictions to sign-ups for advertisers or publishers at this stage. So head on over and sign up.

Although the ad inventory is limited at this early stage, there are still some well known publishers enlisted including The Inquisitr, GHacks etc.

If you do sign up and give the new Technorati Engage Ad network a trial, let us know how it performs.

Rene LeMerle is the VP of Marketing at ineedhits.com, a leading provider of results driven Search Engine Marketing services.