Advertise Space - Blog Avertising » 2007 » February

Some advertisers prefer CPM (Cost per thousand), some like CPC (Cost per click), but the true hidden gem in your online marketing mix will come from… wait for it…a fix price AD.   Most advertisers won’t even consider buying an ad for a fixed monthly rate because they want guaranteed impression or even guaranteed clicks.

I’ve been buying and selling online ad space for 6 years now, so I’ll let you in on a small secret:  To be completely honest some of your fixed ad spots you buy will be a waste of money and generate few clicks or maybe even no leads.  BUT, a few small fixed position buys will end up being the hidden gems in your online marketing mix.  

Yes it is a gamble, and takes trial and error, but you will always have that one site that you are advertising on, that ends up being gold. You will always love it, and you’ll always be glad you stepped up and took a risk on that site and it will always be the Gem in your marketing mix.

If there is a set predictable outcome, it’s not innovative.

We’ll I just re-took my YSM Ambassador test as it was required since the upgrade to Panama, and I passed!  The test is a 90 min. timed one and requires a little bit of studying pre-test.  It took me just 22 mins (with beer in hand) of the full 90 and I passed with a 82%.  (80% is pass)  Is it hard?  We’ll not if you already use YSM for campaign’s and you are generally experienced with PPC.  The only questions a true SEM may be stumped with if they didn’t study are the few ‘Yahoo’ questions that have nothing to do with the search product. 

OK, so should you take the test?  We’ll if you are a professional search engine marketer or manages multiple search campaigns for clients then it is probably something that you just should have.  It’ll add to your creditability to gain new clients, and you may actually learn a few things.   Or if you are just interested in online advertising in general and would like to gain a deeper insight into how pay per click advertising works, you may also want to take it.

http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/af/amb.php

This is a question I get a lot, so I’ve decided to touch on the subject.   Having banner ads on your site is a fine balance between user experience and generating some revenues from the ads.  Sizes like leaderboards (728×90) and (skyscrapers) 160×600 tend to distract the users and take away from the overall experience, which is why that these size banners and not only getting declining click through rates, but also the reason that advertisers are buying them less.  -But the catch 22 here is that a lot of advertisers still not only use both those sizes, some of them ’only’ use those sizes, so you risk losing a lot of potential ad dollars if you don’t at least support them.  Enter the ‘box’ ad.  The 300×250 was popularized by CNET a few years ago and is one of the only size banners that has not only caught on mainstream, but also has had some staying power.   The reason for this?  Box ads tend to mimic TV ads which are already accepted by the general public and seem a lot less intrusive than other sizes.   The 300×250 ad also gets higher click through rates than both the skyscraper and leaderboard which is why advertising agencies are buying them more for their clients and also the reason a lot of major players, like Yahoo, are starting to use them exclusively.  My favorite size?  The 125×125.  Why?  It still has the box shape, it’s smaller but still provides enough space to get the marketing message into it, and click rates are currently very high.