Why your ad revenue no longer has to suck…
You may feel like you’re David to the advertiser:ad networks Goliath (and, guess what, you are!) with poor CPM’s, poor fill, few advertisers / ad networks, little competition for your inventory and little to no direct sales of ads – you know the story – but with a bit of work, all of this can change – for the tiniest blog to the high, but mostly international, traffic news site. Stick with me and much (all?) will be revealed. Here’s how it breaks down:
Control the value of your inventory
The value of your ad inventory should not be determined exclusively by the advertiser(s) currently bidding for it
Competition is key
Cultivate relationships with more than one source of ad revenue – force them to compete – leverage an Ad Server to make this happen.
Get dangerous
Don’t be afraid to master the nuances of this business – learn all you can – from eCPM’s to fill rates to frequency caps. Learn the lingo, the reporting and do it.
Work hard
Keep at it – here’s your job:
- Seek out new ad networks (man cannot live on Adsense $.15 CPM’s alone!)
- “Traffic” them in an ad server of your choice
- Optmize – send your best impressions to your highest paying ad network
- Repeat!
For most of you who are already doing the above steps and who still feel that your inventory is under-optimized, I’ll be addressing these types of opportunities in the coming weeks.
In the mean time, stay strong and keep at it.
B
