• Image ads of course are more eye catching than text ads
• Using image ads with placement targeting can be very effective
• You can dominate an entire ad region with an image ad
• There is less competition for certain verticals in the content network
• They’re quick & easy to setup
• Google’s quality score works differently than search, making direct linking to the offer a much more viable solution.
• And if you’re lucky enough, the creatives have already been made by the advertiser
  * (the caveat of course is that not all ad formats are available, hence the reason I am writing this post)

Last night though, I had to shoot off an email to my main affiliate networks with a request that I think all affiliates can agree is lacking in the industry. We need compliant creatives in the networks supporting all the available Google image formats!

I came to this realization last night as I was working on a new image campaign, had everything setup, chose my target sites, etc…only to find that the advertiser didn’t have a single image creative that was supported by Google. Arrggh! That prompted the following email:

To my fellow AMs…

This might be useful to your advertisers who want to get more affiliates promoting image creatives in the Google Content Network.

https://adwords.google.com/support/bin/static.py?page=imagesamples.html

These are image ad formats that Google accepts, and the images have to be less than 50KB.

Grabbing the creatives and running them with placement targeted campaigns is much quicker and easier than keyword targeted campaigns, plus often with less competition. Good potential if targeted properly.

I for one would jump on offers that had image ad creatives that supported all the Google image ad formats. Hopefully more advertisers will start creating Google compliant ad creatives to not miss the huge opportunity in the Content Network.

Thanks in advance.
-Wes

While working with one offer in particular, the timeliness in getting the campaign live was obstructed due to the fact that I had to resize all the image creatives to be less than 50KB. To do so, I had to convert the provide images (which were in .gif format) to .jpg files,  which reduced the file size below Google’s 50KB limit.

Some of the image creatives though were animated gifs, so once I converted them to .jpg, I lost the animated features of the image. We can use animated gifs in the content network, so long as they’re under the 50KB size limitation.

CX Digital quickly came through, and their graphics design team is hard at work, creating all the image creatives I asked for. (Thank you Jessica!).

Perhaps if we can get more affiliates putting pressure on the network to provide the Google compliant creatives, we can create much more opportunity in the content network for all of us. If you agree, have your affiliate manager read this post for the “affiliate perspective”.

• Content Network Domination With ImageAds

A quick post on a neat little Firefox extension that has come in handy on many an occasion when working with CPA networks in multiple timezones.  Also, if you’re like me and participate in monthly mastermind calls via Skype with other Internet marketers, coordinating time can be a challenge. Therefore I went extension hunting and finally came across one that does the job for me: “FoxClocks for Firefox”

This extension is rather simple, and can conveniently sit at the bottom of your Firefox status bar, or be hidden as small icon with time appearing on mouse hovers. I’ve got mine configured for Japan (since I used to live there and still have family there), US west/east coasts, and Canada.

A few CPA networks that I work with (namely CX Digital, NeverblueAds, and Advaliant) are Canada based. More than a handful of times, this little tool has helped remind me to get on the phone or send an IM before my remote CPA managers go home for the day. Since I’m US West Coast and often don’t start my day till 10AM…my window of opportunity starts to close by the time I wake up. FoxClocks to the rescue!

Depending upon the time format you prefer, you can include days of the week, as well as military time (24 hour clocks, which I use). FoxClocks includes an auto-update feature that will sync your clocks with internet databases, keeping your time accurate and not leaving you to worry about daylight savings resets.

Another cool feature of FoxClocks, is its ability Google Earth integration, where you can right-click a location, and instantly be taken there in Google Earth.

Nuff said. Get FoxClocks if you need a better way to keep track of time when coordinating with CPA networks, family, or other remote Internet marketers.

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While I can’t give you the “magic bullet” to making an offer work, I do have a few tips you can use when working with your affiliate manager to greatly increase your chances of making money. These are questions you should ask before running the offer, to make sure you’re ready and armed.

Remember, your affiliate manager makes money when you do, so it’s in his/her best interest to provide you with as much information as possible to ensure your success.

1) Establish A Personal Relationship First: This may seem like a no brainer, but getting to know your manager a bit on a personal level can be hugely beneficial to you both. Meet him/her in person if you can at an Affiliate Summit or other event. Get on the phone with your manager on a regular basis, chat via IM, Facebook, and make it happen.

2) Ask For A List Of The Top Converting Offers: Your affiliate network will regularly send out newsletter blasts with some of their top offers. But go the extra step by getting a more concise list from your affiliate manager and if available, make sure they include the conversion rates for each offer, with the offer/campaign ID, and street payout.

3) Can I Have A Raise?: I always, always ask for a payout increase, even before running an offer. Your affiliate manager has a ceiling on the payout that is usually quite a bit higher than the posted street payout. The difference in a $.50 boost may not seem like a lot, but trust me…it can make or break your campaign.

A higher payout not only means you make more per lead, but you can bid more for your keywords, allowing you to take better ad positions, hence potentially increasing your CTR, hence lowering your CPC. Win Win, and the worst they can say is “No”.

4) Ask For Numbers: When choosing an offer among a few recommended offers by your affiliate manager, see if he/she will give you some numbers on other successful affiliates. What I mean is, find out how much gross revenue the top affiliate for that particular offer drove during the previous month. You aren’t asking for a net amount, because of course your AM won’t know an affiliate’s advertising costs. But hearing real numbers is a whole lot more motivating than just knowing an offer converts at 10%. Now, you may not get this information from your manager. It really depends on the CPA network, and how well your manager trusts you. They can’t always give this information out, but again, it doesn’t hurt to ask.

5) Find Out The Best Promotional Method: Before running an offer, ask your manager how the most successful affiliates are also running it. When you get an offer that says it’s converting at 10%, you need more information to make an informed decision. Is that 10% on Search, Email, Web, Content, Social, etc?

If it’s a search offer, what method works best? Direct Linking, Bridge Page, Review, Comparison, etc.

When you get a conversion rate from you manager, remember, this is the conversion rate of the offer itself. This number will fluctuate depending on HOW you are promoting it. An offer via direct linking will have an entirely different conversion rate than one with a landing page. So knowing the method that is already working for the other affiliates will save you time and help you become successful with it sooner.

Also, see if your AM knows which search engine/country is converting best for the offer. Sometimes an offer will sail on one engine, but tank out on another. There are a number of factors at play, including the demographic of the engine’s users, as well as the ad competition.

And if you have an offer that is available in multiple countries, find out which country is converting best. In many non-US countries, you’ll have more success with it simply because of a less crowded ad space.

The traffic restrictions should be available from within the CPA network’s campaign settings, but if not, be sure to ask. You definitely don’t want to run a global campaign, only later to find out that only US traffic was allowed. This can eat your ad budget to shreds, leaving you with leads you probably won’t get paid for.

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