Web Advertise 1.0

Once you've got a list of sites, put together a list of things you're looking for from each of them. While I'm not one to resort to acronyms (except to confuse people), here's one I developed after years of experience and intense, mind-bending media labor: SPACE (for Size, Placement, Access, Control, Expense).

Size - How big is your banner? Unless you're one of those folks who digs small portions, you'll want your banner to be as big as possible; most sites won't give you a discount on smaller banners, so why pay the same amount for a smaller one?

Does the site conform to IAB standards? Since these standards were created in part to make your life as an advertiser easier and cut down on the amount of resizing you'll have to do on any given campaign, it's usually a bonus if a site supports the prevailing standard for Web ads.

Placement - Where on the page will your ad appear? Generally speaking, the most desirable placement is at the top of the page where it's immediately visible. Also, pay close attention to how many other ads are in a given space. Some sites pack as many banners as they can onto their most visited pages; yours will stand a better chance of catching the viewer's attention if it has less competition.

Many sites also offer placements "beyond the banner," so if your goal is to achieve extra impact by using non-traditional units, it's worth asking about interstitials, heavily branded sponsorships, or long-term logo placements. You should also make sure you'll be able to target your ads to areas you think will best suit your message - and stay out of the ones that don't.

Access - Can you check your response daily? Sites with Web-based reporting that allow you to track how your ads are doing on a daily or weekly basis are great, and will help you get the most out of your campaign. (Of course, serving your own ads gives you the best access to that kind of information.)

Control - Does the site offer you control over who sees your message? Here you should be thinking what kind of visitors, as well as how many and how often. If you don't have a Windows 95 version of your software, why pay for Windows users to see your message? If a user has seen your message 25 times already and still hasn't clicked, he may just not be interested. Make sure the site can help you control targeting (who sees your message), reach (the number of distinct individuals who see your advertisement), and frequency (the number of times each user sees your banner). How flexible is the site when considering lead times for flighting (read: putting up) banners, and how tightly can you control your rotation between ads?

Expense - How much does it cost? Really? That's too much! Be sure to get guarantees from sites on the number of impressions, the dates your ads will flight, and the price you'll pay. Always do the math to figure out how much you're paying!

Then, as a little exercise, get out your calculator and see how much it'll cost you for each lead if you get a one percent clickthrough on all your ads. Seem like a good deal? Good!