You must be wondering which ad forms are the most effective and bring the biggest profits. Though the basic method is testing and individual approach (after all, each website is different), on the basis of our observations we can state that there are some aspects that make some ad forms more effective than the others.

• Wide forms seem to be clicked more often
• Standard rectangular forms tend to be the most effective: 338×280 px, 300×250px and vertical 160×600 px.
• Rectangular forms, big banners and skyscrapers can generate higher earnings because Adkontekst Exclusive can display in those forms (here you can find the minimum ad form sizes for Adkontekst Exclusive).

Thanks to our flexible approach to ad form creation you can adjust the size and layout of ad forms to practically all websites. Apart from the standard ad forms you can create your own in the following sizes:

• width from 740 to 1600 px
• height from 86 to 416 px

You’re welcome to test it!

Today we want to show that in Adkontekst you can create an almost unlimited number of unique ad forms that can be fully adjusted to the layout of your website.

Below we present a list of very interesting forms:

And you? Have you created any interesting ad forms in Adkontekst? Send them to optymalizuj@adkontekst.pl - the best forms will be placed on our blog with a link to the authors website!

If we had well developed websites (e.g. horizontal portals) that include a lot of varied content surely we would have created several different channels with different thematic categories in order to better adjust ads to the content of our website. Thanks to that we would have access to detailed statistics on each channel but we would not have the full picture - we would lack a summary for the whole portal. How can we deal with this problem?

Superior channels can help. Here I have already written how to create channels. Now I will focus on showing how to get a summary of statistics for a given domain using channels.

In order to get global statistics you have to create a superior channel named e.g. ‘domain.pl’. After that all channels created for the domain should be created as sub channels of the ‘domain.pl’ channel. Thanks to this operation we can analyse statistics for each sub channel as well as global statistics for all ads on ‘domain.pl’.

We see the whole picture and if we have more than one website we know exactly how much each of them has earned.

Thanks to the competition filter you can block specific ads from your website. You can block them by adding their target domains to the competition filter list.

Why block ads?

We have created this tool to enable you to block ads of your competition. For example, if we run a computer store and also earn on Adkontekst ad display we wouldn’t want to see ads of a competing computer store on our website.

The filter will also come in handy when an ad is really badly adjusted to the content of our website and we expect that nobody will click on it.

How to block ads?

To block ads you have to log into the Publisher Panel, click the ‘competition filter’ link and enter domains that you want to block. Ads are blocked after about an hour from adding to the filter.

If you enter a domain competition.pl the system will also block all ads from its sub domains, e.g. subdomain.competition.pl.

Search Adkontekst is a full quality Internet and website search engine that you can place everywhere on your website.

Thanks to adding our search engine you will not only make a major functionality available to your users but can also earn more, because Sponsored Links appear above the natural search results. If a user clicks on such a link you generate more income.

How to add Search Adkontekst to my website?

Adding the search engine to a website is very similar to placing normal ads and it shouldn’t cause any trouble. The only difference is that you have to generate 3 codes and place them on your website.

Below you will find instructions:

In the Publisher Panel click the ‘AdkontekstSearch’ link and go to search engine code generator.

Firstly you have to generate the search engine code for the website on which you want to place the search engine.

You choose how many links you want to display (you can choose from 5, 10 and 20), whether you want the search form to appear on the search result page, whether the family filter should be turned on; and you enter your domain name.

You have to place the code in the code of the sub site on which you want to display search results.

In the second step you have to adjust the search result link layout.

It is a CSS code that can be freely modified in order to adjust it to the layout of your website. The standard layout is identical with the netsprint.pl layout. The CSS code should be added to the heading of your website, between markers, or pasted into your CSS sheet.

The third step is the search box code.

Here you have to enter the precise address of the search result page and set the number of links in the search results.

You paste the generated code exactly were you want the search box to appear.

These 3 steps give you a fully functional search engine.

You are already familiar with one of the most important indicators in the statistics - eCPM - and with the basic information on channels. Now it’s time for practice which means A/B testing.

A/B testing is a method that enables us to compare the effectiveness of two ad forms. Thanks to it we can test layout effectiveness and the effectiveness of our thematic category choice.

It is best to use an example to picture the concept of A/B testing. Imagine that you want to test the effectiveness of ad forms with and without visible URL. Below you can see ad forms the effectiveness of which we are going to test:

We could paste the first ad for a week and than the other one for a week and check the effectiveness of those forms. However, this method would have some disadvantages, e.g. we have to remember to change the form at a certain time. Ad choice can differ, we have no guarantee that we would have enough impressions within the testing period. That is why we are going to use A/B testing.

How to start A/B testing

In the beginning we create 2 channels. Remember to name them in a way that won’t let you confuse them in the future. In our example I have created the following channels:

• URL
• No URL

Then we create ad forms for each channel. I have pasted them above.

Now, when we have the right ads we have to find a way to display them alternatingly. If our site has 5000 impressions we want each ad to show up 2500 times.

To get this result let’s use a simple code. You can find it here:

<script type=”text/javascript”>
var random_number = Math.random();
if (random_number < .5){
//1st ad code
} else {
//2nd ad code
}
</script>

You can find a different code based on PHP on the Webmaster Tutorials website. They work the same so you can use both.

How to analyse A/B testing statistics

After a sufficient period (remember that the bigger the sample - number of impressions - the better) we can compare the statistics of both channels using advanced reports. And to compare the data we will use our knowledge on eCPM - I send you back to the source.

 In the previous entry we wrote about the most important indicators to be found in the Publisher Panel. Here we will focus more attention on the most important of them - eCPM - which can be used to compare the effectiveness of chosen ad forms.

eCPM is:

eCPM=(total earnings/number of impression)x1000

How to use eCPM to optimise ad forms on your websites? Above all we have to create two channels. For example give them the same categories, the same ad forms, but different colour palettes. Thanks to such action we will be able to compare the influence of different colours to the click frequency.

Let’s assume that we have created 2 channels. The first one has green titles, the second has red titles. All other parameters are identical for both channels. After creating the ad forms we place them on our website and wait for their statistics (the more data, the better).

After a weeks time we find out that the green titled ad was displayed 12 901 times and earned PLN 5 and the red titled ad was displayed 19 627 times and earned PLN 14. eCPM for the green titled form is PLN 0.39 and for the red titled form PLN 0.71. What does it mean?

It means that if the green titled ad had 1000 impressions it would have earned PLN 0.39 and if the red titled ad had 1000 impressions it would have earned PLN 0.71. This is a very important piece of information. It is very probable that if we change title colours our earnings will grow.

Feel invited to test the effectiveness of different ad forms. Remember that the colour palette is one of the changeable parameters. Different ad form versions with e.g. changed categories, URL visibility or sizes are also worth testing.

Channels have two basic functions. Firstly they are the second level of adjusting ads to your websites. By choosing a channel you can give ‘suggestions’ about the character and topic of the website to the system responsible for ad adjustment. Secondly, thanks to channels you can use advanced statistics - you can check detailed data for each channel separately. The second option is especially important when it comes to ad form optimisation.

How to add a channel?

You have to fill in a form after clicking the ‘channels’ link in the Publisher Panel; as in the example below.

Adding a new channel in the Adkontekst Panel

Name: it is a very important element. Thanks to it you will be able to identify the channel. In the example I have used the name ‘Screens - Heading’. Thanks to this I will be able to monitor statistics for the form placed in the heading of the Screen category.

Type: We can select between superior and secondary channels, e.g. for the Computers channel.

Category: It is extremely important to choose the right category. Thanks to the right category the system will choose ads better adjusted to the website content.

Enable Exclusive ads: The last element is choosing whether we want to display Exclusive ads in the channel. We encourage you to enable Exclusive ads. Their minimum CPC is PLN 0.50 so you can count on higher earnings.

CAUTION!

Sometimes you ask why the global statistics do not match the sum of channel statistics. The reason is simple. The global statistics are gathered differently than the channel statistics. Therefore, if you place ad forms from different channels on one sub site, the impression statistics for the channels will differ from the global statistics.

We begin the Beginners series. One of the basic clues for optimisation is statistics analysis. However, to interpret them correctly and to draw right conclusions one has to know what do the indicators represent.

The basic statistics indicators are:

CTR (Click-through rate) - the number of clicks by the number of impressions.

For example an ad is displayed 1000 times and gets 45 clicks. CTR is calculated as follows: (45/1000)*100%. CTR amounts to 4.5%.

CPC (Cost Per Click) - average sum that you earn from each click.

For example throughout the last hour a Publisher had 3 clicks for PLN 0.24, 0.42  and 0.17. The average CPC is calculated as follows: (24+46+17)/3. CPC amounts to PLN 0.29.

eCPM (Effective Cost Per Mille) - effective cost for a thousand impressions. It is calculated by dividing the total earnings by the number of impressions in thousands. This indicator is very important when it comes to comparing earnings from different channels.

In other words this indicator shows how much the Publisher would earn if the sold ads in the CPM model.

If the Publisher earns PLN 200 on 60,000 impressions of an ad, eCPM is calculated as follows: PLN240/60. eCPM amounts to PLN 4.

We hope that this information will help you and encourage you to daily statistics analysis. Statistics analysis is the first step to higher earnings.

The Adkontekst contextual advertising network develops and we introduce new advertising products. We have decided to create an official channel to inform you about new Adkontekst functionalities, optimisation methods and all events related to the programme.

We want the Optimise Adkontekst blog to serve both beginners and advanced partners. Around 2-3 times a week our team will give advice, inform and share knowledge related to Adkontekst.

If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to contact us at: optymalizuj@adkontekst.pl.