Web Ads and Affiliate Programs. Don’t be a Gagger.

It’s sometimes said that everything in moderation is good, like hot dogs from a street vendor at 2 AM. One too many and you’ll regret it. However, if you decide to skip  the scrumptious, late night, weenier, you’ll miss out on the thrill of life’s simplest pleasures.

Case in point. Advertisements on your website have a place and saturation level.

Too much and you and your viewers aren’t going to feel so well. None at all, and everyone misses out.

Let’s talk about what works for the overall customer experience, the aesthetic of your website, and the integrity of your brand.

There are dozens of Web Ad services and Affiliate programs out there. We’ve recently tried out three.

1. Commission Junction http://www.cj.com

At Commission Junction, you find the companies that you’d like to partner with, then apply for affiliation. If you’re accepted, they give you a choice of banner designs, several sizes to pick from, along with the necessary code. Just post the code to your site where you’d like your new affiliate ad to appear. When a qualified action (sale, sign up) occurs, everyone gets a slice.

We like this service because we’re in complete control of what appears on our site. From what the banner says to what the offer or ad looks like, where it shows up and how often it changes. Plus, we’ve chosen affiliate programs that our readers will find beneficial and most are services we use ourselves.

2. Ad Brite http://www.adbrite.com

The Ad Brite service is based on clicks. It’s not an affiliate program.  The advertisements that appear on your site (in the area you provide) are random.

The day we signed up, we noticed a flashing “free iPod” banner blinking on our blog page. We choked, it was not what we imagined. It felt intrusive and appeared to be a gimmicky, potentially viral infection. We instantly removed the banner code.

After going back and tweaking some settings, we now get ads for health care services, mattress stores, etc. So, this is working for now and it’s not so intrusive. But is it relevant or worth it? We’ll report back.

3. Google Adsense

Head over to Google and sign up, customize your features and get the code. Paste the code where you’d like it to show up on your site and poof, you’re full of Adsense.

No so fast, sparky. The Google Adsense links that have appeared on our site so far feel very ‘canned’.  These sodium-laden, buzz-words-turned-links send you spinning into internet-coma.

Surely, we have a lot to learn about this service. However, why on earth do we want a list of links such as “Bridesmaid Dress,” “Dress Coat,” “Creative,” and “Halter Dress” on a blog post about dressing up to prevent creative block? I get the idea, it seems smart, but it isn’t a good fit.

For here or to go?

We feel that if you’re able to hand pick the ads that you post, your customer/viewer will not find the ads intrusive and will benefit from your recommendations. The best match up is relevant content for the intended reader from a trusted publisher (you).

As developers we need to know what options are out there.  We need to know how they work and whom a particular ad services will work for. So, we are trying out new things every day and experiencing them for ourselves, first.  This is why you see them from time to time on our blog. If you have questions or recommendations, drop us a line, we’d love to converse.

Don’t get us wrong, there IS an appropriate place for ad over-consumption, surely. For instance, Hollywood gossip blogs thrive on driving the marketing-mobile at super-fast speeds across the internet highway. It’s appropriate. Surely, they reel in the cheddar. Hooray.

However, we prefer the by-ways, the scenic route, as readers, publishers, and business owners. Community first, being good at what we do and offering a quality product/service is our main focus. Most of our clients, colleagues, friends share this idea.

If you’re interested in having ads on your site, select companies that your readers/customers will benefit from first. If you get a kick back for the match-up, that’s a toasted hot dog bun when you expected a cold one. Awesome.

One, hot, toasted, wiener… comin’ right up!