A few weeks back we gave you a sneak peek at our new Publisher Center.

Well, peeking is no longer necessary.

The Publisher Center is live and you can now login using your existing user and password.

Check out the graphic revenue displays, experiment with the Keyword Report, test the URL report, customize ContentLink Color, and look into our Knowledgebase for detailed information about using ContentLinks™.

What is really exciting is that all this is just the first stage in the improved Publisher Center. We are already working on additional features, all designed to give you better service, greater control and means to increase your contextual ad revenues.
So let us know what you think so far and which other features will help you.

We can’t wait to hear your feedback.

By Vered Avrahami

One of the many great things about the online industry is that every publisher, regardless of size, can generate revenues from his web site or blog. To be an online entrepreneur, you don’t need years of experience or academic degrees; you don’t have to be a marketing expert, a confident webmaster or an advertising wiz; the only thing you are required to do, is to explore the various PPC Ad formats and contextual Advertising methods out there, and sign with the ones that are best suited for your website’s content and overall design. Naturally, we all have our preferences.

As internet users, we are accustomed to the idea that the web’s speedy development, along with free access to reading material, necessitate that a page’s real-estate be divided between content and advertising. We have also learned that advertising could complement content, by providing additional information, tailored to fit whatever it was that we were reading about. As part of our everyday online experience, we have all clicked on an eye catching banner, or on a text advertisement, one of the forms of contextual ads. The newest kid in the PPC advertising block is In-Text Advertising. Kontera’s In-Text advertising preserves the advantages presented by other forms of advertising while introducing new benefits to publishers, advertisers and users.

Kontera’s ContentLinks™ change the rules. In the past when a publisher was interested in increasing his advertising revenues, he was required to allocate additional web page “real estate” for ad placement. This action could potentially impair his content and deter users. With Kontera In-Text, a publisher’s ad-inventory is as vast as his content, since every word could serve as an opportunity for advertisers to communicate with their audience.

With ContentLinks, publishers are granted control over the placement and number of PPC In-Text ads inserted in their content. Publishers are also able to customize the color of the double-underlined Keywords, in order to differentiate them from regular links, and assure that they match the website’s design. These characteristics of Kontera In-Text Advertising guarantee that the publisher remains the decision maker regarding his site’s attributes.

We are pleased to be visited by Sustines Laplana, owner and writer of Selaplana.com. Sustines has agreed to tell us a few things about his experiences with Kontera ContentLinks.

Selaplana.com is a blog that covers a variety of topics ranging from technology to entertainment . Besides being a valuable source of information, Selaplana.com has been a part of Kontera’s network for a year, making money by displaying ContentLink™ ads, relevant to the topics his readers are interested in reading.

The great advantage of ContentLinks is the fact that it can be customized to accommodate any individual site’s look & feel. Selaplana.com is a good example of ContenLink inegration in terms of ad density and ContentLink color.

Tell us about yourself (name, country, profession)?

My real name is Sustines Laplana and is known online as SELaplana. I am the first and lone blogger in Southern Leyte, Philippines and I am blogging at selaplana.com and at its network of blogs. I am a graduate of BSElectrical Engineering but working as professional blogger. I have no other business, no other job but just blogging.

What can you tell us about selaplana.com? What do you cover in your site?

I have lots of blogs but the Selaplana.com is my main personal blog. It covers wide range of topics from technology, entertainment, personality, politics or religion. Some of my articles are answers to the questions, advice request, comments, criticism or suggestions sent to me via email by other bloggers, blog’s visitors and subscribers.

It also publishes results in different licensure examination by the Professional Regulation Commission here in the Philippines.

How did you first hear about Kontera?

I first learned about Kontera when I found a double-lined text with links in a certain blog in which when I put over the mouse pointer into that text, the Kontera ads showed.

Since when have you been using Kontera?

I started using the Kontera ads on February 2007.

What do you like about Kontera?

Here are a few of the reasons why I like Kontera:

- Kontera ads have higher CTR compared to other ads

- It can be used at my blogs along with the Adsense ads. Google doen’t penalize publishers who are using Kontera ads. It can even be used along with other ad networks like text link ads, sponsored posts, CPM ads, contextual ads with CPC scheme, CPA ads…

- It’s my 2nd highest earner which is next to adsense.

- The ads are relevant in the sense that only the texts within my blog-page are picked by Kontera.

- I can customize the color of the text-link to look like the regular text-link of my blog.

What would you tell other publishers who consider Kontera?

Publish Kontera ads in your blogs or websites and earn more. You have nothing to worry of about other contextual ads because Kontera does not compete with them. It even plays in harmony with text link ads and sponsored posts. It’s really a smart way of maximizing your ad-publishing income.

Thanks for interviewing here, we’re glad to hear from you and hope to see you continue to earn revenue using Kontera ContentLinks.

Our new Knowledge Base is now available!

The KnowledgeBase includes information about optimization, payment issues, account updates and even technical matters. The data is categorized to your convenience, making every question easily reachable. Give it a try now, find answers to your Kontera ContentLink™ questions at http://kb.kontera.com

We did our best to put together all the questions we’ve known our partners to ask. Still, we believe that the knowledgeBase will keep evolving along with the dynamic nature of our products and services as well as with the varying needs of our partners. And so, we are very interested in discovering any additional questions you have, anything we might have missed.

Ask a Question-

If you have a Kontera question that you think should be added to the KnowledgeBase, let us know! We promise to review it and deliver a response. When questions you send are added to the KnowledgeBase, we’ll mention them on this blog as well and give you credit

Send your questions to blog@kontera.com or add them as a comment to this post.

More on our BlogWorld adventures- Assaf Henkin, Kontera’s VP Product and Co-Founder, introduces smart ways to monetize your blog. And of course, John Chow has something to say about his experience with Kontera…

Welcome to another interview in our series Kontera’s Backstage Pass. In this series, we hope to achieve an inside look at Kontera’s services, products, and developments, from those who know it best, the people working day by day to push Kontera’s backstage happening.

Today we interview Neta Shaked, a Kontera Account Manager. Neta has a busy schedule but I managed to catch up with her long enough to get some interesting information on her daily interactions with Kontera’s publishers.

Please describe your work as a Kontera Account Manager.

As an account manager I monitor a publisher’s results as well as our ContentLinks™ integration on their websites. I am doing whatever possible to maximize a site’s revenue and to customize our product to the publisher’s needs.
We live in fast times, the online world is constantly advancing and websites keep developing and changing. Add to this, the fact that Kontera’s ContentLink is being upgraded at close intervals, with features added and relevancy increased.
So, as an account manager, I follow on all these changes and make sure our ContentLinks will match perfectly to a site’s needs.

What are two most frequently asked publisher questions?

One of the questions I get asked most is: “what can be done to optimize“?
I think this is one of ContentLinks greatest strengths. Unlike other In-Text ad services, Kontera’s ads are customizable. Optimization can be performed on several levels. We do much backstage work to maximize ad relevancy and configure the best ad density per page. There are also many changes publishers can perform on their own, such as changing the links color, defining the exact analysis area, and much more.

Other most common questions have to do with Kontera’s payment procedures. The answer is simple, publishers can get paid by checks, wire or Paypal. With the new Publisher Center which is coming out soon, publishers will be able to update the settings themselves and change their own payment methods with a few simple clicks.

Is there a message you would like to send out to site owners who are thinking of joining Kontera?

Yes. Don’t be afraid of In-Text. The increasing popularity of In-Text Advertising is indicating that there is a growing taste and need for it. A few years back, In-Text was very new and so, many sites felt unsure about trying it. These days we are seeing a great change as many users have grown accustomed to In-Text and view it as a helpful tool. As a result, I receive many responses from satisfied publishers who are seeing the power of In-Text as a way of making information more accessible, while serving as a valuable revenue source.

Kontera’s new Publisher Center is now in beta!

We are excited to tell you about the Publisher Center, with a brand new interface, turning ContentLink™ integration and tracking into a richer experience than before.

As we see it, it’s all a matter of flexibility and control. We aim to make ContentLinks flexible to your needs while granting you greater control over your preferences. The Publisher Center is a first step as we have many more new plans and developments in store.

The new Publisher Center, designed to make your ContentLink experience more accommodating than ever, includes enhanced reporting capabilities, graphic revenue displays, KnowledgeBase (FAQs), and much more.

From now on, you will be able to:

- View Performance Reports- run customized click and revenue reports, including graphs.

- Easily update your basic contact and your Account Information.

- Perform ContentLink Color Customization - You’ll be able to select the color of your Kontera link and test to see which color yields the highest revenues.

- Access Kontera’s knowledge Base- read expert advice on a variety of issues, such as optimizing Kontera’s code for different blogging/site management platforms, and more.

The Kontera Publisher Center is still in beta. As soon as testing is completed you will be able to access the new Publisher Center using your existing User Name and Password.

Your comments and suggestions are most welcome!

A few weeks back we announced the launch of Kontera’s very own Video Testimonial Contest. We received many great emails, some of you asked for additional information, some simply mentioned they like the idea, and many of you suggested we change the prizes offered.

We take your comments and suggestions very seriously, so we’ve made some changes :

Shoot the winning video and win $500!

Second place video wins you $250

Third place wins you $100

We can’t wait to watch what you come up with…

Here’s how to enter:

Create an original video/animated flash describing your ContentLink™ experience and the benefits using Kontera has brought to your site/blog. Be as creative and imaginative as you’d like, and remember that good humor can win you more than a laugh…

STEP 1:

What you should include:

• Length of video/animated flash: up to 3 minutes

• Tell of how and when you started using Kontera

• What sort of impact and benefit ContentLink made for your site/blog

• Your name and website/company name

• Whatever other biographical details you want to include

STEP 2:

Upload your video to YouTube
Tag it: Kontera, Contentlink, In-Text, contextual, advertising, ad

STEP 3:

Send the URL to video@kontera.com

Contest Rules

1. To enter the contest you must be a current Kontera publisher or advertiser.
2. By entering this Contest, you explicitly grant Kontera the right to use and publish the biographical information that you provide in the video. This does not include any other information Kontera has (such as email, street address, telephone number).
3. Submitted videos must not include any profanity or indecent images. Kontera does not work with adult content and gaming advertisers or publishers.
4. Submitted videos must comply with Kontera Terms and Conditions and YouTube Terms and Conditions.
5. Contest begins January 1, 2008 and ends March 1, 2008.