The Kontera Plugin for WordPress 2.7 is now available for download!
The plugin enables an instant addition of ContentLink ads to your WordPress 2.7 blog along with some great features to enhance your ContentLink setup.

Install the plugin and you’ll be able to:

• Add the ContentLink tag to all your pages in one click
• Determine when ContentLink ads will begin appearing on new posts- you can choose to block ads for a particular number of days
• Display ContentLinks only on posts
• Display ContentLinks only on comments
• Change ContentLinks color

And our newest feature:

• Choose to enable or disable ContentLink ads from within your post editor!

Download Kontera-WordPress Plugin for WP 2.7

Here’s how you set it up:

1. Unzip the plugin file to your local hard drive.
2. Copy the Kontera folder to your blog’s WordPress content/plugins directory.
3. On your WordPress administration pages, navigate to “Plugins”.
4. Scroll down to “Inactive Plugins” and Click Activate next to the “Kontera ContentLink” plugin entry.
5. Now that your plugin is active, navigate to the sidebar and under the “Settings” menu, click to go to the “Kontera Settings”.
6. In the top field, enter your publisher ID number. This is your personal ID which appears on your ContentLink tag:
7. You’re good to go.  It’s time to try the different capabilities the Kontera WordPress Plugin has to offer.Don’t forget, with this upgraded Kontera plugin, you now have the option to enable of disable ContentLink ads from within the post editor!
   

   

   
   Download Kontera-WordPress Plugin for WP 2.7

   If you are using an earlier WordPress version, visit WordPress Support on our Publisher Tools Section for other plugins.

   - Read plugin review on Bloggernoob’s online marketing blog

It’s time for the Top Clicked Keywords post again and the list, including some nice surprises, is out and ready to show.

If keywords are an indication of the general atmosphere at any given time, then Love is definitely in the air throughout this recent period. We say this as we note that Holidays & Special Occasions category rocked the charts with “Valentine’s Day” related keywords. As always, most people choose to “send roses” when striving to show that special someone how much they really care.

Anything or anyone that has to do with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue was a huge click generator, these include race car driver and model, Danica Patrick, who’s featured in this issue and has generated the most clicks in the “Sports” category. The 200-lap, 500 mile-long Daytona 500 NASCAR race, came in third, so yes; swimsuits and race cars are a winning combination.

The winter season is characterized by the tendency to pack on a few extra pounds; it’s hardly surprising that when the cold season comes to a wrap the “Health” category is dominated by “weight loss”, “diet plan”, and the “Mediterranean diet”.

In the “Computing & Internet” category, Microsoft’s important release of the Windows 7 beta has generated a lot of interest but still the click-through-rates for “Windows XP” and “windows vista” are higher.

The “Top Clicked Keywords” post series is aimed at providing you additional information about the top performing keywords in our network. If you’ve been following this series than you know that we try to move between the keyword categories covered. If we’ve been missing out on your niche, or if you want a better indication of your site’s top performers, be sure to login to the Publisher Center and check your account’s keyword report. For previous posts visit Top Clicked Keywords.

When undertaking an online advertising campaign, advertisers strive to engage users. Campaign goals vary from increasing brand awareness to introducing a product’s advantages while encouraging users to try it out. Meeting these goals in the highly competitive and fast paced online marketing sphere is a challenging task. Campaigns these days have to engage users by delivering the advertiser’s messaging in an innovative and compelling way.

Kontera’s In-text advertising is an ideal medium through which to meet this challenge.  ContentLink ads are placed where users’ attention is focused, within the text, while Kontera’s advanced technology, ensures maximum relevancy between the ads and the content in which they’re featured. ContentLink is a rich advertising tool which simultaneously provides added user-value and a particularly well targeted advertising campaign.

Below is an example of a rich media campaign recently launched:

With advanced contextual advertising technology and a variety of original and engaging ad formats Kontera’s ContentLink can assist every advertiser in meeting their branding and conversion goals with a user initiated advertising unit.

Read more about “Looking Outside the (Search) Box” in online advertising.

Smartcarofamerica is America’s largest Smart Car based internet community. Smartcarofamerica incorporates an extensive knowledge base about Smart Cars with discussion between perspective buyers, owners, and Smart Car fanatics from near and far.

Smart Car enthusiasts can get together in Smartcarofamerica forums in order to exchange ideas, learn about new models, discuss, share pictures, gossip, and everything in between.

SmartcarofAmerica provides extensive information that will help a prospective buyer transform their dreams of Smart Car ownership into an environmentally friendly, ultra-trendy, and gas saving reality.

We’re glad that ContentLink ads are “parked” within the words of Smartcarofamerica.com, and are pleased to introduce it as Kontera’s February Publisher of the Month. It was our pleasure to meet with Ryan Porter, Director of Marketing of Smart cars of America, for a short interview and we’re glad to share his answers with you here.

What was the impetus for starting Smartcarofamerica?

In 2000 we had one of the first smart cars to grace the shores of the U.S. and actually launched SmartCarofAmerica.com after this funny looking little car made such an impression on everyone we introduced it to, including us. We sensed this mode of transportation was exactly what our economy and our planet needed. A unique and fun car that everyone would love to drive and love to be seen in, a car that offered unbeatable gas mileage, could fit into a parking space reserved for a motorcycle and a car that helps to keep our planet healthy.

Smartcarofamerica has an active forum where members can share opinions and find useful tips. Are there any topics that seem to be the hottest of discussion?

As North America’s leading “independent” source for unbiased and timely information and news concerning these great cars we consider all topics of discussion important, as I’m sure the SCOA forum enthusiasts do as well, and because of the lack of dependable news and unbiased information (for many years) any and all dialogue is imperative.

Smartcarofamerica has a very informative FAQ section, but as a Smart Car enthusiast we wanted to ask you about the ability to park it virtually anywhere. What’s the most obscure space you’ve seen a Smart Car occupy?

That’s a good question. Honestly, I would have to choose two diverse places. I really love the new RV’s that completely conceal the fortwo, but for entertainment purposes I have to say the British chap who attached 2 Smart cars, one on top of each other takes the prize!

Thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs start their own websites/forums daily. What advice do you have for those focusing their sites on automobile related products?

Spotlight a unique vehicle or niche market automotive product and take advantage of the emptiness within that niche market and by all means supply readers with information, content and real news. Be candid!

When did you start monetizing Smartcarofamerica and what role does In-Text advertising play in your overall monetization strategy?

SmartCarofAmerica.com was launched in 2001; however we only began our monetization strategy in 2007. In-Text advertising with Kontera has been a crucial component for the overall revenue success for our company.

What sort of responses have you been getting from Smartcarofamerica users with regards to the various types of advertising you employ?

As with any type of advertising you use, some readers are OK with it. We’ve found that our Kontera ads in conjunction with Google are a great source of revenue and in most cases our readers are pleased.

In what direction do you see your Smartcarofamerica progressing in the future?

Like the car itself, Smart Cars of America is unique. We want to keep all our wheels turning by getting the word out about all innovative and intelligent vehicles. Most importantly we want to gain the entire clever car community’s confidence, with grass roots participation.

Visit SmartcarofAmerica.com

The Kontera Publisher of the Month series kicked off in January of 2009. A publisher is selected from Kontera’s network each month and provides an insider’s perspective on what it takes to manage a successful site. To learn more visit the Publisher of the Month Category.

Within the constantly evolving online world, some norms are re-examined every time a new technology, beyond a certain size and scope of influence, is introduced. In other words, most new technologies undergo some period of “evaluation” by users, upon first emerging into the market; a period which could last from months to years.  If you recall the discussion around RSS earlier in the decade, quite a few site owners and bloggers at the time were concerned with their content being republished and read elsewhere, while their site does not gain the visits for the content.  It took some time before web publishers fully accepted the outweighing benefits of RSS, one being the fact that it enables a greater reach and thus a greater readership for their content.  The benefits that RSS afforded to users, proved to be an advantage to publishers as well.

Something similar has happened with In-Text Advertising. In-Text became widespread as its benefits became well known.  If we look back to earlier in the decade, In-Text Advertising was causing some controversy as some prominent websites, began to display ads and information, within their content.  As quoted on iMedia, “The problem that caused the controversy in In-Text Advertising had more to do with the medium in which it appeared than with the message.”  It was not so much an issue with the advertisement as with the new medium through which they were served.  In the case of Kontera’s In-Text, the benefits to advertisers and to publishers are well known. But as Kontera’s philosophy is three fold, we wanted to highlight the main benefit In-Text hold for users. Indeed, in the last few years, Kontera’s contextual advertising technology has proved its advantages to users by offering a distinct added value- access to highly relevant ads and information that is in sync with the most current interest and state of mind of the reader.

Perhaps the greatest advantage of In-Text lies in the fact that it suits today’s dynamic online mode of work. We are already a different type of online user than we were even 5 years ago.   We refer to the contemporary multi-tasking user.  We know all about the- multi tabbing, multi window, updating my Facebook while completing chart on excel- mode of work.  Considering this, it’s really not surprising that In-Text has earned its popularity over the past few years.  With the possibility of being in more than one place at a time, finding access to extended information while being engaged with content, Kontera’s In Text brings an added value to today’s online user.

Implementing Flash units is common practice in contemporary web design. Flash presents objects in a continuous movie format, and often includes sound as well as a high interactivity level, providing your users with a rich and more engaging experience.

We mention this since we’ve been getting an increase of questions from publishers regarding Flash and ContentLink ads. Will ContentLink ads be affected by flash units featured on a webpage?

ContentLink Ads are usually unaffected by Flash units. Still, as there are multiple parameters incorporated in each flash code, if you feel that they’re causing any irregularity in your ads’ appearance you can follow these steps:

Use transparent mode when loading the Flash unit to your HTML code. Transparent mode allows the background color or image of the HTML page that contains the Flash unit to show through.

This can be achieved by making the following adjustments to your Flash unit’s code:

1. For the <OBJECT> tag, add the following parameter: <param name=”wmode” value=”transparent”>
2. For the <EMBED> tag, add the following parameter: wmode=”transparent”

The web provides ample resources for anyone interested in learning more about creating and using Flash, but be sure to stop by Flashkit.com, a great site that Kontera’s  very own Flash developers recommend.