Many of our publishers are interested in expanding their partnership with Kontera by adding more sites to our network. As you already know, to do so, there’s no need to open another account. All you have to do is to contact our Support Team by logging into your account in the Publisher Center and clicking on the “Help” tab. We will quickly review your additional sites and create a unique tag for each site associated with your account.

Using a unique tag for each one of your sites is important as it enables us to separately track individual performance, as well as make sure that the tag settings are fully optimized to specifically match your sites’ attributes. By using the correct tag you ensure that we’ll provide you with the best and most relevant ad targeting for your sites’ content niche and structure.

Say that when you first signed-up to join Kontera, you applied with your computing related blog. A few weeks later, you decided to add your forum which deals with mobile phones as well as your extreme sports site to your Kontera account. While our contextual analysis technology analyzes each page in real-time to identify its topics and main Keywords, some of ContentLink’s attributes are changes by our Optimization Team. These tweaks are based on each site’s performance, traffic trends, length of its pages, content niche etc. Needless to say that by using the same tag across multiple and diverse sites will result in your missing out on the benefits of this optimization.

Having accurate knowledge of each of your sites’ individual performance is important as it provides us with a clear indication if everything is running smoothly, or if further optimization is required. As a publisher this gives you the option to customize your ContentLinks and detailed reporting. With separate tracking you can accurately analyze your sites’ metrics, which as we all know, is a well known hobby within the internet community

Exciting news on the front of Kontera publisher payment!

We already offer multiple payment methods to suit your preference.  Now, we’re glad to announce that if you’re using Domestic ACH as your payment method, pay-day will come even sooner. You can receive payment at $75 and cash-in on your Kontera earnings quicker and more often!

The change recently went into effect and can be utilized by publishers who qualify for Domestic ACH payment.

If you are a current Kontera publisher who meets these criteria, we invite you to benefit from this new $75 payout:

1. Login to your Kontera Publisher Center account.
2. Select the “My Account” tab and then follow the “Payment Method” Link.
3. Select the “Domestic ACH” option from the payment method dropdown menu and hit the “Update” button.
4. Please submit all updates to your account’s tax and payout info by the 15th of the month for changes to take effect on  the upcoming payout cycle. Any updates submitted after that date will only be applicable during the next payout cycle.

This change is just one of many to come as we continue to bring you the best  In-Text advertising experience.

Language advances at the rate of technology, and that means f-a-s-t.  Anyone making a living online knows how crucial it is to keep up with the new terms and phrases that amass in the industry.

A few months ago we published a post containing glossary terms and metrics relevant to the online advertising industry in general and more specifically to Kontera.  We’ve received some warm responses for this post and so we’ve decided to expand, introducing additional terms to the list:

Campaign Related

Cost Per Click- The amount paid by an advertiser per each click on their ad.

Campaign Targeting- Gearing an advertising campaign to a particular demographic.

ROI – an acronym for Return on Investment.  In other words, the percentage of profit that an advertiser accrues from a marketing or advertising campaign

Technology Related

Semantic Analysis- Semantic analysis involves text mining, term/phrase extraction, page vector analysis, associations and and other parameters. Semantic analysis is used to determine the context of the page and respond with relevant advertising or related content.

Contextual Relevance- in the field of In-Text contextual advertising, this term refers to the strength of the connection between an underlined keyword and the advertisement paired with it.

Computational Linguistics- a field dealing with the statistical and/or rule-based modeling of natural language from a computational perspective.  Kontera’s contextual analysis technology is based on the principles of computational linguistics.

Industry Related

Interactive Advertising- the type of advertising that allows active participation from the user.  See Kontera’s interactive advertising.

Rich Media Ads- a term for advanced technology used in internet ads, such as streaming video, applets that allow user interaction, and special effects.

IAB- The Interactive Advertising Bureau. The IAB is comprised of more than 375 leading media and technology companies. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising.

References:

We put this list together using the following great resources:

Wikipedia

Yahoo Publisher Network Blog

IAB website

We’ve been examining our latest “top clicked keywords” list to find out which terms have been in the limelight over the past few weeks. As always, we try to present a taste of the keywords that have been most popular lately in a handful of our content categories.

We’ll begin with the conclusion… The  ‘Beauty & Apparel’ and ‘Employment’ categories are gaining popularity.  This is a comforting conclusion if you think about it.  It comes to show that even in difficult times, we still find ways to focus on what matters most: bathing suit season.

Another category that has received more attention recently is ‘Education’; click-wise it came close to the always popular ‘Entertainment’ category.  While we’re on the entertainment rant, American Idol is coming to a season’s close and not surprisingly, Adam Lambert has landed a spot on our list’s final cut.

As mentioned above, this post series highlights a set of keyword category each month. This list is open to your suggestions- we aim to present keywords from the categories you find most useful.  If there’s a category that you’d like to see included in our next keyword post, please leave a comment here or drop an email at blog@kontera.com

And now, we are glad to present this month’s list:

Kontera’s Top Keywords Post Series brings to you the most clicked terms per category each month.  For additional posts visit Top Clicked Keywords.

We’re excited to present Kontera’s March Publisher of the Month: lockergnome.com, a blogging network for people who are curious about the world around them.

lockergnome.com is a place for bloggers to learn and share everything about blogging.  Beginners as well as expert bloggers can find interesting, fun information and useful guidelines.

The amazing thing is that you can join lockergnome’s community site geeks.pirillo.com and open your very own blog within minutes. Pay a visit to see the extended network, with forums, groups and videos.

Kontera’s ContentLink ads are proudly featured on lockergnome.com.  We’re pleased to have Chris Pirillo interview on our blog to answer a few important questions.

We’re interested in learning more about Lockergnome. How did it get started, and where did the idea spark from?

Lockergnome got its start because I really didn’t want to finish my Master’s Degree. I knew that the Internet was going to become increasingly important and pervasive in people’s lives. I already shared tips and tricks with people, so I decided to do so in an “official” capacity, by using my own Website. I still share tips and tricks, but I do so in a variety of ways: through Lockergnome, through email, through Geeks, and many other avenues.

What do you typically look for in a blogger that gets featured on lockergnome.com?

Right now, we don’t even accept applications for the most part. For instance, people cannot bother to write well in their application, so why would we accept them to blog for us? I’ve said it before a million times, and I’ll say it again: you have to be able to write well to blog with us on Lockergnome! We’re looking for someone with a good voice, who is full of passion and understanding of the subject they are wanting to cover. Also, you have to be consistent. You need to be able to blog regularly.

Thousands of bloggers set on their online path daily.  What’s the most important tip you can give?

There are so many things you need to pay attention to on a daily basis. You can read everything online, and you’ll never get anything done. The chances of you publishing a blog and having it well-read are not incredibly strong. The reason I’ve opened my doors for Lockergnome is because I know I can get you more attention than you would get on your own. We have excellent marketing benefits that we’ve built over the years. We have a lot of promotional vehicles for content that is well-written. If you’re trying to separate yourself from the other noise out there, make people aware of who you are. Visit others, and leave comments for them. How else will people find you?

When you start to monetize Lockergnome, what role does in-text advertising play?

Kontera came to me in the beginning, and I hesitated. Then I started thinking, and realized that people hate seeing ads everywhere. The Kontera underlined words go over so much better than any other type of ads I’ve ever used. People respond well to them. Kontera is a large part of the monetization system. It’s not all of it, since I refuse to rely on any one type of monetization. However, Kontera works very, very well.

What sort of responses have you been getting from Lockergnome users regarding to the types of advertising you employ?

They’re asking for a larger portion of the splits! However, we do have expenses we have to pay to keep the site operational. They’re looking for more options, of course. I am always looking for new ways to implement money-making opportunities to them. The more customizations I can offer them, the better off they will be. I’m excited to see what the future will bring as far as advertising is concerned.

What wise word of monetization advice you have for bloggers?

Optimize! I realize that’s a general term. I’ve helped a lot of people make a lot of money, without receiving anything in return. I don’t really do that anymore. If you want to pay me to help you, then great! Shoot me an email. But for now, I’ll just be general, and tell you to optimize to the maximum.

We’re very excited to have a blogging expert on the Kontera Blog. Do you have any words of wisdom for us?

Don’t keep pounding on the table! Seriously, stay true to yourself.  If you have a blog that’s all about your company, that’s cool… but it gets long in the tooth. Share interesting and/or personal stories maybe about people that work for the company. If you don’t do that, all people are reading is a series of press releases. That gets pretty boring. As a matter of fact, I doubt many people will read this post, or watch this video in its entirety. If you do, please leave a comment, and use the word pancake somewhere in your comment. I’m serious! Do it! I just want to see out of curiosity how many of you get this far. This is what I mean about adding things outside the normal realm. Talk about something I can’t find anywhere else.

Where do you see Lockergnome going in the future?

As I’ve already said, I want to open it up more. I want to allow more people to participate, turning it into a network of Geeks. People will be able to take advantage of groups and forums, as well. Lockergnome will also continue to grow via the co-brands: Coupons, our Help forums, and a download area is just around the corner!

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.

It’s exciting for us to see the many publishers who have started out with Kontera on just one site, growing their web presence by launching new sites.   As networks grow, we get many questions about how to properly manage multiple sites within Kontera accounts.

We’d like to take the opportunity and mention that the Kontera ContentLink tag is unique per site, not per publisher. If you are already a Kontera Publisher and would like to add ContentLink ads to more of your sites, we will generate a specific, unique tag for each one of your sites. This is important for two main reasons:

1. Relevancy- by generating a unique tag for each site in your network, we are able to optimize each tag according to a site’s niche.  This means you get better, more relevant ads for each site in your network. It is especially important if you have sites on a variety of topics.
2. Tracking- each tag represents the performance of one individual site in your network.  This way you can have accurate knowledge of each site, its performance and earnings.  This helps us as we look at your network and try to determine where and how to optimize.

To take tracking another level deeper, use the Kontera Channels.  This feature enables you to create individual reporting for particular pages or sections of one specific website.  To have detailed knowledge of a site’s metrics, you can compare the performance of one page or section to that of another.

Requesting to add sites to your Kontera network is a simple process and only requires a quick e-mail request to the Support team.  The best way to do this is by logging into your account in the Publisher Center and clicking on the help tab.  If you choose to write us from your mailbox, be sure to mention your Kontera login email.

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.

By Mika Tal

Information- the more we have of it, the better? Sure, so long as we know how to use it.

This is the simple conclusion I came to in one of my ventures through Google Analytics.  With so much information around to explore, one has to know how to ask a question accurately.  Needless to say, narrowing down the mounds of information to a set of central parameters is an important step in learning how to utilize such an advanced tool to one’s benefit.

Today I’d like to suggest a few Google Analytics parameters that can aid you in optimizing the performance of your Kontera pay-per-click ads .  If you’re new to Google analytics, you may find this information especially useful. I’ve narrowed it down to 4:

• New vs. Returning visits- Returning visitors tend to generate a higher CTR for ContentLink® ads.  The reason for this is that visitors who return to your site are already familiar with the information you serve, and with the advantages of Kontera ads.  They are more trusting of ContentLinks and they tend to click the ads more often. For advice on how to get more of your site’s visitors to become returning visitors, consult this great post on entrepreneurs-journey.com

To find out your site’s ratio for New/ Returning Visitors- on your Analytics account, go to Visitors and then click New vs. Returning.

• Top Content Pages – To get the best results, it is recommended that you place your ContentLink tag on all your website’s pages.  However, if you choose to place ContentLinks on a few pages rather than all, make sure the pages you choose are ones that generate traffic.  I’m sure there’s no need to explain why traffic is important for making the most out of your ContentLink ads.

To find Top Content Pages on your Analytics account, go to Content then click Top Content.

• Top Search Engine Keywords- we have published a series of posts on how to maximize your ad earnings by optimizing your site’s content. Knowing which keywords bring the most search engine traffic to your site is important because these are likely to be the more popular keywords, often sought after by advertisers.  These keywords have better monetary potential.

Go to Traffic Sources and then click Search Engines.  Select a search engine and make sure you see the first option on the dimension field: “keyword”.  Google analytics enables you to see all keywords typed into any search engine for your selected date.

• Map Overlay – where are your users coming from?
  Kontera’s top earners are publishers whose sites  get over 55% US traffic.  The reason for this is that online advertisers invest much of their resources on traffic from the US.  While Kontera has partnerships with advertisers all over the world, the highest CPCs generated by your site originate from your US visitors.  An increase in US traffic has an immediate effect on earnings.

Use Analytics Map overlay to see exactly where on the globe your traffic is coming from.
Click Visitors then go to Map Overlay.

I hope you will find this information useful in making the most out of Kontera ContentLink ads  on your site!  If there’s anything I left out, or any additional tips you’d like to share please drop us a comment below.

Multiple factors contribute to a successful site search engine optimization effort. It is an ever changing endeavor as the web and search engine crawlers constantly evolve. With that said, every online marketer will agree that extensive keyword research is crucial to your success.

Content optimization for your targeted keywords is also an important factor in maximizing your results with the various pay per click advertising methods employed on your website or blog. It’s safe to assume that the popular keywords in your niche are also in high demand by advertisers targeting your niche’s users. When creating new content, are you making sure that your content is keyword rich and in line with current search trends of your target audience?

Word cloud was created with Wordle

Kontera’s contextual advertising technology analyzes your content and determines what it’s all about. During the analysis process, keywords are chosen according to relevancy, click-through rates, and revenue potential. We then utilize all these parameters to match your keywords with the most targeted, highest paying ads for your site. Guess you see the connection, right?

There are countless articles about successful keyword research and the various tools you can utilize for this, but we wanted to remind you of two great keyword related tools that Kontera offers publishers:

Keyword Report – This report, available through the Publisher Center “Reports” tab, enables you to identify your site’s top performing Keywords during the last week.  This is a current list of the most clickable keywords on your pages; by adding these keywords to new content you create, you should positively influence your site’s performance.

“Kontera’s Top Clicked Keywords” posts series – While your account’s keyword report provides you with an accurate depiction of your site’s top performers, in this series of posts we provide a glimpse into the larger picture. Every few weeks we share Kontera’s top clicked keywords in a variety of content categories – be sure to follow this as the next post may include your niche and grant you with valuable inside information you can use.

Bryan Everett, Kontera’s SVP Business and Development, was interviewed on Adotas this week.  In a Q & A series, Everett presents an overview of Kontera- technology, history, and direction. Through this overview, Everett offers interesting insight into the world of In-Text contextual advertising.  Here’s a sneak peek:

Q: With more than 300 ad networks out there, how do you add value to advertisers? Publishers?

A: Considering the economic situation we’re in now, more advertising dollars will be pushed towards performance-based vehicles. As it relates to advertisers, what differentiates us from other ad networks is that we are a Cost-Per-Click based platform which means that they only pay for performance. In addition, we convert well for advertisers once users do click on an ad. For publishers, we provide a very strong additive eCPM to the overall page, as well as a solid user experience because we choose the most relevant keywords and ads at the most relevant and opportune time… Go to Article