Overview of Business Model

Ad networks are among the top methods of online advertising. The “network” component is organizing the sale of ads and finding high-traffic sites on which to place the banner ads or hyperlinks for your clients. Ad networks are just like other ad agencies. They research Web sites that attract the target demographic of their clients. The revenue comes from the percentage of advertising dollars that you retain during each campaign.

Skills Needed

Knowledge of online advertising techniques is an asset to run this type of business. If you decide to offer banner ad design services, knowledge of graphic design would benefit your business by eliminating the costs associated with outsourcing to a graphic designer.

Cost to Start This Business

You will have to pay for the development, design, and hosting of your Web site. Computer hardware and software will be the main start-up expense. You will need a software program that delivers the appropriate ads to the sites in your network every time it has a visitor. The software should also be able to provide reports of results for your clients. Estimated cost is a minimum of $3,000 to $10,000 to start. Some of the sophisticated software, if your clients want extremely targeted banner ad placement, could run you over $100,000.

Number of Employees Needed to Start

The minimum number of employees needed to start and run this type of business is one dedicated individual.

International Potential

This business has strong international potential. Online advertising is an important part of the marketing strategy for many businesses, in all countries.

E-Business Model/Payment Processing Method

As the advertising campaign needs to be developed with the client and decisions must be made about where and when the ads will be appropriately placed, e-business level 1 or 2 would be appropriate for this type of business. For more information, see Part 1.

Important Business Issues to Be Addressed

The software you develop or purchase to administer the ad network should be researched and be suitable to your level of operation. You should be available by phone for prospective and current clients to contact you. You should plan what you are going to do with the excess capacity ad space—for example, you may want to offer last-minute volume discounts. Concentrate on associating yourself and including in your network those Web sites that have sustained high traffic levels. Always get paid up front for an advertising campaign.

You will need to address the sophistication levels you want to get into with the site advertising. Are you offering static ads, or are you going to provide keyword advertising, geo-targeted advertising, behavioral advertising, and the like? The level of sophistication will impact the software and the cost of that software.

Online Marketing Techniques

• Developing a comprehensive affiliate/associate program would not only increase the awareness of your ad network, it would also send referral business to your site.

• Get linked from online advertising directories.

• Develop a sponsored listings campaign to bid on appropriate keyword phrases with the popular search engines.

• Participate in newsgroups and discussion forums related to online advertising or the industries that your ad network targets.

• Launch your own strategic banner advertising campaign on Web sites frequented by your target market.

For a more detailed description of these techniques, along with many other effective online marketing methods, I recommend the companion book 101 Ways to Promote Your Web Site. You can also find tons of free resources at Http:// www. susansweeney. com/resources. html.

Additional Income

You could generate additional income for your ad network by providing graphic design services to businesses. You could design banner advertisements for businesses that are not capable of handling this task in-house. This additional service would add value to your online business.

Online examples

AdForce

Http:// www. adforce. com

AdForce is an independent centralized ad servicing and management solution on the Web. Focusing on pay-per-click marketing, they offer expertise in the management of online advertising.

.Com Marketing

Http:// www. commarketing. com

Having managed thousands of online operations, .Com Marketing’s strength

Has focused on maximizing online media placements. .Com Marketing assesses

Each component of our clients’ campaigns prior to, during, and post-launch. Consideration to detail is what sets. Com Marketing ahead of the rest.