I have a little bit of traffic on my blogs. So I want to monetize this traffic with pay per click ads. There are a lot of choices of companies that will help me serve up ads. But I am finding that none of them have all the features I am looking for. The standard I am comparing them all to is Google AdSense.
Recently I signed up to try AdBrite. There seemed to be minimal configuration of how the ads look. For example, I was not able to choose a color for the background of my ads. In turns out that the ads match the background of the place on my web site where I put them. There was also limited choices on ad format. I want to text ads of different size and shape. All AdBrite allowed me to choose was banner or skyscraper. I could not specify the size. So far I have placed AdBrite ads on about half of my blogs. If they earn me money, the lack of customization will not matter too much.
This is in sharp contrast to Bidvertiser. It allowed me to specify ad details. And their reports show a lot of details like the daily page views. However I put their ads on all my blogs, but I continue to get zero earnings. This is strange since I put the ads above the fold in a prominent location on my blogs. I think Bidvertiser has some strange policies where they do not count every click. If they don't start earning me some money, I will have to drop them.
Finally I am very pleased with Adster. Although their reporting makes it impossible to tell which of my web sites are generating the income, at least I am seeing payments credited to me on a daily basis for clicks on the Adster ads on my sites. So far I have increased the number of Adster ads displayed on my blogs. And now I have given them the topmost position on my pages.
One common issue I am finding with all of these ad providers is that the ads do not seem highly targeted to my web site content. I do choose a general category for my site. But I do not think any of the ad solutions scan my web page to match keywords with the ads they have available. This may impact the click through, and therefore the money I make. I shall continue the search for the best advertising solution for my web sites.
