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CityTools' commercial publisher tools allow publishers to create their own banner advertising network in which the banners can be distributed to other members.
Important note for individuals: This how to is designed for publishers subscribing to our paid publishing services and it is not one of our free services for individuals.If you are a publisher who subscribes to CityTools -- or you're considering it -- read on!For the purposes of this howto, we shall assume that you have signed up for CityTools news and classified networking products.If you have signed up for service you can use the links on each step of the howto to go directly to the page discussed.Also please note -- like the photo network, this is a slightly advanced topic, so you probably want to get your feet wet with other CityTools networks first.1This is extremely similar to a photo network
So much so, in fact, that if you click on this title and follow the link, you'll be 90 percent there.
Like the photo network, in the case of the banner network, you're moving information about the banners -- and where to retrieve them -- to each network member.
That's why if you follow the instructions for the photo network (and just mentally replace "banner" for photo) you'll be almost there.
The remaining steps of this howto touch on the points where special considerations need to be made for banners.
Like the photo network, in the case of the banner network, you're moving information about the banners -- and where to retrieve them -- to each network member.
That's why if you follow the instructions for the photo network (and just mentally replace "banner" for photo) you'll be almost there.
The remaining steps of this howto touch on the points where special considerations need to be made for banners.
2Category names for banner networks take on special importance
On the network map tab, when you create the category names, you want to do something special for banner networks: name the category for the area of focus into which you'll sell banner customers.
So instead of a categories named "enterainment" you might want to break it down more finely: "movies," "music," "nightlight," etc.
Or, depending on how you sell, you might want to have one big entertainment category for the banners and not more finely sliced categories.
In any event, it's up to you. Just realize that the smart way to go is to design your categories to map precisely to the areas in which you're selling banners.
So instead of a categories named "enterainment" you might want to break it down more finely: "movies," "music," "nightlight," etc.
Or, depending on how you sell, you might want to have one big entertainment category for the banners and not more finely sliced categories.
In any event, it's up to you. Just realize that the smart way to go is to design your categories to map precisely to the areas in which you're selling banners.
3How to separate out keywords for the network
It's possible that you and the other publishers in your banner network have decided to sell keywords in addition to impressions and/or reach.
If that's the case, you need a place to separate out the keywords for easy processing.
When you set up the network, you chose the "news" type as suggested in the photo network discussion, right?
If you took that recommendation, you can use the byline/author slot in the news feed to insert keywords for each ad.
Since a banner doesn't have an author per se, just let your other network members know that the author/byline slot will contain the keywords.
If that's the case, you need a place to separate out the keywords for easy processing.
When you set up the network, you chose the "news" type as suggested in the photo network discussion, right?
If you took that recommendation, you can use the byline/author slot in the news feed to insert keywords for each ad.
Since a banner doesn't have an author per se, just let your other network members know that the author/byline slot will contain the keywords.
4Network traffic roll-ups are your new friend!
Trafficking the banners can be a trick, however the management panel for each network can help estimate the potential opportunity.
On that page, each network has a roll-up that shows the aggregate page views for all sites in the network, assuming the members have entered this information.
If, for example, each member of the network has committed 20 percent of their inventory to the banner network, then you can take 20% of the aggregate and know that's avaiable to all the ads.
Admittedly, it's a somewhat crude method -- it doesn't show page views by category. But it's better than nothing and certainly better than having to call ever publisher every day!
It if comes to pass that many of our subscribers want to create banner networks, we will add extra capability in this regard.
On that page, each network has a roll-up that shows the aggregate page views for all sites in the network, assuming the members have entered this information.
If, for example, each member of the network has committed 20 percent of their inventory to the banner network, then you can take 20% of the aggregate and know that's avaiable to all the ads.
Admittedly, it's a somewhat crude method -- it doesn't show page views by category. But it's better than nothing and certainly better than having to call ever publisher every day!
It if comes to pass that many of our subscribers want to create banner networks, we will add extra capability in this regard.
5Where to put the banner image and any serving tags
If you intend for the banners to be hosted locally (meaning that they need to be grabbed by each member) simply put the URL for the banner in the "url" element specified for each item in the "news" network type.
If special serving tags are required, you first specify that HTML is permitted for this network on the "my nets" tab (linked off the title of item).
After that, have each member who is feeding ads into the banner network put the HTML code for the banner serving software in the body element of the content destined for the network.
If javascript must be included, well, see the next item because there's an issue there....
If special serving tags are required, you first specify that HTML is permitted for this network on the "my nets" tab (linked off the title of item).
After that, have each member who is feeding ads into the banner network put the HTML code for the banner serving software in the body element of the content destined for the network.
If javascript must be included, well, see the next item because there's an issue there....
6Now for the big limitation: no scripts
OK, here's some pain. If you use a third-party banner trafficking and managment service of some kind (ala Doubleclick, etc.) and if that service requires that you include javascript in the banner package, you have a problem.
For security reasons, CityTools strips all javascript from any content moving through the networks. Generally speaking, that's good for you because it ensures the content isn't tainted.
But in the case of some flavors of banner networks, it can be a problem.
If you use ad serving software for banners you want to move through the network and if that software requires javascript, you have two options (both slightly painful)
1) provide a link in the body of the content where each member can retrieve the javascript.
2) Use html entities for the greater than and less than signs in the script tags and reassemble them after downloading.
If it turns out that lots of our subscribers want to run banner networks, we'll come up with an easier solution -- but at the moment it's not clear to us if there is much demand for this.
For security reasons, CityTools strips all javascript from any content moving through the networks. Generally speaking, that's good for you because it ensures the content isn't tainted.
But in the case of some flavors of banner networks, it can be a problem.
If you use ad serving software for banners you want to move through the network and if that software requires javascript, you have two options (both slightly painful)
1) provide a link in the body of the content where each member can retrieve the javascript.
2) Use html entities for the greater than and less than signs in the script tags and reassemble them after downloading.
If it turns out that lots of our subscribers want to run banner networks, we'll come up with an easier solution -- but at the moment it's not clear to us if there is much demand for this.
