Examining The Banner Exchange Networks
Banner exchange networks are a great concept. If you're not already familiar with how they work, in return for you agreeing to place a banner advert on your site, the banner exchange network will display your banner ad on other sites automatically for you. As its a great concept. However, many sites are joining banner exchanges in the hope that this will bring them instant success and hits. Unfortunately, this is very rarely the case. If you are thinking of joining a banner exchange, or you are already a member of one, the following points will be worth your consideration Do you have enough visitors? For the banner exchange network to bring you visitors, you need to already have visitors coming to your site. Banner exchanges work on this principle: For every X banners you display on your site for the banner exchange network, they will display 1 of your banners on another site, where X is a number say 2. So, for example, if you were getting 100 visitors to your site per day, you would be displaying 100 banner ads for the exchange. In return, the banner exchange will then show your banner 50 times on other sites. However, if your site has 0 visitors, you are displaying 0 banner ads for the exchange, which means they will display your banner ad a grand total of 0 times on other sites. In other words, no new visitors! Therefore, do not join a banner exchange network until you have a sufficient number of visitors coming to your site from other sources. What is the "ratio" offered? This idea of you displaying 2 banners, and the banner exchange displaying 1 in return, is called the "banner exchange ratio" and is usually expressed in ratio form (i.e. 2:1). So, 3:2 means that for every 3 banners of theirs you display, the banner exchange will display 2 of yours. Similarly, a 1:1 exchange ratio means that for every 1 banner you display of theirs, they will display 1 banner of yours. Aim to get the best ratio possible. The standard used to be 2:1, but nowadays many networks are offering as high as 1:1. Where will your banner be displayed on other sites? Banners are usually most effective when placed at the top of a web page. This is because not everyone will bother to read the whole of a page, let alone scroll down the page. The problem is, when it comes to banner exchange networks, you may have very little control of where your ad will be placed on other sites. A solution to this is to join a banner exchange network that allows you to actually specify where you'd like the ad to be placed on other sites. How many other banner ads are allowed on a page? Another problem is that many people join several banner exchanges and then put several banners from different exchanges on the same page all at once. This significantly reduces the chance of your banner being clicked on. Therefore, find a banner exchange that enforces a policy of limiting the number of banner ads you are allowed to display on any one page.
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