Wise Startup Blog

We cataloged the best advertising networks in 2008, and given that things in the digital advertising world change so quickly, I wanted to update you guys on what we’re using on Grooveshark and what the highest paying ad networks you should be running on your own sites.

A couple of the networks I highlighted in the last post have turned out to not be that good, so I’ll make sure to let you know the networks not to consider.

The Best CPM Ad Networks for 2009

They are our number one priority for advertising networks. You can select the campaigns you want to run, by previewing the ads beforehand and see the CPMs of the respective campaigns. The standard sizes they support are: 300×250, 728×90, 468×60, 120×600/160×600. They consistently deliver eCPMs in the $1 range, which is great, especially if you’re used to seeing crappy ads and eCPMs of $.11.

They were on our last list, and they continue to be old-reliable. They have an ad server you can use so you can deliver your other ads through their network. Their creative filtering is not as good as interCLICK, but their reports and analytics are much better, plus they have a great GUI. The CPMs we see from them are lower than interCLICK typically, at $1-2.

These guys were also on the last list. They’re a small operation that sells ads for their network, and they deliver great results. Their campaigns can get to the high $3+ CPMs when there is a campaign running and then drop down to $.50 CPM when they run through a contract. They don’t have nearly the inventory of an interCLICK or Tribal Fusion, so you should always run Technorati as a coffee filter, making them your first show ad.

I had been waiting to get on the ValueClick network, and so far it has paid off. They return somewhere in the $.50 eCPM for us, which isn’t as good as our top networks, but their ads are high-quality. The biggest thing you want to look for in a quality ad network are their advertisers. You don’t want any zwinkies, flashing ads, etc. We did have audio ads with these guys, so make sure you disable this through the creative prior to starting the campaign.

Runner-Up CPM Networks

Some of these networks can be hit or miss, or I haven’t had a chance to fully test them so I want to give you caution before you start running them. Be sure to go through these networks and disable any blinking, flashing, or otherwise annoying ads. They pay you very low CPMs and just piss off your users.

BannerConnect
PrecisionClick
BurstMedia
PubAccess