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I came across, what seems another ad network, but they claim to be able to optimize and fill your ad inventory better. Does anyone have any experience with Rubicon Project and do they indeed have a better system or is it just another clever hype?

Thanks.

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Hype, The best way to sell your ad inventory is to sell it yourself, and then fall back on just one network such as Google. Essentially you program your site to show google ads if you have no direct buyers. In time the hope is that you will sell your ad inventory directly. Now this varies for sites that get millions of hits, but the idea applies to smaller niche website very well. – Frank Nov 30 '10 at 7:36
I'd love to be able to sell it directly, but I don't have the time to do the selling and nobody knocks on my door on their own... There are some sites that promise to "represent" your inventory, but they also just throw you into a big db. Not sure what the answer is. I do see sometimes sites with a lot less traffic that have what appears to be "direct" ads. I wonder how they do it. – usabilitest Nov 30 '10 at 13:48
I dont make my money from ad revenue, so I might not be the best answer, but from my colleagues I understand that you focus on your product, have have a link to your media kit which details your hits and let your clients come to use. You can use a system like OpenX to sell your ad inventory, and I think OpenX has a marketplace option where you can at least gain some exposure. Last, consider filling ad space with your own ads. you could probably make more as an affiliate for a related program through CJ or LinkShare. Its likely more $$$ in the long run, specially if you find a program ... – Frank Nov 30 '10 at 14:09
... that offers a monthly recurring payout. Something like a subscription, where you can get paid more than once for your affiliate ads. . . PS took a note of your website, may have something for you to look at in the near future... – Frank Nov 30 '10 at 14:09
Thanks, I appreciate it. – usabilitest Nov 30 '10 at 17:44

2 Answers

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Here's a follow up to my own question. After creating an account on Rubicon Project and adding ad code to my site I noticed that the site was able to track couple of thousand impressions but there still was a "Disabled" tag next to my site's name. The service provides no easy way to contacting them. After poking around the site I found a form and sent them my concern about the disabled status. I never heard back and as a result I removed all Rubicon Project code from my site.

If someone had a better experience with them, please feel free to share.

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Its hype, all these websites look the same.

What i advise you to do is: If you are a publisher, look at the Advertiser info. It will promise you the world of how you will get the best rates.

If you are an advertiser, see what they sell their publishers. Its again hype!

A commenter above stated you are best off selling your own ad inventory. What i suggest is you use a fixed price venue such as buysellads.com, Keep track of what is being posted on your site (who buys ads) Then sell to them direct!

CUT THE FAT, but once you recognize who will pay for your ads.

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