Sponsor Ad Management User Guide
October 4th, 2009 | 
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Manage Banners
Banner Ads represent the image- or script-based advertisement for a specific site or product. Script-based Ads are usually obtained through Google, Amazon, etc. Image-based Ads have preference over any Script-based Ad definition. If both Image- and Script-based Ads are defined, the Image-based Ad is used.
Each site or product, however, may have one or more ads based on your program type participation. For example, you may have elected to participate in a "Pay Per Sale" program and a "Revenue Sharing" program for a specific product. Subsequently, each program type has a unique URL. You must define a Banner Ad for each program type you wish to display in the specified zone.
If you are using WordPressµ, the Banner Ads apply to the currently active blog only. Banner Ads are Category dependent to prevent, for example, an ad for audio components appearing in a cooking utensil category. Unless, of course, that is what you intend. Script-based Ads, however, are determined by the sponsor. Therefore, you should select all categories when defining a script-based ad.
- Sponsor Name
- Select the sponsor associated with this banner ad.
- Program Type
- Select the program type.
- Site Name
- Enter the name of the site for this banner.
- Ad Categories
- Select one or more categories to associate with this banner.
- Revenue Type
- Select the revenue type.
- Zone
- Select the zone where this ad is to be displayed.
If you are defining an image-based ad, complete the following section:
- Target URL
- Enter the target URL for this banner. Th target URL is the destination that the user is redirected to when they click this banner ad.
- Alt/Title Tag
- Enter the alt/title tag text.
- Banner URL
- Enter the sponsor hosted or local URL for this banner image.
If you are defining a script-based ad, complete the following section:
- Ad Script
- Enter the sponsor script for this ad.
After you are satisfied with your entries, click Save Changes. The Manage Banner Ads page is displayed with your new banner data.
To edit a banner ad entry, click the Site Name.
Tutorial: Manage Banners
In this tutorial, we'll create a banner ad for Google, and a banner ad for PSACentral.
Start by clicking the Manage Banners option from the Ad Sponsors administration menu.
The Manage Banner Ads page is displayed. You should see an empty list beneath each sponsor.
Click the Add Banner button to display the Add Banner form.
| PSACentral | |
|---|---|
Since Google is a script-based ad, leave the Image-Based Ad fields empty. |
Since PSACentral is an image-based ad, leave the Script-Based Ad fields empty. |
Review your entries. If your entries are correct, click Save Changes. The Manage Banner Ads page is displayed with each ad listed under the appropriate sponsor.
Manage Schedules
Ad Schedules allow you to specify the Sponsor Ads displayed at a particular location (or zone) within a specified time frame. The Sponsor Ads displayed are the result of your prior definitions for the program and revenue type. The Click-through and Impressions column indicate the total counts during the scheduled time period.
[Version 1.1, 11-09-2009]
The Manage Ad Schedules page displays a scaled-down Banner Ad image to assist you with selecting the correct schedule. The Zone column displays the associated Zone name for each banner ad.
- Sponsor Name
- Select the sponsor. An AJAX request is made to obtain the list of associate banner ad programs.
[Version 1.1, 11-09-2009]
The Ajax request includes the associated Zone for each banner ad program. - Banner Ad Program
- Select the Banner Program to assign to this schedule.
- Start Date
- Select the start date for this ad schedule. You may specify a date in the future.
- End Date
- Select the end date for this ad schedule.
After you are satisfied with your entries, click Save Changes. The Manage Ad Schedules page is displayed with your new schedule data.
To edit a banner ad schedule, click the Site Name.
Tutorial: Manage Schedules
In this tutorial, we'll create a Schedule for our Google ad, and a Schedule for the AdCouncil ad.
Start by clicking the Manage Schedules option from the Ad Sponsors administration menu.
The Manage Programs page is displayed. You should see an empty listing.
Click the Add Sponsor Schedule button to display the Add Schedule form.
| PSACentral | |
|---|---|
|
|
Review your entries. If your entries are correct, click Save Changes. The Manage Schedules page is displayed with each schedule listed under the associated sponsor. Depending upon the start and end dates, a schedule will appear in one of three states, Running, Pending, or Expired. Running ads are, duh, currently running. Pending ads are ads that are scheduled to begin at some time in the future. Expired ads are, therefore, ads which have completed their scheduled run.
Tutorial: Conclusion
The final step is to modify your theme. See Modifying Your Theme for more information about updating your theme to work with the cd_ad_sponsor plug-in.
Once you complete the theme modifications, you should view your blog to ensure that the Google and PSACentral ads are displayed correctly. You can modify the cd_ad_sponsor.css file to adjust the style settings as necessary. One common problem that happens is the style of the theme doesn't always allow ads to be displayed as you might expect. It is beyond the scope of this article to describe CSS errors and conflicts. This, unfortunately, is a matter left to you.
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Hello Jean-Marc,
I am already working on your feature request for the next release. Actually, I am not really happy with the way WP handles user names and passwords so I am creating an export function to pull a sponsor report that can later be emailed to individual sponsors. It is a little simpler than managing sponsor log ins.
I sent you an email.
Thank for your input!
Coyote
Hello,
This plugin looks dynomite! I had no problem installing and configuring it but for some reason the target url for each banner either defaults to the default setting or to the category landing page of the category I've selected that banner to display in. Anyone else experiencing this or have input as to what I may have configured incorrectly?
Thanks!
Mark
Hi Mark,
It sounds as if you have a minor config issue. I will be more than happy to help.
Do you have skype? If so, you can contact me at, coyotesdesigns. It would be much easier to check your configuration in an almost real-time chat vs. emailin' back and forth.
This plugin is unbelievably cool!
Question though... Is there way to delete a sponsors/banner/zones etc. in the admin interface? Seems this could get seriously out of hand after a few months.
Thanks, Coyote.
Hello flyboy,
Thanks! I appreciate your comments.
I did not code a delete function for two reasons, 1) It was not necessary for my needs, and 2) The relationships would cause a major headache for users. For example, deleting a sponsor would also require removing the associated program types, the associated banners, and any scheduled ads. I found it simpler for the user to edit an existing entry to include the desired data.
I do think that a delete function is viable. I am currently working on a reporting feature, which may necessitate an archival feature instead, or in addition to, a delete function. There are merits to both.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Coyote
Wow, plugin looks perfect but I receive an error when I try to create a sponsor. Have reinstalled twice and made sure all files are writable. Any ideas?
Hello candys,
If you will be so kind as to forward the exact error message to me, coyote [at] coyotesdesigns [dot] com, I will be more than happy to assist you.
[EDIT]
I have release version 1.2.4 to correct an error during new installs where the database tables were not created. I sincerely apologize for this oversight.
You can download the plug-in from the downloads page on this site, or from the WordPress plugins page.
[/EDIT]
Best regards,
Coyote
Thx, did the trick.
I've installed and activate this plugin but I can't add sponsors.
The following message is displayed after add sponsor:
"You do not have sufficient permissions to access this page."
What is the solution for this problem?
Thanks in advance.
Hi,
You should be logged in as administrator. What version of WP/PHP are you running? You can contact me on skype, coyotesdesigns, if you are still having difficulties and I will do my best to assist you.
~Coyote