First "Media Buy" - Tracking?

[pegasus2218]

Found an offer on a network, found an appropriate website open to selling me some banner space, going to have a banner designed from someone here in the BST section shortly.

My question: Can I just send the website owner the banner image and a Tracking202 redirect link to use for it? (I use the free hosted version of T202)

I'm basically paying the guy a flat fee for 30 days of displaying the banner, not CPM. I know that in bigger media buys people recommend getting your own hosting and hosting the banner(s) there and tagging them - this is a little above my expertise right now. I assume this is done to track impressions and to make sure your banners are being optimized for CTR, ECPM, etc.

For the time being I trust that since I'm only paying $XX for this buy I'll break even, but if someone thinks there's something wrong with this setup, please share. Also, any pointers to learning more about media buying and the whole hosting process?

 

[jboeckman]

It all comes down to a few things
1. How enticing your ad is to the sites audience. Make sure it sticks out and makes people click on it.
2. How much traffic does the site get. If the site gets 1,000 visits per month you're going to have a hard time even covering the $XX
3. Where is your ad positioned. Typically the higher up the better.

I'd love to hear how it goes.

 

[pegasus2218]

Yeah, I'm not too worried about any of those things - audience numbers and demographics are good. I'm confident I stand a good chance of breaking even at worst.

My only concern/question has to do with seeing other people here talk about using specialized hosting/tracking for media buys and whether it's necessary for something this small - is there a risk that traffic will be stolen, etc? I don't even know what I should be concerned about here to be honest.

 

[cocoa]

I suggest you try the Bevo Media media buy tracking system. They will provide you a new link that you should use for your banner. Tracks great for me.