Image Space Media Blog » image manager

Publishers! Check out our nifty tools!

admin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:13:10 +0000

So you've signed up your website with Image Space Media -- congratulations! But what next? Here at ISM, we want to make sure you have all the right tools for success, so that means fully utilizing your Pubstop by ISM account and joining our Publisher Community Forum, of course!

Stay updated with your website's progress by using the Image Reporting tool on your Pubstop account, and check each individual image's impressions, clicks, earnings, and other performance metrics. Which images are generating the most income? Highest click through rates? eCPM? Search? It's easy to find out!

To control your image inventory for ads, use the Image Manager tool. Search for images, choose which images have ads, and suggest keywords to help us do a better job. Finally, take advantage of our fantastic Referral Program and make money by submitting your referrals on homepage of your PubStop account!

Don't forget to join our Publisher Community Forum, where you can share an idea, ask us a question, report a problem, or give praise. Send us a message through your Pubstop account by clicking the "Feedback" widget on the left-hand side of the page, and submit a topic for discussion on our forum. We'll be sure to have it answered right away.

Happy exploring! We look forward to hearing from you. Please be sure to visit our twitter page (@imagespacemedia), we look forward to your tweets!

Optimizing your images for Google Image Search

admin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:26:45 +0000

Last year at Search Market Expo West, Peter Linsley from Google Image Search outlined how publishers can improve their ability to get images indexed by Google and other major search engines.

We've mentioned a few of the tips in a previous post like learning how to use alt tags and using plenty of descriptive text. Linsley covers the basics and more and breaks down image search behavior, which is very different from web search.

If you think about the paradigm when they do a query, it's not so much about what's the first result... users can consume images in a heartbeat, and if the image they happen to like is at the bottom left-and corner or the bottom right-hand corner, so be it. They'll see that, there's something about the image that attracts them, and they'll click through.

Since image searches are very subjective, there is no way for search engines to figure out what you are looking for. Sometimes users aren't just looking for a specific image but use the image search function as a tool for inspiration, research, and "sometimes they just use it to kill time, just for the fun of it."

I really enjoyed reading Linsley's best practices which include asking yourself how to make your images useful for users.

It's really about immersing the user into a very image-centric experience. These are the kinds of landing pages, these are the kind of images we've observed that our users tend to like.

For more tips keep reading here

Image Space Media Newsletter: December 2009

admin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:19:54 +0000

IMAGE SPACE MEDIA
News for December 2009

Welcome to Image Space Media's newsletter for December 2009. HAPPY HOLIDAYS EDITION!!

WIN THIS CAMERA!

As usual, a big thank you to our publishers using Image Space Media's technology in beta, and for your feedback. Your input helps us identify what areas we need to improve upon. With your help and feedback we've been steadily working to improve our technology. If you have any comments or questions please send them to info@imagespacemedia.com.

in this issue:

when can I expect my paycheck?

publisher survey

image tagging tips

WIN A CAMERA!

when can I expect my paycheck?

One of the (many) great things about Image Space Media's service is that we run a different payout schedule than other ad networks. Where publishers might expect to receive a check in the mail from a different service every 90 days, at Image Space Media we pay out to our publishers the first of every month with a minimum payout of $25. And, you have the option to use PayPal, checks sent in the mail, or wire service. To our publishers using PayPal, remember to make sure your information is up to date. We want our publishers to earn their revenue as quickly and easily as possible!

publisher survey

At Image Space Media we're always interested in hearing your feedback, but in this issue we have a special question for our publishers. Would you be interested in a "Share This" tool that links to networking and bookmarking sites like Delicious, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.? The positive is that sharing features drive more traffic to your images. Where would you like this option to appear? As a part of the Image Space ad? Above the ad? In the corner of your image? We're in the early stages of development on a sharing feature so your feedback is invaluable. Send us your thoughts here

image tagging tips

In last month's newsletter we explained our innovative taxonomy engine that matches relevant ads to your images, providing higher CTR and CPC rates. To take advantage of our technology, we recommend tagging your images with good, descriptive terms. So... what exactly are good and descriptive tags? Great question!

When you're writing a post for your website and you post an image, you have the option to tag that image through our Image Manager or through the "alt" tags in your html code. Check out an example of "alt" tags used in a recent blog post of ours (highlighted). These tags are words or terms, separated by commas, that match our image of a working mother with one of our ads. To see how that works in matching ads to images, check out the finished blog post here. In general, the tags are meant to create the most relevancy between ads and images.

Here's another example: If I'm creating a post about the most picturesque places to take pictures in New York City, a great way to tag the images that accompany my post would be to include "photography," "new york," the location of the image, the type of camera if I mention it in the post, and other words that really get to the heart of the image. This may mean that I would get ads on my images for both photography paraphernalia and travel savings -- two relevant categories that have good CPC and CTR rates.

Some general tips:

Don't try to guess what types of ads will apply to your image. Just try to represent the essence of your image.
Check your spelling! It may sound silly, but "camara" when you mean "camera" won't get the job done.
Remember that tagging your images can lead to more traffic and better search engine optimization! (Read more about metadata and SEO here).
The more tags the better!

If you need help with the technical side of adding tags, please don't hesitate to contact us at info@imagespacemedia.com.

our very first publisher contest

GIVE US YOUR BEST IMAGE TAGGING TIPS!

All this exciting talk of images leads us to our first publisher contest! We hope you're as excited as we are. As you can tell from our discussion above, the art of tagging images is not a precise one. So - what special tricks do you use? What's your best tagging strategy? Send us your time-tested technique for getting the most relevant ads for your images here, and we'll publish the best advice at our blog. Even better, we'll send the publisher with the best advice their very own Canon PowerShot SX120IS 10MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Images Stabilized Zoom and 3-inch LCD! So. Exciting. Don't forget to send us your tagging tips!

Again, thank you to all of our publishers for using Image Space Media. As the exclusive provider of in-picture advertisements, we are happy to partner with you to bring incremental revenue to the image space on your site. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any of your comments or questions. With your help and feedback we've been steadily working to improve our technology.

Image Space Media Newsletter: November 2009

admin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:01:20 +0000

Welcome to Image Space Media's newsletter for November 2009.

As usual, we want to provide news about our services and answers to some frequently asked questions.

We genuinely appreciate your participation in Image Space Media's technology in beta, and for your feedback. Your input helps us identify what areas we need to improve upon. With your help and feedback we've been steadily working to improve our technology. If you have any comments or questions please send them to info@imagespacemedia.com.

in this issue:

why the name change?

what's a taxonomy engine?

better ads and higher payouts

publishers of the week

giving thanks

why the name change?

You may remember that until last month, we were Picad Media. The idea was to combine the words "pictures" and "advertising" to convey the idea of in-picture advertising. But too many Star Trek fans were disappointed to realize that we had nothing to do with Captain Picard!

Actually we feel that Image Space Media is much more clearly descriptive of what we do. As the innovators and pioneers of ads in the online image space, we felt this was our chance to begin to lay claim to the space and shape the conversation. Our new name better describes with the essence of our services: giving publishers an opportunity to monetize the image space on their own sites.

what's a taxonomy engine?

Taxonomy is the organization and classification of sets of information arranged in a hierarchical structure. In informational taxonomies, items can fit into several taxonomic categories. For example, the word Jupiter could mean the Roman king of the gods, the planet, several towns, vehicles, quite a few songs, a symphony by Mozart, musical instruments, several companies, even a character in Sailor Moon. Wow!

better ads and higher payouts

When our system reads your image metadata tags, our Taxonomy Engine matches your terms with our categories and finds the best matches with the terms that are coming in from our advertiser feeds. This way we can find the most relevant ad available and bring you higher click-through rates and higher payouts. We're still teaching the engine about the world of words and testing it with a multitude of new ad sources.

To see how the testing is going, check out: http://www.allbestwallpapers.com. We'll be rolling this out to your site as early as mid-December. In the meantime, don't forget to tag your images with good, descriptive terms so you will be able to take advantage of our technology.

If you need any help in understanding how to use alt tags or tagging your images through our Image Manager, please contact us at: info@imagespacemedia.com. But one final reminder, you'll find better search engine optimization results if you use your alt tags to clearly describe all of your images.

publishers of the week

WE LOVE OUR PUBLISHERS!!

This month, our publishers of the week were:

Kathika Travel: a fun site to get tips and deals on travel. Kathika has gorgeous photos updated daily. This particular beauty of Cancun was taken by Kyle Simourd.

A couple of fun sports sites for all you sports fans:

Sunday Picks: the blog bible for all NFL fans.

Tic Tac Toe Hockey: the hockey fan's mecca.

And a fun interactive blog that literally allows its audience to post pictures of their food. Post Your Food: you can post your own pictures and vote and comment on everyone else's pictures. Yummy!

We're always on the lookout for more of our fabulous publishers to feature. If you are interested in seeing your site featured, please contact us at: marketing@imagespacemedia.com

giving thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We encourage all of you to check the Image Space Media blog regularly for news about the online advertising industry, updates about Image Space Media, and spotlights on our Publishers of the Week.

Take Control of Your In-Image Ad Campaigns

Kerrie — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:17:46 +0000

In addition to being the first and leading provider of in-image advertising technology, Image Space Media also offers publishers an innovative feature that allows them to control which images their in-picture ads appear on.

The Image Manager allows publishers to take complete control of their in-picture advertising campaigns. Within this control panel, users can view the number of impressions, clicks, and earnings on their domains and add additional keywords to increase the relevancy of the ads on a particular image. The Image Manager provides a great deal of flexibility so that publishers can manage their visitors’ experience.

Don't believe us? Get started with Image Space Media this weekend and check it out for yourself!

Maximize Your Image Manager

Kerrie — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:20:19 +0000

Including pictures on your blog is not only a great way to brighten up a recent post, it’s also an easy way to earn more money with Image Space Media! However, finding quality images to which you also have legal rights can present a challenge. To ensure that you have as many pictures as possible in your Image Manager, we’ve selected several royalty-free online image resources that offer quality pictures at affordable prices.

Stock.XCHNG (www.sxc.hu) is a free stock photo website that has a huge gallery of over 350,000 high-quality photographs from around the world. Users can browse the collection and are encouraged to share their photos and graphics with others. Whether you are looking for a wallpaper, in need of an illustration to liven up your latest post, or simply searching for inspiration, you will be able to find nearly everything on Stock.XCHNG.

Looking for Halloween-themed images? Try KaveWall!

Cutcaster (www.cutcaster.com) is a photo and vector illustration marketplace that lets you purchase royalty-free images for web publishing and design. Buyers register for free and then browse the library until they find the image that they want to purchase. Cutcaster offers several purchasing options including downloading comps, buying credits, and bidding. After registration, users can also submit their own graphics for free and set their sale prices.

Kave Wall (www.kavewall.com/stock) has an impressive collection of free stock photos, images, and textures for use on your website. Images are divided into categories like “holiday” and “office” and are all incredibly quick and easy download. Users are encouraged to share and edit any picture as long as they credit its original owner.

FreeDigitalPhotos.net (www.freedigitalphotos.net) allows users to download “genuinely free images” for corporate as well as personal use. No registration is required and the images are available for instant download. Users need only spend money if they choose to purchase the highest resolution files (typically used in print). FreeDigitalPhotos.net invites both amateur and professional photographers to share and sell their work and receive commission if other users choose to buy a higher-res version.

We hope this article provided you with some useful information about affordable online image galleries. If we’ve missed any photo sites that you’ve been using, let us know with a comment or email info@imagespacemedia.com so we can add it to this post!

A Peak Inside Our Image Manager

Kerrie — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:34:24 +0000

Haven't registered with Image Space Media yet? Here's an example of what you will see in your Image Manager. Our technology allows you to turn the in-picture advertisements on images on or off and to provide relevant search keywords for each of your pictures. To get started with Image Space, CLICK HERE.