Turn

I like this internet ad network, based on a perusal of their website (at time of writing, we are not associated, but I'm strongly tempted to apply). Seems to perfectly suit a small-to-medium niche site like this one.

Enough gushing. What Turn does (and just how much did some lucky brainless squatter get paid for that particular domain name?) is to create an online advertising marketplace, enjoin lots of publishers to join, attract a bunch of quality-controlled advertisers (yes!), and put them together. Founded by the flotsam and jetsam of Overture and Altavista (remember them?).

From the website:

Turn is transforming the huge, yet highly inefficient display advertising industry through advanced technology that optimizes performance, provides brand safety, delivers valuable insights, and—bottom line—yields greater profits for advertisers and publishers.

To date, technology has made online advertising faster, but it hasn't made it smarter. This is where Turn comes in. The combination of predictive targeting and goal-based pricing is not only the next logical evolution for display advertising but also the only way to achieve a true breakthrough in advertising performance.

I like. Mucho. It's pretty much what Google does with AdWords and AdSense, but it's nice to spread it around so we're not all dependent on a single behemoth. Remember when Google went down last Thursday? Egad.

For publishers:

Turn's automatic targeting technology increases competition for your inventory, while strict advertiser standards ensure brand safety. The Turn Smart Market combines unique targeting technology with superior tools and service to deliver compelling benefits and profits to publishers.

That sounds pretty good. Some more:

Because Turn ensures quality for every market participant, the Turn Smart Market holds high standards for its publishers and its advertisers, too. But when it comes to doing business with us whether it's submitting inventory or deploying ad code, Turn makes it as easy and straightforward as possible.

Yay. In a nutshell, you need about 100K monthly visitors, so wee twee blogs on the mating habits of the Burmese five-toed sloth may not make the cut. If that's not you, get thee hence.

NAI member.

Visit Turn