Comments on: Online Marketing: The Future is Now

By: Carsten Cumbrowski

Carsten Cumbrowski — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:56:58 +0000

Thanks for the response Ian. I am sure that Jonathan is as pleased as I am to hear about your LSTrans web services and Media Optimization Reports.

Please keep us in the loop, because that is stuff worthwhile to blog about and what is not only interesting for advertisers, but publishers as well.

Those features are optional to advertisers and publishers who would like to use it cannot influence advertisers in their decision to implement it or not, if they don’t know of its existence and how it has to be implemented (to help the advertiser with it or provide tips and suggestions).

I am looking forward talking to you later this week. Cheers!

By: Ian

Ian — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:32:45 +0000

Trust and Carsten,
Thanks for your feedback. I’m pleased to say that LinkShare has recently released a near real-time reporting upgrade for our Advertisers. The near real-time reporting upgrade will provide publishers with a real-time, directional snapshot of clicks, impressions, products and estimated commissions, while the advertiser’s LinkShare tracking (via LSTrans or Web Services) will continue to provide the final accounting of actual commissionable events, commissions earned and cancellations and returns. The near real-time reports will be called Media Optimization Reports and they will be available once each Advertiser has completed the free upgrade. Right now we’re in the process of working with Advertisers on installation.

Carsten,
Appreciate your thoughts on the Targeted Merchandiser API. I’ll give you a call this week to discuss.

Herb,
We do actually have eight standard IAB sizes for Easy Links. You’ll find all the size choices in the drop down menu on the Easy Links page in the new Dashboard.

By: Herb

Herb — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 01:59:20 +0000

and speaking of LinkShare’s contextual ads: how about many more choices of shape? I see just one: a large tall tower. Can’t use it.

By: Carsten Cumbrowski

Carsten Cumbrowski — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:04:22 +0000

Hi Ian,

Welcome to ReveNews. I didn’t know that you have something of a writer in you .

I am glad to hear that you officially announced the LS contextual web services. Did you consider any of my suggestions from during the soft launch?

I just noticed my draft post about the services at the RN admin interface and don’t want to post anything that was already addressed. I downloaded the current specs for publishers and will have a look myself, but if you could shoot me a quick note or give me a call, I’d appreciate that.

Trust has also a good suggestion for you. Since LinkShare does not offer pixel tracking and relies on the advertisers to send over reporting data, a web services API to send the data more frequent would be nice. More sophisticated advertisers could implement it into their websites and send data throughout the day, whenever they determined that a transaction is legitimate and transaction-able. This could be instantly after the commission-able event occurred in some cases.

Since it is a thing that affiliates have high on their wish list, some advertisers would implement it, not only to make their existing affiliates happy, but also to stand out from their competition, adding an additional selling point to their “Why should you” list for attracting and recruiting new affiliate partners (especially the high volume ones, e.g. super affiliates)

By: Jonathan (Trust)

Jonathan (Trust) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:19:51 +0000

All that stuff is great and since you’re the product manager at Linkshare, there is one major thing in which you lag behind the other networks.

Real time reporting.

SAS – real time.

Google Affiliate Network – real time

CJ – usually within a couple of hours unless it’s a batch merchant

Linkshare – whenever the merchant decides to send in the information.