Summary

fastclick is one of the more established ad networks, having been founded in 1999, and it seems to have many things going for it. Recently it announced an expansion into text ads (even though content matching does not seem present), and also has announced its upcoming IPO (initial public offering). It has excellent fill rates, and offers pricing comparable to most networks.

Ad Formats Supported

• 468x60 banner
• 720x90 leaderboard banner (may show 468x60 banners)
• Skyscraper (120x600 and 160x600)
• Rectangle (180x150 and 300x250)
• Pop-under
• inVue
• Interstitial
• Text Ads

The standard banners (and skyscraper) sizes feature excellent fill rate, but are filled with ads with extreme animation. Filtering is easily done with the ability to automatically de-select the following kinds of campaings:

• Extreme Animation
• Audio
• Casino
• Provactive
• Alcohol/Tobacco
• Dating
• Political/Controversial
• Expandable
• Take Over (DHTML)
• Video
• CPC
• Combination CPM/CPC
• Multiple Advertisers
• Interactive Elements

inVue and interstitial command the highest CPM rates, and are great for generating revenue. inVue ads are akin to popup ads, except they slide over your content in the same window. Interstitial ads are fullpage ads that occur between pages.

Ad Rates

fastclick pays publishers 65% of the CPM rate, resulting in an eCPM (effective CPM) for the publisher. Current ad rates are:

• 468x60 banner $1.25 CPM
• 720x90 leaderboard banner - $2.00 CPM
• Skyscraper - $2.00 CPM
• Rectangle - $2.00 CPM
• Pop-under - $7.00 CPM
• inVue - $5.00 CPM
• Interstitial - $7.00 CPM

Furthermore, fastclick provides a referral program which pays 5% of revenue generated by each affiliate.

Payments are processed once you reach $25.00 ($50.00 minimum to avoid any processing fees), and are tendered either using check or through PayPal.

Things to Know

fastclick is supported with excellent technology. One of the first to release inVue and interstitials, the company commands a good price for most publishers. While many ad companies failed during the dot-com crash, fastclick was able to both weather and grow during the period.

The admin are is powerful and well built. Statistics are provided in an easy to see manner, and history and such related details are stored for perusal at your leisure. Ad campaigns are broken down by format, website, and then specific ad campaigns, giving you full flexibility in seeing what is making you money (and whati s not).

fastclick's ads load fast and without hassle. Furthermore, unlike a lot of ad networks out there, if an ad is not to be counted (for example - a popunder), fastclick does not display an ad.

Overall

fastclick is a great source of revenue stream, and it works well enough to be your primary ad provider.