Posted by Sarah Rios On May 17
The following post is a special contribution from Jay McQuillian, Director of Chitika’s Data Solutions Engineering Department:
As the head of the Data Solutions Engineering department here at Chitika, I work with my team every day to find interesting trends and stories about the world of online advertising by analyzing data found in our extensive ad network. Chitika Insights, the research arm of Chitika, produces a series of reports each week covering trends on the Internet and also creates special reports and tools for advertisers and marketers to plan and optimize their campaigns for the best possible ROI.
One of the most exciting and pertinent tools we have produced is the Chitika Ad Monetization Matrix or CAMM. The Boston Consulting Group Matrix and the Gartner Magic Quadrant have long been fundamental tools in conducting business analysis for a wide variety of industries. These tools are invaluable in helping businesses direct resources toward the segments with the highest worth or potential to optimize their revenue stream.
In an effort to contribute a similar tool to the world of online advertising, my team here at Chitika Insights created the CAMM, which measures the three key aspects of online advertising markets: volume, click-through-rate (CTR), and the value per click to an advertiser (CPC). In our quadrant, each category (like Health Care, Real Estate or Transportation) is represented in a circle that is proportional in size to its market share or volume. On the horizontal axis, we plotted the CTR, which directly corresponds to the likelihood of an ad being clicked by a user. Finally, on the vertical axis, we plotted CPC, which refers to how much an advertiser is willing to pay a publisher when an ad is clicked.
The quadrant can be broken down into four distinct market segments, as seen below:
Some interesting insights:
- Insurance can be found within the Special Interest segment, as it captures the highest CPC across all quadrants, but has a relatively low CTR
- Banks reside in the Click Kings segment, with exceptional performance in both CTR and CPC
- Transportation captures the highest CTR but with the second-lowest CPC, it ends up categorized in the Economic Essentials segment
- Media has the lowest CTR and CPC across all units, and takes its place in the Obscure & Unpopular segment
Why is this matrix important? By understanding the implications of each of these market segments and incorporating them into dynamic campaigns and SEO strategies, advertisers can effectively increase the potential for site monetization. One of the biggest aspects of control for publishers and advertisers is the volume of their particular markets. Using a tool like this can help you discover where your ads have too much or too little volume, and adjust the volume within categories by looking at revenue produced. Ads with high CPC but low CTR (Special Interest) are really meant for a narrow audience – meaning, that to maximize their monetization, they should only be shown in cases in which the audiences intent is clear (e.g., showing ads for baseball gear on an sports blog). Alternatively, ads with a higher CTR are generally applicable to a wider audience, and therefore do not require such targeted scenarios to be profitable.
Interested in more reports like this from Chitika Insights? Head over to our blog for the latest studies covering trends on the Internet as seen on our network. You can always reach us by emailing press@chitika.com with any questions you may have!
Posted by Sarah Rios On May 11
“I don’t care what the current processes are. Never stop looking for ways to do things better.” – Venkat Kolluri – CEO, Chitika Inc.
As a product of our CEO’s philosophy, we have a weekly tradition here at Chitika to invite a business or industry thought leader join us for family lunch on Thursday afternoons to talk about their work, research or business, and hold an informal discussion with us Chitikans. In the past, we’ve welcomed technologists, charity-focused entrepreneurs, and this week, we brought in MIT Media Lab alum and Harvard Senior Researcher Ben Waber.
Largely stemming from his work at these area academic powerhouses, Ben is also the CEO of Sociometric Solutions, a management consulting company that is turning the industry on its head. As Ben explained, the heart of his companies work is based around the sociometric badge – a technology he and the Sociometric Solutions team helped develop at the Media Lab during the late 2000’s. This device, the size of a small digital camera, is worn by an organization’s employees to physically measure organizational dynamics. Namely:
- Who a person is talking to (but not what they are talking about)
- How that person is talking (involved, disengaged, interrupting, thought provoking etc.)
- Generally where you are in the workplace
These features are all thanks to the badges’ integration of an infrared transmitter, BlueTooth, motion sensors and a microphone. The company’s philosophy of an ‘opt-in’ model still leads to participation rates of close to 90%, and anonymity and privacy are held in the highest regard, including the inability for the badges to physically record conversations and personal statistics never being shared with superiors.
The results they’ve seen from applying the lessons from their insights are truly astounding:
- A 25% increase in call processing rate at a Bank of an America call center simply by overlapping employee breaks rather than staggering them. This strategy is in the process of being rolled out by BofA to all of its nationwide call centers.
- Increasing sales revenue by 30% thanks to raising the level of face-to-face interaction between different departments at a large German bank.
Chitika employees had a variety of questions ranging from possible additional features, to past experiences, to specifics on the software, and the ensuing discussion lasted well through the end of the lunch hour. Cutting edge technology like this always strikes a nerve with the company, and we were so glad to have Ben showcase the amazing work he and his team is undertaking for our whole Westborough office.
Stay tuned next week for another recap, and drop us a line at press@chitika.com if you’d want to have lunch and share your experience with us!
Posted by Sarah Rios On May 7
Last week, I attended Elite Retreat 9 in San Francsico. The event was put on by Shoemoney Media Inc, and took place at the Clift Hotel. Jeremy Schoemaker, founder of Shoemoney Media, likes to describe the event as the conference you always wished you could go to but never seemed to find, and I couldn’t agree more! Some of the top tech minds in the country came together to learn from one another, make meaningful connections, and of course have some fun. I was lucky enough to have a chance to attend, and learned from some of the industries leading minds.
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Posted by Sarah Rios On Apr 2
Chitika was recently featured in the Boston Globe as one of several companies in Massachusetts taking steps to incorporate a focus on fitness and health in everyday activities. At Chitika, we like to follow the guidelines of “play hard, work smart.” Along with the other companies featured in the article written by Kathleen Pierce, the health of our employees is on the forefront of our minds. However, we don’t stop there. Not only is staying active throughout the day good for your body, it’s good for your mind as well. What’s more, it shows in the quality of your work.
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Posted by Sarah Rios On Jan 4
As we enter 2012, we are excited for what the new year holds for Chitika. We are also excited about what we have accomplished in 2011! Let’s take a look back at all of the great things that have happened at Chitika over the past year.
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Posted by Sarah Rios On Dec 20
On December 14, Chitika CEO Venkat Kolluri was a featured panelist at the ILM West Conference in San Franscisco. Venkat joined an all-star group of experts for a discussion on the future of SoLoMo, lead by moderator; Mike Boland and Jed Williams Other panelists included; David Courtney (CEO of Jwire), Steve Espinosa (Founder and CEO of AppStack) and Ankit Gupta (Co-Founder of Pulse).
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Posted by Sarah Rios On Nov 16
At Chitika, we are always on the lookout for smart people who can think on their feet, don’t shy away from challenges, and will always explore innovative ways to solve problems (as stated on our Careers page). At Chitika, we have an impatient bias towards action. At Chitika, we are not afraid to say what we do.
At Chitika, we get shit done.
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Posted by Sarah Rios On Nov 14
TiE Boston held its Annual Gala Dinner in Boston on November 8th, where Chitika CEO Venkat Kolluri was honored with the “Crystal Award.”
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Posted by Sarah Rios On Aug 30
If you haven’t already heard about it on our Facebook page – Chitika is hiring for a variety of positions.
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Posted by Karla On Jun 3
Chitika CEO Venkat Kolluri will be speaking at TiECon East this evening on the entrepreneurial process and his inspirations for co-founding Chitika.
For the first time, the conference will feature TiE Stars, our very own charter members (Amar Sawhney, Ash Ashutosh, Asa Kalavade, Venkat Kolluri and Venkat Krishnamurthy ) who will speak about what inspired them to create great companies and value for the community.”
-TiE-Boston
TiECON East brings together great people, be it innovators, investors, or mentors. Networking sessions such as PowerLunch on Friday are what the TiE magic is about. It is indeed a rare opportunity to meet my entrepreneur friends, Jit Saxena and Kedar Gupta amongst others in the charter member circle to discuss and share ideas on your venture.
