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!

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

Speakers at ER9 included:

• Jeremy Schoemaker, founder of Shoemoney Media Inc
• David Greenbaum, CEO of BoostCTR
• Tim Mayer, VP of Marketing at ShopAtHome.com
• Jason Nazar, Co-Founder and CEO of Docstoc
• Isaac Saldana, President and Co-Founder of SendGrid
• Toren Ajk, Founder & CEO of Tapation
• Dave Snyder, CEO of SteelCast
• Vik Duggal, VP of Revenue and Operations at ReTargeter

The overarching point of similarity between speakers and attendees was PASSION. It came through in discussions, presentations and conversations in passing, energizing everyone at the event.

Some personal notes on my trip:

Upon arrival, limo service from the airport was provided by ReTargeter, which was kickass (they also provided limo service to our visit to  StumbleUpon). On Wednesday night we dined at Fleur de Lys which was delicious and had a fabulous wine selection. Thursday night was spent at Ruby Skye, a nightclub in downtown San Francisco and danced the night away. On Friday, we took a tour of the StumbleUpon offices. Very cool space. They were very welcoming hosts and gave us a great presentation on using their ad platform!

I was also able to take some time to go sightseeing after the conference was over…

All in all I had an amazing time in San Francisco and I can’t wait to go back. Big thanks to Jeremy, the Shoemoney team, and everyone who made me experience so memorable!

On April 23rd, a group of Chitika Data Solution Engineers attended Mobile Monday Boston, one of Boston’s biggest monthly technology networking events. This particular session dubbed “Mobile Pitch Challenge” allowed some of Boston’s newest early stage mobile startups to pitch a panel of mobile investors, including; Antonio Rodriguez of Matrix Partners, Jeff Glass of Bain Capital Ventures and Jennifer Lum of Apricot Capital.

In the words of our Data Solutions Engineers, here is how the evening turned out:

In front of an audience of over 200 industry professionals, a group of startups made their pitch. Participating companies included Thumbs Up, PerscribableApps, cognet mobile, 29GO, RepeatReceipt, Spectacle and Codex Development. PerscribableApps came out on top, winning the most votes of the evening. Their mission is to improve care for those living with a chronic illness by providing their users with collaborative resources to understand their own condition -not just their diagnosis- with the help of their Doctor.

*Image courtesy of PerscribableApps

PerscribableApps was the most popular pitch among our group as well, given their intent to utilize big data to create a smooth and regular flow of information and feedback between mental health patients and care providers, standing to make a huge impact not only on the market but to the quality of services offered to patients today. We especially liked PerscribableApps because they want to change the world, not just an industry – just like us.

Hope to see you at the next event!

In the article, entitled “Many Employees Abandon Sitting While Working,” Kathleen writes:

At Chitika Inc., a mobile advertising agency in Westborough, standing meetings date to 2008. To keep his young workforce engaged, chief executive Venkat Kolluri added a 3 p.m. recess for three-legged races, kickball, or ping-pong.

He is also spending $150,000 on a “performance zone,’’ where treadmill desks and stationary bikes that power computers will be available to employees.

And instead of moving to new digs in tech-savvy Cambridge, his staff voted to stay in the spacious suburbs and build an area for yoga classes.

The idea, Kolluri said, is to “work smart and move fast and have fun.’’

“When you are standing up,’’ he said, “you are on your best game; your switch is turned on.’’

Chitika’s quirky and active ways were also captured on video – you can catch a snippet of our daily ping pong games, 3pm activities, and our always-stocked kitchen area below:

… But don’t be fooled by all the games – after all, our motto is “get shit done.” We don’t think of our activities as an escape from work, but a mind refresher. Our days at Chitika are anything but monotonous, and you can bet that no one is ever itching to leave. One of Chitika’s greatest attributes is that we are able to do exactly what we need to do our very best work, whether it be a gym session in the afternoon or a quick game of air hockey. Whichever it is, we’re coming back to our desks with a new surge of energy that you won’t see at many other companies. We get shit done, we still have fun. Welcome to Chitika!

If you are interested in applying to join our team, check out our current job openings at http://chitika.com/about/careers.

The Naveen Jindal School of Management at UT Dallas is one of the top 40 MBA programs in the country, with Full-Time, Online, and Executive programs. To read more about the MBA programs the school has to offer, visit their website here.

Venkat will be speaking on successes, failures, strategies and lessons learned in “Getting Stuff for Free” to help build your startup from the ground up, with little to no cash capital. Venkat is an expert on the subject, as he and Chitika co-founder Alden DoRosario started the company in 2003 with just a $5 investment. Chitika is now a leader in the online advertising industry, specializing in search, Local, and Mobile ads. He will share tips on how to acquire the necessities for your new business for the least amount of money possible, including; getting supplies, equipment and services, coaching, mentoring, business and strategic advice, leads, contacts, customers and more.

This special discussion and networking event is free for ENET members and open to the public with a $10 registration fee. To learn more about the event and secure your spot, visit: http://boston-enet.org/meetings/networking-evening-how-get-stuff-free

Will I be paid for clicks outside the US/Canada?

Yes! Our supported countries are the US, CA, UK, GB, DE, IT, ES NL, DK, NO, SE and India.

How can I get Chitika Premium ads?

You already do . All of our users have the capability to serve Premium ads – users located in our Supported Countries will be able to see Premium ads on all Chitika Publishers’ site.

What are the requirements for Gold level ads?

At this time, we are looking at sites that receive at least 5,000 impressions per day, have a high quality site, and have high quality traffic.

Why can’t I view my revenue? All I see are “*’s”.

Since Chitika pays on a per-click basis, this means you haven’t received your first ad click yet. Once you do, your revenue will update 3 days later and will update daily from that point forward.

I have just earned the minimum payout threshold but you have not sent me my revenue – why?

We pay on a Net-30 basis, which means your payment will be sent out 30 days after the end of the month in which you reach that minimum threshold. To read more on how we pay, check out this post from a few months back.

How can I make more money from my site?

Easy – optimize your Chitika ads! Even if you are not a beginner, these posts will teach you what you need to do in order to earn the most from your Chitika ads. Trust us, we know what works! There are 3 articles in this optimization series: Ad Placement, Ad Customization, and Multiple Ad Management. Check ‘em out – you won’t regret it.

There you have it, friends! I respond to each of these questions many times per day, so now you know the answer before ever having to ask. Have more questions? You can email me here, or contact me on Facebook! Always happy to help a fellow Chitikan out.

Many of you may remember that back in August of 2011, PayPal established blocks on payments to users in India for amounts over $500. This was very frustrating for many of our users, who rely on PayPal to receive their monthly payments from Chitika. Users were forced to switch over to check, which is not everyone’s ideal option.

Luckily, PayPal must have quickly realized that this was a problem and the block was removed. We are now able to send PayPal payments for amounts over $500 to users in India again (yay!). Therefore, we wanted to remind any publishers that this may have affected: If you have not done so already, you may re-select “PayPal” as your preferred payment option.

If you need assistance in changing your preferred payment method or have questions about payments in general, you can contact me here.

Were you affected by the PayPal block in India? Feel free to vent in the comment section below!

Pay Per Call Ads

Chitika introduced Pay Per Call Ads, which enhances your local site visitors’ experience by putting them in direct contact with the advertisers. For our publishers, this means revenue from the advertisers. A real win-win situation if you ask us.

Ads for Apps

We introduced our in-app ads; these ads are integrated in the app, meaning that the look and feel of the app is not infringed upon (Why mess with what you’ve worked so hard to create?). We currently have two types of implementation: SDK and Webview. Our mobile team kicked butt getting these app ads up and running, and app developers using Chitika have experienced great results thus far!

Map Units

We recently rolled out our  new Chitika Map Units, which was huge for us. In light of other map providers beginning to charge for map usage in 2012, we decided to come out with our own maps that will actually pay you to use them! The map units are very customizable, and ad pins can be included on the maps. Interested? Of course you are! Check them out here.

Chitika + IAB

We partnered with the IAB this year in an effort to raise awareness on and support consumer privacy. Consumers are now able to “opt out” of Chitika’s search targeted ads if they wish, and publishers using Chitika ads are able to build trust with their site visitors.  This is part of our eternal effort to create “magic moments” – matching the right user up with the ad at the right time.

Chitika Insights

Chitika Insights, the independent research arm of Chitika, had a fantastic year.  Insights had a record breaking number of PR hits in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, Forbes, and many more. With coverage of the year’s hottest tech topics (i.e. the ongoing battle between iOS and Android devices, Google+, various browser updates, and more), you can be sure that Chitika Insights will have a kickass 2012.

Mobile Ads

At Chitika, we have fully recognized the importance of mobile devices and their role in online advertising – a role that will only continue to grow as time goes on. Therefore, we have spent a lot of time improving our mobile ads, making them easy to use for our publishers who aren’t familiar with mobile and may or may not have a mobile optimized version of their site. Chitika’s mobile team continues to grab the mobile bull by its horns – and you can expect great things out of them this upcoming year.

As for 2012…. Well, we have big plans (of course). What are your hopes for Chitika in 2012? What would you like to see change on our website or in the affiliate panel? Any ideas for new ad types? Let us know in the comments section below!