User Guides for the plista Content and Advertising Platform
How to create your high-reach ad campaign
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Campaign Generation| Campaign Optimisation| Landing Page Optimisation
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Campaign Generation| Campaign Optimisation| Landing Page Optimisation
How to create your plista campaign
Take advantage of the easy-to-use self-service booking portal! Our user-friendly input screen offers various options for the delivery of your
campaign to premium pages: Budget, duration and design of the advertising medium in the form of a text/image ad are individually
customizable. In 3 steps, we will explain how the process of campaign generation works in the portal, and show you which other advertising
formats we offer as self-service.
1. Step: Ad creation
2. Step: Targeting
3. Step: Budget settings
4. Attachment:
Checklist
Additional ad formats at the self-service booking portal:
a. Native Content Distribution; b. FlyAds (Rich Media Ads)
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Step 1a: Ad creation (image)
Create the first set of advertising material. The requirements for the text-image recommendations can vary by each website operator. In order
for your campaign to generate maximum reach, you should therefore provide us with image and text material in all the formats specified below.
After the set is created, the right text/image combination is selected automatically: The plista recommendation technology ensures that the
version delivered to a website is the one which best suits the website’s individual requirements. This ensures that your ad is displayed optimally
on every website.
Images should be uploaded in all the following
formats:
Choose a name for your campaign.
Here you can add more sets
of advertising material.
• 1:1 (500 x 500 px recommended)
• 4:3 (640 x 480 px recommended)
• 16:9 (640 x 360 px recommended)
After your upload, the advertising image is
displayed in the preview.
Enter the URL of a landing page
which corresponds with the
content of your ad (e.g. homepage, online shop or microsite).
Upload the ad images in three different formats.
Use photos and emotional images instead of logos.
Detailed images are not recommended.
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Step 1b: Ad creation (text)
After uploading the image material, you can enter the text for your ad. At least the “Standard” version should be created: It contains a headline
with max. 50 characters in combination with a teaser of an optimal length of 70 characters. Longer texts may be shortened, depending on the
publisher.
The headline should not consist of capital
letters only.
It is recommended to submit also the
other specified text versions:
• Short: 25 characters (appears with
teaser)
• Only headline: 40 characters (appears
without teaser)
Make specific and realistic customer
promises in order to avoid disappointment.
Benefits of creating further sets of
advertising material:
• You can test different messages and
images to find out which one has the
best performance
For the “Short” version you can use the
same teaser text as for the “standard”
version. You only have to enter a shorter
title (max. 25 characters).
• Using the test results, you can
optimise your ads
The “Title only” version appears without
teaser. Choose an eye-catching headline
with max. 40 characters. You can use the
same title as in the “Standard” version if
applicable.
Your ads are displayed immediately in the ad preview. You can also generate a preview of your ads on a sample page from our premium
network. After finishing the ad creation, you can move to the next step of the campaign process or create another set of creatives.
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Campaign Generation| Campaign Optimisation| Landing Page Optimisation
Step 2: Targeting
You can achieve an optimal delivery by leaving the targeting to the plista algorithm. This algorithm analyses the reading behaviour of the user.
As a result, plista can deliver the right article recommendations and ads for every reader.
To refine the targeting settings, you can optionally select channels (categories), age, gender, geo-targeting, as well as delivery to mobile
devices and/or desktop. The channel selection has a focusing effect but your campaign will not be placed exclusively in the selected channels.
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Campaign Generation| Campaign Optimisation| Landing Page Optimisation
Step 3: Budget settings
Existing customers from Germany can select between payment in advance, credit card, invoice, and direct debit. For first-time customers,
payment in advance or via credit card is required.
The CPC must be at least 0.10€. The CPC should be higher, the
… more precise your targeting (geo, devices, etc.) is.
… smaller the target group is.
No minimum booking volumes!
The higher the budget, the more
users can be reached.
You can specify the budget you want to make available daily. Please note
that the daily budget must be greater than your CPC.
If the daily budget is not reached, we automatically adjust the budget for the remaining
days to your overall budget so that complete delivery is possible by the end of your campaign. This option is only available if total budget and end of the campaign are registered.
You can specify the budget you want to spend in total for this campaign.
Please note that the overall budget must exceed your daily budget.
It is not recommended to set an end date unless you choose to have your daily budget
automatically adjusted (see option above). Your ad will be optimised for quick delivery.
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4. Attachment – Checklist: Got everything right?
Your Checklist
1. Advertising specifications
Photos and emotional images
3 different formats and sizes
Specific and realistic customer promises
3 different text lengths
Optimum design of your landingpage
2. Targeting
Limit the target group, where appropriate
3. Budget settings
CPC depending on targeting settings and audiences
Budget amount depending on campaign goals
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4. Attachment – Additional ad formats at the self-service booking portal
In order to expand your online marketing mix, you can test and book even more advertising formats.
a. Native Content Distribution
Are you interested in content marketing? Do you want to intelligently distribute your content, like blog entries and test reports?
Then get to know our content distribution format.
Learn more about plista Native Content Distribution.
b. FlyAds (Rich Media Ads)
Would you like to raise brand awareness for your product or service with high attention campaigns?
Then get to know our interactive FlyAds with additional video option.
Learn more about plista FlyAds.
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Campaign Generation| Campaign Optimisation| Landing Page Optimisation
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Campaign Generation| Campaign Optimisation| Landing Page Optimisation
How to optimise your plista campaign
Have you booked a campaign and would now like to optimise it? No problem!
Here’s where you can get more information on the following topics:
1. Ideal conditions for starting a campaign
2. Advertising optimisation
3. Performance optimisation
4. Attachment – Checklist
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Campaign Generation| Campaign Optimisation| Landing Page Optimisation
1. Ideal conditions for starting a campaign
Create multiple sets of creatives at the beginning of your campaign. You will easily obtain a choice of creatives by combining several texts and
images. Once your campaign has started you can optimise your ad creatives for the best click rates.
Example: Optimising an ad campaign for a bank.
CTR:
CPC:
BEFORE:
Logo as a motif, dreary text, missing keywords
AFTER:
Emotional motifs, specific keywords in the headline,
content instead of advertising message
0,048%
EUR 1,50
The CPC is set very high and may still be corrected
downward without significantly impacting the delivery.
For this advertisement, only 66 clicks were achieved with
EUR 100.00.
0,147%
EUR 0,52
For this advertisement, even 192 clicks were achieved
with EUR 100.00.
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Implement tracking right at the start of your campaign!
Tracking is used to measure relevant actions of users on your website, such as registering for newsletters, entering data in forms or buying
goods. This information contributes to a significant increase in the success of your campaign and increases the display on conversion-strong
pages! plista offers a conversion pixel for this type of tracking. The HTML code can be easily implemented on your landing page. The success
of your advertisements can be evaluated not only with regard to the clicks, but also with regard to the performance rates.
Please get in touch with your personal contact person.
2. Advertising optimisation
The data in the dashboard gives you information on the success of your plista campaign. There you will find statistics on clicks, CTR,
impressions, and conversions within specific time periods. This lets you optimally compare the different advertisements with each other.
A need for optimisation exists if the advertising for a campaign has a low CTR.
Options for optimisation: Remove the ads with low click-through rates or combine the best-clicked images and texts into the ideal
advertisements for your campaign.
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3. Performance optimisation
A need for optimisation exists if the campaign has few impressions.
Options for optimisation: Change the targeting settings such as geo-targeting or channel selection, if these are not absolutely required. This
allows you to increase the reach of your campaign. Of course, should regionally set-up campaigns maintain narrow geo-targeting, then these
settings should not limit the ad delivery anymore than necessary.
A need for optimisation exists if the campaign has generated too few orders or leads.
Options for optimisation: Increase the attractiveness of your landing page with clear interactive offerings. This includes the unique placement of
the advertised products as well as forms that require only information which is absolutely necessary. The customer should be directed to
complete the action as quickly as possible (e.g., buying goods or subscribing to a newsletter). Our recommendation: creating a microsite with
plista.
Best practice example: High-performance ad design and landing page for a tour operator.
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4. Attachment – Checklist: Got everything right?
Your Checklist
1. Ideal starting point
Several ad designs
Emotional images
Specific keywords in the headline
Content instead of advertising message
Implement tracking
2. Advertising optimisation
Remove ad media with low click rates
Combine most clicked-on images and texts
3. Performance optimisation
Review targeting settings
Clear interactive offers on the landing page
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Campaign Generation| Campaign Optimisation| Landing Page Optimisation
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How to optimise your landing page
The optimal design of your landing page is an important factor in the success of your campaign.
We’ll show you how to immediately increase the performance of your landing page with just 5 simple items.
Sample page
1. Relevant content
2. Confidence-building measures
3. No distraction
4. Incentive
5. Emotionalisation
6. Attachment – Checklist
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1. Relevant content
a. Images show a clear reference
to the advertisement.
b. Text includes keywords.
c. Text includes value proposition
and keywords.
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Show the user that visiting your landing page was the
right choice.
a. Create a reference: Your landing page must have a clear
relation to the advertisement. Design your landing page
with graphic elements similar to those in the
advertisement.
b. Keyword analysis: Analyze which keywords and ad text
bring visitors to your site and design your content around
that. Use keywords that are the same or similar to those in
the advertisement.
c. Clear value proposition: Answer the following questions
with your text: What added value do you promise to your
customers? Why should the user choose your offer?
Campaign Generation| Campaign Optimisation| Landing Page Optimisation
2. Confidence-building measures
Build the user’s trust.
a. Placement of quality seals and contact options: Select
placement with good visibility for the quality seals, awards,
partner logos, and contact options like phone number,
e-mail and online chat.
b. Create transparency: Publish customer reviews and the
number of your customers or transactions on your landing
page (for example, hotel bookings: “Only two rooms still
available”, “143 reservations already booked”).
c. Overview of payment options: Clearly show your customers
what payment options are available for selection.
a. Quality seal and contact options
directly in field of vision.
b. Customer reviews
increases confidence.
c. Clear overview of
payment options.
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3. No distraction
Avoid elements that lead the user away from your
landing page. This means:
• No additional advertisement
• As little navigation as possible
• Minimum of links
a. Disrupter with urgency: A disrupter catches the eye of
the observer because it “disrupts” the harmony of the
overall impression, thereby attracting attention. With the
similarly striking colours, the observer’s eye is directed right
to the call-to-action button.
4. Incentive
Incite visitors to your landing page to take action.
1. Urgency and scarcity: Refer to the limited availability of
your offer: “For a short time only”, perhaps with a
disrupter.
2. Guidance: Guide your user by means of design elements,
such as arrows, contrasting colours, line of sight from
images to the call-to-action button.
3. Convincing call-to-action button: This should be
immediately recognizable as a button and be highlighted
in colour.
b. By using the same eye-catching colours the user‘s
eyes travel directly to the call-to-action button.
c. Call-to-action button
with eye-catching colours.
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5. Emotionalisation
The user and his needs and emotions must be at the
forefront.
An image says more than a thousand words: images are key
factors in creating an emotional environment, and are
immediately and subconsciously perceived by the human
brain.
Use images or videos that suit your products/services and
emphasize their benefits. Be sure to use motifs with strongly
emotional appeal, for example:
• Babies, small children, and young animals
• Love and affection
• Safety & security
• Success
Images and videos emotionalise.
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6. Attachment – Checklist: Got everything right?
Your Checklist
1. Relevant content
Clear reference to advertising
Keyword analysis
Clear value proposition
2. Confidence-building measures
Quality seals, awards, partner logos
Contact options
Number of customers or transactions and/or customer reviews
Clear presentation of payment options
3. No distraction
No advertising, as little navigation as possible, no links
4. Incentive
Convincing, eye-catching call-to-action button
Attention-grabber: Urgency and scarcity
Guide the user
5. Emotionalisation
Images/videos with strong emotional appeal
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Our employees are standing by to help you at any time, if needed!
Contact our support:
[email protected]
plista GmbH | Torstraße 33 - 35 | 10119 Berlin | Tel: +49 (0) 30 4737537-88 | Fax: +49 (0) 30 484984411
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