|
Nottingham entrepreneur Steve Weston tells Figaro Digital about the development of Annot8.net, an advertising network that allows businesses to launch their own targeted ad campaigns
The internet: it's big and you can't buy a map. Social media may have brought individuals closer together, but for new or small businesses hoping to be found by Google, the net can be just that: a vast arrangement of holes through which potential customers slip, unaware that you're out there waiting for them.
Annot8.net, designed by Nottingham entrepreneur Steve Weston, is an advertising network designed with one simple yet hard-to-achieve objective: to make businesses more visible on the web. It does this not by employing traditional SEO tactics, but through user centred optimization – a process which enables online businesses to advertise to the right people at the right time with consistent, interactive content created in a single place. According to Weston, that means your ad has the potential to reach a trillion other sites. Could this really be a rival to the might of Google?
The service, which is hosted by NetBenefit, is certainly designed to make life easier. Weston had previously worked as a solution architect for Barclays and Siemens and knew all about the difficulty involved in making ads pay.
"I knew from running a small business it’s hard to advertise online," he says. "Not only because of the high cost of entry for sites like Facebook and the competitiveness of PPC but also - and this is a problem businesses of all sizes face - there was no one place to manage your online advertising presence in one place meaning you are always jumping from site to site. So I started looking at ways to offer a more flexible, content rich service that operates from one dashboard."
Having been struck with the idea for Annot8.net, Weston spent 18 months researching the idea, the technology and perfecting his business model. "I also had to raise money and apply for patents to protect it," he says. "Setting up your business is hard work but it’s been great fun and I’ve learnt an awful lot!" By early 2009 the concept was clear and Weston embarked on the road to launch, finally going live in beta in December 2010.
So how does Annot8 work? Users register at Annot8.net, list their ad preferences and then download a plug-in. As you roam the net Annot8 brings you relevant ads from registered advertisers. Revenue is generated whenever users click on an ad, and that revenue is shared between Annot8.net, the user and the site owner. For advertisers, the service allows them to create a keyword-focused campaign and to get it up and running immediately.
"We make life easier for online advertisers for three reasons," explains Weston. "Your advertisements are created in one place. They can be shown consistently across upwards of a trillion websites due to our patent pending technology. And the cost of entry per advertisement is low enough for the smallest business."
There's a minimum spend of £10 and cost per click is 3.5 pence. For small businesses, believes Weston, "the pay-as-you-go model allows you to budget and control your advertising spend, whilst larger companies can build media rich, interactive advertisements targeting potential customers currently outside of their traditional reach. And importantly the content is based upon what users want to see."
There's also a charitable dimension to the service. "Charities can register on Annot8.net, set Annot8 preferences and information about their charity. As people browse the web with the Annot8 plugin installed, they earn money from clicking on adverts and they can then select their favourite charities to donate their earnings to. Thus, charities are able to increase the money they earn from fundraising just from their members browsing the web."
Pivotal to a service of this sort is robust and efficient hosting. "I looked at four big players in the UK and internationally and NetBenefit was the best combination of price, support and technical specification," says Weston. "They helped me to develop the best platform but they were also genuinely interested in my business. As a small-business owner going to market for the first time this is important. I have been really impressed with the way that the NetBenefit team has supported me in getting annot8.net off the ground. The team really went above and beyond."
Like so many developments across digital marketing, the key to Annot8's success lies in it ability to provide users with exactly what they want. There's also regular activity on the company's social media channels allowing users to discuss their experience of the service. If it takes off as Weston hopes, Annot8.net could represent a serious advance in the way online advertising operates.
Article by Jon Fortgang
|