When I first started using Burst Media to place ads on my blog, I had no idea that I was able to set up default ads to run for the times when my fill rate was less than ideal. If you choose not to set up default ads, then you run the risk of having the space load blank or with non-paying ads when there isn’t a paying ad to fill that spot.
I use ads from Google Adsense and my Amazon affiliate account as defaults but you can use any ad network or affiliate account that you like. You can even create your own graphic and use that as a filler.
When I first tried to figure out how to set up Burst HTML Redirects for default ads, I had a horrible time trying to figure out how to do it correctly! Once I did, I realized that default ads are really easy to set up so I thought I would share a quick screenshot tutorial!
Let’s get started!
1. First, log in to your Burst Dashboard. On the left side of your dashboard, in the navigation panel — mouse over the “Campaigns” tab. Click on the “Default Campaigns” link.
2. Choose the banner size you’ll be creating a default ad for in the “Ad Size” drop-down menu. I’ll be working with a 728×90 size for this tutorial.
3. Also, in the “AdCode” drop-down menu, be sure to choose the correct adcode. This will be your regular AdCode (usually your domain name) and not your BurstTV or Community Code.
4. Then, Click on the “Add New Default Campaign.”
5. This will open up a new area underneath your Active ads. In the “Type” drop-down menu, choose HTML Redirect.
6. Give your new default ad a memorable name in the “Label” field.
7. Open up a text editor such as Notepad and insert the following basic html code:
<html>
<head></head>
<body>
<!–insert ad sourcecode here–>
</body>
</html>
8. Now, copy the ad or affiliate code that you would like to use as your default ad. This will usually begin with < script > or <img …. > Make sure you are using the correct size banner to match the Burst ad. (To copy, highlight the code and press Ctrl + C)
9. Paste this code into the text editor where it says:
<!–insert ad sourcecode here–>
(To Paste, Place the cursor where you want the code and press Ctrl + V)
10. Now save your file. In Notepad; Click File >> Save As. Be sure to save the file with a .html extension (for example, default.html). I save mine to my Desktop for easy access.
11. In your WordPress dashboard, upload your newly created .html file to your server the same way that you would upload an image.
12. Once your .html file uploads. Copy the File URL.
13. Back in your Burst account, you will paste the File URL into the “HTML URL” field. Be sure to leave off the http://. Click on “Test Changes” to see how your new default ad will look.
14. If all looks good, then click “Save Changes.”
15. Now, Weighting. I have not yet figured out the best way to set the weighting for my default ads. Currently I am just dividing 999999 by the number of defaults I have set up and using that as my number. It probably isn’t the best way to do it. You’ll have to figure that one out on your own!
16. Be sure to click “Save Changes.” so that you don’t lose all of your work!
Congratulations! you should now be able to successfully set up default ads using HTML Redirect in your Burst Account! You can set up several for each size ad and even switch them out whenever you want to. Sometimes I put in a particularly nice Logical Media or popular Amazon Banner ad in the space for a month to see how it does.
I hope this basic tutorial helped! If you have any questions or corrections about my instructions, let me know in the comments and I will try to help!
About the Author
Ahhh I love you for this tutorial! Thanks so much i always wondered how to do this:)
I’m so glad that it helped Nichol! I also need to add that I just found out you can have up to 13 defaults for each ad size, how cool is that!
this is a GREAT tutorial!!!! We are collecting some showcase articles to share on momdot and id love to show this one…really great!
trisha
Thank you! I was hoping that it all made sense and would be easy to follow since it took me a little while to figure out myself! I would be thrilled to be included in a round up!
Does this work for Adsense? I can’t get adsense to work in the javascript redirect.
Yes Kim, you can use Adsense as a default. My Adsense default ads seem to be working and I do see revenue from them. But, I cannot see them in the test preview where they are set up in my Burst Dashboard. I have emailed support about this to see what the problem is and will report back when I hear from them.
Is this the problem you are having, or is it something else?
I received a reply from Burst:
For some reason (we believe it’s a tech issue on our end) we’re not currently able to preview the ad in the Default testing environment.
A quick way to see if the HTML redirect is working properly is to take the HTML code and put it in a browser session, you should then be able to see an ad display.
So as long as you can see the ad display using the url created when you upload your .html file, then you should be good to go!
Hmmm ok, I’ll try it again. I was getting no views on my ads with Adsense as default and couldn’t confirm it with the preview. Thanks!!!
Ok, I don’t have Notepad and in Word doc. it doesn’t allow to save as .html. There is an .htm. Any suggestions?
I don’t think you can do it in Word, I just tried several times and it didn’t work.
Do you use Google Docs? (https://docs.google.com) I found a way to do it there!
1.) Just create a new Document the same way I describe creating a text one in Notepad here.
2.) Highlight all of your text, then click on Format (under your Document title), then click Clear Formatting.
3.) Click File, then Download As then Plain text (.txt)
4. When the box pops up to save your file, go ahead and type in your document name and save it as a .html. So for example you can type my-default-ad.html and click save.
This should create your file all ready to be uploaded to your media center! Let me know if this works for you. I tested it and it did for me!
Thank you, it worked!
I’m so glad we figured it out!
Thanks so much for this -it’s incredibly helpful!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy to hear that it helped!
I LOVE YOU! :) I have been wondering how to do this for a year. I added 3 redirects today – wish me luck! :)
I’m so glad that it worked for you!
I hope you realize how awesome you are for doing this! I just went through and set up both Amazon and Google Adsense in each of my three ads. :) Thank you SO MUCH!
Awesome! I’m just glad I was able to explain it and make sense to everyone! A picture is always more helpful to me :)
Finally! Instructions I can understand! I just set all of mine up! Thank you so much!
I have been trying to figure this out ever since I got Burst, so THANK YOU! I couldn’t be happier!
Yay! I am so happy that it helped you!
Thank you for sharing this! I’ve been trying to figure out how to do this for WEEKS!
I love you.
lol! You mean I actually wrote about something you didn’t know already?? WooHoo! ;) I {heart} you too!
I tried doing the java upload. And then realized it was never working and since I was getting no reports from adsense. So I googled how to get adsense to work as default to Burst. And your site came up! Thank you again! <3
Sigh …. on my old theme, this worked beautifully. I had to redo it today b/c of a burst issue … and now it won’t work! I’ve double checked everything and is SHOULD be working but it isn’t. Anything different I need to do for Genesis?
Hmmm, I’m not sure, Rachel. I just switched over to Genesis last week myself and mine still seems to be working (I’m using it in the leaderboard and the 300x25o box in the sidebar). Can you tell me specifically what isn’t working? Maybe I can help!
Thank you soooo much! Did you learn if that was a good way to weigh it?
I just added a redirect and plan on signing up to more networks and see if I can improve my numbers! I can’t thank you enough for this tutorial!!
I’m so glad that you found it helpful, Kristi!
This was so helpful. Thank you so much!
I’m so glad you were able to use the information!