Ad Unit Guidelines | RADIO Fargo-Moorhead

Field lengths

People viewing your ad will see three main elements: Title, Description, and Display URL. Each element must adhere to these character limits:

Title	25
Description	70
Display URL	35

General Policies for Ad Creative

The following ad elements are prohibited:

• Text in ALL CAPS
• Excess punctuation
• The use of phone numbers in any ad text
• The use of e-mail addresses in any ad text
• Too many repeated words
• Unauthorized use of trademarks
• URL's that employ URL shortening services such as tinyurl or bit.ly, or any redirect URL's intended to obscure advertiser identity or otherwise mislead the user

Advertiser Restrictions

Please note that we cannot accept the following:

• Adware and/or Spyware advertisers.
• Gambling/sports betting advertisers. This includes sites that link to other pay-for-play gaming sites.
• Adult advertisers.
• Advertisers promoting prostitution and/or escort services.
• Advertisers that promote beer or alcohol.
• Advertisers promoting drugs or drug paraphernalia.
• Advertisers promoting cigarettes or other tobacco related products.
• Online pharmacies that are not based in the U.S. or Canada. In addition, all online pharmacies must be accredited by VIPPS.
• Advertisers promoting fake documents such as fake IDs, diplomas, immigration documents and passports.
• Advertisers promoting cable descramblers, black boxes, radar jammers, traffic signal changers, etc.
• Obviously misleading ads such as "cure cancer overnight!" or "lose 40 pounds overnight!"
• Advertisers promoting hate, violence or discrimination.
• Advertisers promoting weapons such as firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, balisongs, brass knuckles and butterfly knives, and "self-defense" products such as mace, pepper spray, tasers, etc.
• Advertisers promoting pay-day loans.
• Advertisers promoting aids to pass drug tests, such as urine test additives.
• Advertising promoting the unauthorized dissemination of copyrighted works and unauthorized trademark usage.
• Advertising promoting fireworks or pyrotechnic devices.
• Non-government registered charities.
• Advertising for stocks, stock picks, stock-related information, etc. must conform to the following: The ad cannot tout any particular stock, and the site must contain a clearly visible disclaimer.
• Multilevel marketing plans which offer commissions for recruiting new distributors.
• Work-at-home products where:
  • The advertiser does not provide a valid street address (not a P.O box) and a valid U.S. telephone number on its site.
  • The site contains testimonials as to the amounts that could be earned without any statements or disclaimers, in close proximity and in easy-to-read typeface, that these results are not typical or may vary.
  • It is not clear what the "work-at-home" job consists of.
• Advertisers are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Federal Trade Commission’s guidelines for internet advertisers, at: http://business.ftc.gov/advertising-and-marketing/online-advertising-and-marketing

Please note that our publishers have the right to reject advertisements related to any of these guidelines or if they generally deem the ads inappropriate for their audience. In the event this happens, we will notify you immediately. Grounds for publisher-specific rejection can include:

• Misleading use of graphics or formatting to mimic popular social online media (blogs, profile pages, forums, etc.)
• Landing page graphics and design that are not of professional quality
• Unclear or unrecognizable brand or advertiser
• Creative or graphics unrelated to the product/service being advertised
• Fake drop-down or scrolling functionality.

NOTE: Certain publishers may take up to three business days to review your ad prior to it going live.

Important FTC Compliance Guidelines

The following claims are listed as deceptive by the FTC and are therefore prohibited on all Sponsored Listings placements: (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/redflag/falseclaims.html)

1. The product will lead to substantial weight loss for all users.
2. The product will lead to permanent weight loss.
3. Users of the product can eat as much as they want (or can consume unlimited amounts of high calorie foods) and still lose weight.
4. Users of the product can lose fat from specific body parts.
5. The product blocks or absorbs fat or calories.
6. The product works when applied to the body or skin.
7. The product leads to substantial weight loss (more than 2 pounds per week) without need for exercise or calorie reduction.
8. Users of the product can safely lose more than three pounds per week for four or more weeks.
9. Blog sites should not specify where the blogger lives; IP addresses are not to be used to customize the location.
10. Blog advertisers/sites must add this disclaimer on the landing page:

THE STORY DEPICTED ON THIS SITE AND THE PERSON DEPICTED IN THE STORY ARE NOT REAL. RATHER, THIS STORY IS BASED ON THE RESULTS THAT SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE USED THESE PRODUCTS HAVE ACHIEVED. THE RESULTS PORTRAYED IN THE STORY AND IN THE COMMENTS ARE ILLUSTRATIVE, AND MAY NOT BE THE RESULTS THAT YOU ACHIEVE WITH THESE PRODUCTS. THIS PAGE RECEIVES COMPENSATION FOR CLICKS ON OR PURCHASE OF PRODUCTS FEATURED ON THIS SITE.

Use of the term "FREE" as per FTC Guidelines:

• If the creative or landing page features the word "FREE" as in a "FREE" sample of the product or a "Free" trial (control-F and enter "free" for quick search on the landing page), the terms and conditions surrounding the term "FREE" must be clearly indicated. (e.g., paying shipping & handling fees, completing consumer surveys or providing personal information) http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1997/05/online.shtm
• All FREE claims must include an asterisk (referencing fees incurred) next to each use of the term "FREE."

• If the term "FREE" is used on the creative, the asterisk may refer to one line on the creative and also must be addressed on the landing page. (e.g., s&h applies)
• Each and every time the term "FREE" is used on the landing page, it must be accompanied by an asterisk, referencing text on the landing page that details the costs associated with the "Free" product. (e.g., auto-enrollment into a recurring payment plan or fees incurred if the product is not returned within a given time frame.)
• Costs and fees indicated by the asterisk must be written in a uniform format. (e.g., the wording may not say "pay only $5.95 for shipping; if you don’t cancel within 14 days, you will be charged seventy-six dollars and fifty-two cents." The proper format is: “… charged $76.52.")

Other Restrictions on Claims in your Ads, Landing Pages, Purchase or Signup Processes

• There should be no claim or implication that the product can prevent, treat or cure any disease.
• There should be no claim that the product has an effect on the structure or function of the body beyond visually perceived cosmetic enhancement.
• There should be no claim or implication that use of the product will result in any permanent or long-lasting change.
• Misleading comparative claims to pharmaceuticals or surgical procedures are not acceptable.
• Advertising should not create false or overly optimistic expectations.
• Any before and after photographs must not be presented in a deceptive manner.
• The advertiser may not falsely imply that they work for or are in any way affiliated with a major search engine.
• The advertiser may not display AOL or other publisher logos on any page in their fulfillment process, unless the advertiser can provide legal substantiation that they have permission to do so.
• The advertiser may not falsely imply a celebrity endorsement, either by unauthorized use of celebrity images or celebrity names in connection with the advertiser's product.

Please note that our publishers have the right to reject advertisements if they deem them inappropriate for their audience. In the event this happens, we will notify you immediately.

Requirements for Campaign, Listing, and Account Setup

In order to promote a healthy and equitable advertising marketplace, advertisers must adhere to the following setup guidelines:

1. Accounts
   • Multiple accounts are not allowed without permission from account management. In general, an advertiser cannot create a new account to promote the same product advertised in his or her existing account.
2. Campaigns
   • Our editorial team reserves the right to limit the number of active campaigns if it deems the setup unnecessary.
   • No duplicates - Campaigns should not be duplicated without material changes to the collection of placement bids, targeting options, or creative content unless the original campaign is suspended.
3. Listings
   • Creative testing is encouraged, but an advertiser should have no more than 50 active listings bid to the same topic at any time (promoting the same product).
   • There should be no more than 1000 listings per campaign.
   • Duplicates – Duplicate active listings (exact same creative bid to the exact same placements) are not allowed. Simply changing the display URL is, by itself, not a sufficient reason for the creation of duplicate listings.

Ad Listings - Best Practices

Tips to help you advertise successfully with Sponsored Listings:

• Be concise and clearly define the service or product offering
• Target your title and description text to the topic(s) you have selected
• Create multiple listings to gauge performance of different ad text options
• To maximize qualified leads:
  
  
  • Try shorter titles and descriptions
  • Try rearranging text and the order of product information
  • Tout promotions (shipping offers, price reductions) or service guarantees
  • Keep your creative fresh by changing your ad text periodically
  • Put the most important selling points in your ad toward the beginning of the description, where it is most likely to be read
• Things to avoid in your listing text:
  
  
  • Using unnecessary phrases like "Buy Now" or "Click Here"
  • Excess capitalization or punctuation
  • Exaggerations or unrealistic product claims
  • Cramming too much information into your ad
• To increase conversions:
  
  
  • Use a landing page that incorporates information both about your product or service AND your company. You will turn more qualified leads into customers if they believe they are buying from a trusted source.
  • If you have multiple products or services, use a separate landing page for each.
  • Avoid using a generic landing page (i.e. a company homepage) that makes it difficult to find the product you are advertising.
  • If you have third party conversion tracking URL's, try entering a separate tracking URL for each listing to track them individually.
  • To track conversions per topic, you should create a separate listing for each topic, each with a different tracking URL.

Managing Campaigns and Budgets

Campaign settings are a great way to organize your advertising activities and plan overall spending.

• Use separate campaigns to track the performance of different advertising strategies. Some examples:
  
  
  • If you are a travel advertiser, try creating separate campaigns for each destination or region (for example: Europe, US, Caribbean, or specific cities)
  • If you have multiple product lines, use separate campaigns for each
  • Use a separate campaign for each publisher site you have selected
  • Create separate campaigns for different topic groups. You could group health topics in one campaign and fitness topics in another, then compare performance.
• If you have budget constraints, use a daily budget to control costs:
  
  
  • If you have a monthly budget, divide that number by 30 days to calculate your approximate daily budget

Examples of good ad listings

What's good about them?

• Clear and concise titles
• Specific details about the products
• No excess punctuation or exclamation points

Example of a bad listing

What's bad about it?

• Excess punctuation
• Exaggerated product claims
• Not enough specific product information
• Unnecessary phrases like 'Click Here' and 'Best Ever'