WordPress Ad Server (CMAC) - Use Case - How to Create Popup Ads On Server and Show On Client Sites


Use Case - How to Create Popup Ads On Server and Show On Client Sites

Note: This guide requires:


Introduction

WordPress Ad Server is a WordPress ads plugin, designed to simplify the use and management of advertising campaigns on multiple WordPress websites. 

It’s especially useful for companies that have several advertisement platforms on WordPress and therefore requires a banner server that manages and rotates banners from numerous advertising campaigns.

Use Case Front-End

Displaying randomly popup ads on the client site:

Front-end result - WordPress Ad Server
Front-end result

Use Case Assumptions

In this example use case guide we will consider how to manage Popup ad campaigns with one WordPress Ad Server.

The WordPress Ad Server is an advertising plugin that consists of two separate kinds of plugins: WordPress Ad Server and Ad Changer Client - never install both of them together on the same site.

We assume that you've already bought the plugins, but not installed them yet.

It follows:

Installing the Plugin

The process is the same for all CM plugins and add-ons.

CreativeMinds Customer Account Dashboard - Downloads tab
CreativeMinds Customer Account Dashboard
  • Download the plugin from your customer dashboard.
  • Log in to WordPress and navigate to the WordPress Admin → Plugins settings.
  • Click on Add New.
  • Activate it and add the license.

Learn more: Getting Started - Plugin Overview


Setting up

When the WordPress Ad Server is installed, first we need to configure it. Navigate to Admin Dashboard → Ad Changer → Settings.

Navigation to the plugin settings - WordPress Ad Management Plugin
Navigation to the plugin settings

There you can find a few tabs with settings. Let's consider them step-by-step.

General Settings

First tab is General Settings. The options are:

  • Server Active - Defines whether the Ad Changer Server is active to accept banner requests.
  • Disable history functionality - Turn off data collection on clicks, impressions, etc. This may help improve speed and performance.
  • Notification Email Template - Customize the text of email notification that will be sent if the ad campaign stops working on some reason. 
  • Inject JS libraries on ALL pages / in footer - Use in cases when the shortcodes are inserted within customized themes or other plugins. This is needed when banners are not showing up as expected on your pages, or when you are adding custom CSS styles to override settings and to better accommodate placement of the banner.
  • Auto-deactivate old campaigns - Campaigns with selected activity dates, will be automatically deactivated when the last date passes.
  • Use Cloud Storage - If the option is enabled, then images that you upload to ad campaigns will be stored on the cloud server. Important: This option demands another plugin for work - you need to install and configure WP Offload Media.
General server plugin settings - Ad Server WordPress Plugin
General server plugin settings

Geolocation

Second tab is Geolocation

Server Geolocation Settings are implemented with an API developed by http://ipinfodb.com/, which can be used to show the geographical location of users accessing your ads in reports and statistics. Note: it doesn't let you define campaigns by geolocation.

Geolocation settings - WordPress Ad Management
Geolocation settings

Rotated Banners

Third tab is Rotated Banners. The options are:

  • Rotated Banner switch effect - Select switch effect between Fade or Slide.
  • Rotated Banner switch interval - Set the time when one banner changes another one (in milliseconds).
  • Rotated Banner Transition time - Set the time that transition takes (in milliseconds).

This setting is client-based, therefore it can be changed on the client side while running the same campaign.

Rotated banners settings - WordPress Advertising Plugin
Rotated banners settings

Custom CSS

Fourth tab is Custom CSS

Server Custom CSS settings relate to the layout of banners on your website. This setting overrides the style.css parameters in your WordPress theme.

Custom CSS settings - WordPress Banner Ad Management
Custom CSS settings

Responsive Settings

Fifth tab is Responsive Settings

Responsive banners resize according to the screen size of the device being used. With responsive banners, your ads are always appropriately resized according to device requirements.

The options are:

  • Use Banner Variations - When this option is active, the banner variation means that only banners with appropriate dimensions will be displayed. This allows client sites to ask the server for the correct banner size, and display it according to current browser settings. Browser settings are detected before the server shows the banner, this sometimes means that there is a slight delay in loading the banner before it is served to the client.
  • Choose variation based on width of - Whether or not specific banners are chosen is primarily determined by the device screen width, or by the width of the page or div element which contains the banner shortcode or widget.
  • If no variations are available resize banner - Allow the plugin to Resize Banners in cases when the appropriate variation for a particular device is not available. This option allows responsive banners to accommodate for a foreseen circumstance when all the banner variations are larger than expected, or for when no other defined banner variation exists.
Responsive settings - WordPress Ad Management Plugin
Responsive settings

Trash

Last tab is Trash. Here the admin can remove statistics between two set dates.

Trash settings - Ad Server WordPress Plugin
Trash settings

When everything is configured, don't forget to click the button Store Settings.

Saving the changes - WordPress Ad Management
Saving the changes

Creating a Campaign

Now it's time to create our first ad campaign. Navigate to Admin Dashboard → Ad Changer → Campaigns.

Navigation to the campaigns dashboard - WordPress Advertising Plugin
Navigation to the campaigns dashboard

Click the button Create New Campaign at the top right of the page.

Creating new campaign - WordPress Banner Ad Management
Creating new campaign

There you can see the form with three tabs that will help you to create a campaign. Let's consider them all one by one.

Campaign Settings

First tab is Campaign Settings.

Campaign settings tab - WordPress Ad Management Plugin
Campaign settings tab

The options are:

  • Campaign Name - Write here a name for the ad campaign. It will not be displayed on the front-end, this is for internal use only.

    Adding campaign name - Ad Server WordPress Plugin
    Adding campaign name

    Once the campaign is created, a new option Campaign ID will appear under the Campaign name. Here you can find the number - this is ID you need to use in the shortcode for placing the campaign in posts/pages.

    Campaign ID - WordPress Ad Management
    Campaign ID
  • Campaign Group - You can add the campaign to the group. Learn more about creating Campaign Groups.

    Choosing campaign group - WordPress Advertising Plugin
    Choosing campaign group
  • Campaign Weight - Determine the campaign importance and priority in relation to all other campaigns to determine how often it should appear. This is important when used within a group of campaigns. Learn more about weight: WordPress Ad Server (CMAC) - Campaigns - How Weight Works (Chance of Display)

    Setting up the campaign weight - WordPress Banner Ad Management
    Setting up the campaign weight
  • Campaign Notes - You can write here a note. It will not be displayed on the Front-end, it's for internal use only.

    Adding campaign notes - WordPress Ad Management Plugin
    Adding campaign notes
  • Target URL - Target URL for all banners in the campaign. Target URL specified in banner will override this. Note: clicks are counted only if it is set.

    Adding target URL - Ad Server WordPress Plugin
    Adding target URL
  • Open target URL in new window - If enabled, the target URL will open in a new window after clicking on it.

    Opening target URL in new window - WordPress Ad Server
    Opening target URL in new window
  • Campaign Status - Disable this option if you want to stop the campaign.

    Choosing campaign status - WordPress Ad Management
    Choosing campaign status
  • Campaign Manager Email - Write here the manager's email of the campaign. The notifications will be sent on that address.

    Adding campaign manager email - WordPress Advertising Plugin
    Adding campaign manager email
  • Send Notifications - Enable it to send email notifications to campaign manager when the campaign stops.

    Enabling notifications - WordPress Banner Ad Management
    Enabling notifications
  • Max Impressions - Set the number how many times the campaign should be shown before it stops. Set to 0 to make it unlimited.

    Limiting impressions - WordPress Ad Management Plugin
    Limiting impressions
  • Max Clicks - Set the number how many times the campaign can be clicked before it stops. Set to 0 to make it unlimited.

    Limiting clicks - Ad Server WordPress Plugin
    Limiting clicks
  • Approved Domains - Add a list of domains from which banners can be requested and served. Leaving this list empty will allow all Ad Changer clients to request the banners randomly without defined preferences.

    Adding approved domains - WordPress Ad Server
    Adding approved domains
  • Advertisers - Name of the advertiser. You can choose it from the dropdown list of advertisers that you already added, or create the new one.

    Choosing advertiser - WordPress Ad Management
    Choosing advertiser
  • Custom JS - This field is designed to add custom JS codes into the page where the campaign ads are being displayed. The JavaScript code executes immediately, so it hooks into the banner click, shows modal, show alert, call AJAX, etc.

    Adding custom JS - WordPress Advertising Plugin
    Adding custom JS

Campaign Banners

Second tab is Campaign Banners.

Campaign banners settings - WordPress Banner Ad Management
Campaign banners settings

The options are:

  • Campaign Type - Pick the type of advertisements in the current campaign from the list of currently supported types. Learn more about these campaign types:
  • Display Method - Choose the method of displaying the banners:
    • Selected Banner - Will only serve selected banner 
    • Random Banner - Will serve random banner based on banner weight

      Choosing display method - WordPress Ad Server
      Choosing display method
  • Width - Set this up to limit the width of the div containing the HTML ads. You may specify both number and the unit e.g. 100px 50% 30em (no unit defaults to "px").

    Setting up the width - WordPress Ad Management
    Setting up the width
  • Height - Set this up to limit the height of the div containing the HTML ads. You may specify both number and the unit e.g. 100px 50% 30em (no unit defaults to "px").

    Setting up the height - WordPress Advertising Plugin
    Setting up the height
  • Background Color - Background of floating banner HTML content.

    Setting up the background color - WordPress Banner Ad Management
    Setting up the background color
  • Delay To Show - Define how long to wait from the moment page loads until the ad is displayed.

    Setting up the delay to show - WordPress Ad Management Plugin
    Setting up the delay to show
  • Banner Shape - Define round or sharp edges for your ad.

    Setting up the banner shape - Ad Server WordPress Plugin
    Setting up the banner shape
  • Show Effect - Choose the animation effect in which the pop-up banner should appear on the screen.
    • Pop In
    • Rotate In
    • Tada
    • Shake
    • Swing
    • Flash
    • Bounce

      Setting up the show effect - WordPress Ad Server
      Setting up the show effect
  • Interval - Define whether to display the ad every time a page loads or only on the first-page load.

    Setting up the interval - WordPress Ad Management
    Setting up the interval
  • Banner Underlay Type - Shadow color of the underlying background under the banner.

    Setting up the banner underlay type - WordPress Advertising Plugin
    Setting up the banner underlay type
  • AdDesigner - Design your ads in real-time via the ad changer server. Learn more about AdDesigner.

    Button to open AdDesigner - WordPress Banner Ad Management
    Button to open AdDesigner
  • Campaign  HTML Ads - Design a pop-up banner in using an HTML editor. Let's consider it more detailed below.

    Button for creating a banner - WordPress Ad Management Plugin
    Button for creating a banner

Campaign HTML Ads

Clicking on Add HTML Banner will show the form where you can edit the ad content. Let's add here an image.

Creating a banner - Ad Server WordPress Plugin
Creating a banner

It has 2 more options:

  • Weight - If you use a few banners that are supposed to be shown randomly when loading the page, the weight value allows you to define which banner be displayed more often. The value can be from 0 to 100.
  • Banner Name - You can add here the banner name which will help to distinguish it when viewing the statistics.

The same way we can add multiple ad banners:

Creating multiple banners - WordPress Ad Server
Creating multiple banners

Campaign Activity Settings

Third tab is Campaign Activity Settings.

Campaign activity settings - WordPress Banner Ad Management
Campaign activity settings

The options are:

  • Activity Dates - Define here the activity dates and time for the campaign. You can add lots of periods - depends on how many of them you need. To add a new period just click on the blue "+" icon.

    Setting up activity dates - WordPress Ad Management Plugin
    Setting up activity dates
  • Activity Days - Choose the activity days of the week for the campaign by checking the boxes.

    Setting up activity days - Ad Server WordPress Plugin
    Setting up activity days

At the end, when everything is configured, click the Add button to save the campaign.

Saving the changes - WordPress Ad Server
Saving the changes

Setting Up a Campaign for Client

When the creating of the campaign is done, we need to place it in the post or page. 

First install the Ad Changer Client plugin to another website (remember: don't install the WordPress Ad Server and Ad Changer Client on the same website). We need to configure it for the beginning. Navigate to Admin Dashboard → CM Ad Changer → Settings.

Navigation to the plugin settings - WordPress Ad Management
Navigation to the plugin settings

The settings here look very similar to the server side plugins settings. The tabs Custom CSS, Rotated Banners and Responsive Settings work the same and override the settings defined by the server side. A little difference is in General Settings tab:

  • Client Active - Defines whether the Ad Changer Client is active. If it's disabled, no banners will be displayed by Ad Changer Client.
  • Disable sending history data - Turn off data sending on clicks, impressions, etc. This may help improve speed and performance.
  • Ad Server domain - This specifies the URL address of the server plugin installation (i.e. where the WordPress Ad Server is installed).
  • Server cache update timeout - Time in minutes between another call to the site where the WordPress Ad Sever is installed for fresh data. Default value is 30.
    • Flush cache now - Check it to get fresh date from the server now.
  • Inject JavaScript libraries on ALL pages / in footer â€“ Use in cases when the shortcodes are inserted within customized themes or other plugins. This is needed when banners are not showing up as expected on your pages or also when adding custom CSS styles to override settings and to better accommodate placement of the banner.

    General client plugin settings - WordPress Advertising Plugin
    General client plugin settings

After configuring the settings click the button Store Settings to save the changes.

Now we can place the ad campaign to the post or page, or anywhere else on the website. The following steps are the same for the site, where the WordPress Ad Server is installed, and for the site where Ad Changer Client is installed.

Every created campaign has it's ID. To place the campaign anywhere we need to use the shortcode [cm_ad_changer] with the parameter campaign_id="X", where X is campaign's ID. In our case the shortcode will look like this [cm_ad_changer campaign_id="7"]

You can insert it using the tools of usual post/page editor or using the tools of your theme.

Adding campaign shortcode - WordPress Ad Management Plugin
Adding campaign shortcode

Now we can check the result on the front-end. 

End Result

Following instructions found in the plugin and guides, you should be able to manage Popup ad campaigns with one WordPress Ad Server.

Use Case Front-End

Displaying randomly popup ads on the client site:

Front-end result - WordPress Ad Management
Front-end result

More information about the WordPress Ad Server plugin

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