What are the best free advertising sites on the web?

Advertising on Java/JSP Developer Web Sites

• Zapatec, http://www.zapatec.com offers tools and platform to build an online database. While our tools are improving rapidly, you still need some software devlopment skills to deploy a web application. Our mission is to atract JSP and Java Web developers to come to Zapatec, sign up and build a web application. Our Question: Which JSP and Java developer Web sites would give us the the most visibility (to get sign ups) and offer the best advertising rates?

• Answer:

  Hello I'm an IT contractor/programmer/tech author, so thanks for asking the question - it's given me a chance to add to my own contact list :) I’ll start with the JAVA side, go on to JSP, and give some recommendations at the end. JAVA Sites __________ P2P - The Programmers Resource guide (http://p2p.wrox.com/articles/20010403.asp ) , ran a survey of the top 10 JAVA sites. I cross referenced this with the Ask-Jeeves top ten for JAVA sites, and checked which of them came out high on searches of all the top search engines and found they were almost all the same, so this gives us a good reference point to start. I have investigated advertising opportunities for them. I’ll run them down in reverse order - they don’t all give out their advertising rates unless you are a genuine interested advertiser, but I’ll give you contact emails where I can’t give you the figures. 10. JARS.COM: (http://www.jars.com/ ) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ They say: "JARS review any and all Java applications and applets found on the web. They rate them in terms of how functional and useful they are, and give awards to the top 1% and 5% of the programs they look at. If programmers are looking for a specific Java application or component to use in their code, this is a good place to start. Categories covered by the JARS review service include business, multimedia, financial, scientific, utilities, games, programming and web." They don't give out ad rates unless it's a genuine query, but you can ask at the mail address below. I couldn't find daily hit rates for the site, but it is used by a lot of developers looking for reviews of new products, and has high visibility. For advertising information and rates, e-mail [email protected]. 9. JavaWorld: (http://www.javaworld.com ) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ They say: "The equivalent of ASPToday or ASPFree for the Java programming community. News, articles and community discussions are brought together on one site to provide a wide range of knowledge for Java beginners and old hands alike." As already given in the comments to this answer, Javaworld has opportunities for advertising in several places on its site, from banner ads, to "skyscraper" ads and ads in their various newsletters. Prices are very reasonable, with 300000 banners costing less than $50 per month, and access to 94000 JAVA developers in their newsletter for only $60 per month The contact points are Todd Carville National Sales Director, JavaWorld [email protected] 415-267-4538 Christine Gee National Accounts Manager, JavaWorld [email protected] 650-345-1631 Michael Lamattina Eastern Advertising Director, JavaWorld [email protected] 781-647-3121 And there are full details at: http://www.javaworld.com /info/jw-advertise.shtml 8. Marcus Green’s Java Certification HQ: (http://www.jchq.net/ ) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ They say: "Those of you thinking of taking or preparing for the Java Certification exams need to look at this site. It includes mock exams, tutorials, FAQs, discussion forums and sample code. Marcus Green is a Sun Certified Java Programmer who originally built the site and has carried on developing it using feedback from his users. If you’re looking to add to your CV with a Java certificate, this is one of the places definitely worth visiting before you sit the exam." The site averages over 1000 unique visitors a day. The owner ( [email protected] ) does not state any advertising rates, but from comments made on his site he would welcome any approaches.) 7. The Java Ranch (http://www.javaranch.com/ ) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ They say: "For some reason, the developers of this site appear to be obsessed with cows. But don’t let that put you off; this is a great resource for all Java programmers. The Java Ranch includes message boards, job adverts, book reviews, information about the Java certification exams, sample code, a Java style guide and much more." They accept banner adverts - details here (http://www.javaranch.com/rates.jsp ) Banners at the top: · $6 per thousand impressions · 50,000 impressions minimum Banners at the bottom: · $2 per thousand impressions · 150,000 impressions minimum They say they are the largest Java site on the internet outside of Sun. and currently gets about 1.5 million page views per month and 250,000 unique users each month. (@ 8000 per day ) They also have a very active forums area answering all of the questions posted by development staff. These are often the advanced users - decision makers in a position for their company to buy your product For more information on running your banner on JavaRanch and alternative promotions, send e-mail to [email protected]. 6. The Blackdown Project Java for Linux: (http://www.blackdown.org/ ) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ They say: "Without the efforts of the Blackdown development team, Linux wouldn’t be a viable development platform for Java programmers. Using a source code license from Sun, they started porting the JDK to Linux on their own - before pressure on Sun to release an official Linux version became too great, at which point Sun brought in the Blackdown team to help them out." They do not seem to have any online advertising opportunities but it may be worth your while contacting them. 5. JCreator (http://www.jcreator.com/ ) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ They say: "If you’re getting sick of using Notepad with the command line compiler tools and are looking for an integrated development environment (IDE) for Java, look no further - and this one’s free, unlike the commercial efforts available from Sun, IBM and Oracle. It comes highly recommended by numerous subscribers on the beginning_java list: " They do not seem to have any online advertising opportunities but it may be worth your while contacting them 4. P2P Java category (http://p2p.wrox.com/java/ ) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ They say: "Need help with Java programming problems? P2P is your one-stop, free resource centre for all Java-related coding questions. A selection of mailing lists covering different Java technologies provides programmers with support from their peers. Numerous Wrox authors also help out with answering questions from contributors." They will discuss banner, button and newsletter advertising. (they advertise 1 million banners, or 92000 buttons or 40000 newsletter ads but don’t give out rates unless you are a serious enquirer. ) Contact point: Vera Grimm [email protected] (or [email protected] ) Media Sales Coordinator Wrox Press Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)121 687 4100 ext. 178 Fax: +44 (0)121 687 4101 3. Café au Lait (http://www.ibiblio.org/javafaq/ ) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ They say: "Elliotte Rusty Harold still regularly updates one of the first Java sites in existence, Café au Lait, with news about Java technologies. The original Java Frequently Asked Questions document is hosted here - not updated since 1997, but still a useful resource, containing all those little things that one day you will need to know. Plus, there’s sections containing book reviews, web-based Java learning aids and hundreds of links to other Java resources." They do not seem to have any online advertising opportunities but it may be worth your while contacting them 2. The Jakarta Project (http://jakarta.apache.org/ ) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ They say: "The home of server-side programming in Java. The Jakarta Project provides "commercial-quality server solutions based on the Java Platform, developed in an open and cooperative fashion". They do not seem to have any online advertising opportunities but it may be worth your while contacting them 1. Sun Microsystems (http://java.sun.com/ ) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ They say: "The ultimate Java resource site. Sun Microsystems invented the Java language and run what is probably the largest and most popular Java-related website in the world. Download the Java Development Kits and all the related APIs from here, or read one of their many excellent tutorials if you want to learn more about a particular Java technology. Sun also host a vast selection of web-based forums for asking questions on Java programming." They do not run commercial advertising, but you should certainly sign up to their forums, join in the community and get yourselves known. This kind of networking is just as good, if not better, than scatter-gun banner advertising. JSP Sites _________ The biggest, and most widely used sites seem to be: JSP Resource Index, ( http://www.jspin.com/ ) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ They say: "Your guide to JavaServer Pages™ technology. If you’re just getting started with JSP, you can jump right into our JSP tutorials section. If you’re a seasoned developer, try some of the ready-to-run JSP scripts and beans or make your own and list them here." They have very active forums, what looks like over 150 people online at any particular moment , and a wide variety of advertising opportunities, targeted directly at your audience. You can get an overview here (http://www.jspin.com/func/advertise ) 468x60 banners at the top of each page will cost $170 for 50,700 impressions per month, with discounts for longer running campaigns . See details here (http://www.jspin.com/func/advertise/468x60 ) 125x125 banners on the side of each page will cost $100 for 28,600 impressions per month with discounts for longer running campaigns . See details here (http://www.jspin.com/func/advertise/125x125) They will also run column ads The Column Ad spot is located at the very top of the right-hand column and can be shown only in the directories that you choose. This way, you can maximize your advertising campaign by targeting the site users that are most likely to use your product or service. This is what makes Column Ads so valuable. Column Ads are sold in 30 day increments. Column Ads are composed of part HTML text and part graphic. You have a total of 130x240 pixels (except on the homepage where you get 130x170 pixels) to work with. The total size of all the graphics can not exceed 10Kb. Graphics must also be transparent to the background color so that they do not look like standard banners. In addition, you can also specify your own 15 character title. These vary in cost, and can be negotiated with the site For all advertising at the JSP resource contact: Email: [email protected] JSP Insider ( http://www.jspinsider.com/index.jsp) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Another large and well used JSP site . The site gets 250,000 hits a month and shows over 1/2 million ads. See details here ( http://www.jspinsider.com/main/services/advertisements.jsp ) Advertising is sold in slots, with 45 slots being available. If they served 200,000 page views in a given month, they would also serve 400,000 advertisement views. Then, if they only sold 10 slots for that month, each slot would receive 40,000 advertisment views! If they sold all 45 slots then each ad would receive a minimum of 8,800 ad views. You can purchase as many slots as you wish. They don't advertise their rates, prefering to negotiate with possible advertisers. Contact JSP Insider by email at [email protected]. Please include your name, company name, email address, telephone number and information on your request. Recommendations _______________ I would recommend using The Java Ranch: (http://www.javaranch.com/ ) as it is the site with the highest number of users, and banners at $2 per 1000, so for a relatively small outlay you will reach a large population of JAVA developers. I would try them out for a month or two, and, if the money is available, also try out JavaWorld: (http://www.javaworld.com ), possibly rotating ads between them over a period of six months or so to see who gives the best hit rate. For JSP, use The JSP Resource Index above. If you can afford it, I would take out several different ad types, as they will directly reach your target population. And not only can you run a variety of ad types, you can get listed in their directories and take part in their forums, and they provide real time hit stats of your advertising. As with the JAVA sites, I'd rotate around, with ads at JSP Insider as well, until I found what was giving me the best deal. As well as all the focused advertising above, I’d also consider running ads on your own site for other JAVA/JSP sites that are not in direct competition with yourselves. ( One possibility would be in checking out the International JSP sites at http://www.jspin.com/home/sites/internat and asking if they’d like reciprocal advertising) Hope that this fits the bill Willie Google search terms used "Top Ten JAVA" developer site "Top JSP" "JSP developer" site