| Bring
traffic to your site.
You'll find
advertising on the Internet can be surprisingly inexpensive when compared
to traditional methods of media exposure for your business. For less
than the price of a one-week's display ad in your local-coverage newspaper,
you can have months of exposure to the entire world wide web! The
official Harbor
Country®
site has the highest internet traffic in our region, logging over 300,000
average page views per month, peaking at over 700,000 a month in the
summer months.
When you compare this to other area online advertising opportunities,
only the Chamber's web site offers the best value for our members, and
delivers optimum world wide web exposure for your online advertising.
Our members have consistently reported that their highest traffic referrals
comes from the harborcountry.org site.
2007 Peak Season Traffic Summary:
Jun - 654,406
Pageviews
Jul - 720,097 Pageviews
Aug - 595,730 Pageviews
Sep - 337,662 Pageviews
Trademark Recognition
The award winning Harbor Country®
web site is the only officially authorized site for all of Harbor Country
and is listed with all the major Internet search engines. The Chamber's
ownership of the Harbor Country®
federally registered trademark assures appropriate recognition for our
southwest Michigan destination, with #1 placement in search engines
such as Google, AllTheWeb, MSN, and Yahoo. This national credibility
and recognition translates to high exposure to our member listings in
our free and paid advertising programs.
Industry leading partnerships
We have established listings in major Internet travel, lodging, business
and commerce directories - and actively promoting the site in all media
promotional campaigns, e.g. The Harbor Country Guide, The Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Magazine, and regional business periodicals like Midwest Living,
and our ongoing partnerships with regional and national tourism organizations.
Our national exposure has also given us wide press
coverage on many media outlets.
Its all in the results
These are all a ongoing initiatives designed to promote Harbor Country®
and benefit the Chamber membership. The result of this Internet reach
brings in an impressive volume of visitor traffic that can bring the
advertising member significant exposure that translates into direct
sales and customer inquiries.
Free Member Advertising
Benefits
Directory Text Listing
As part of membership with the Harbor Country Chamber, all members receive
a free text listing on the Chamber's site. These listings are presented
in the general membership list, or categorized in any one of the other
business category directories, such as Dining, Shopping, Lodging, Services,
etc. All listings are indexed in an online database which is accessed
by the site search engine available to online visitors who wish to query
the site for specific results. Search results are ranked on relevancy
rather than alphabetic priority.
Hot Deals
In addition to the free text listings, in-area Members in good standing
can participate in the free "Hot Deals" advertising program,
designed to give members direct exposure for their sale promotions and
special offers. Click Here
for details. Our Hot Deals page is ranked as one of our top visited
pages consistently accessed by our visitors: http://www.harborcountry.org/hotdeals
Events
The Chamber regularly posts area events on the HarborCountry.org
pages:
www.harborcountry.org/events
www.harborcountry.org/weekends
Event postings are free of charge and maintained as a public service.
These web pages are among highest visited pages on the site, and have
been credited for a great part of an event's popularity and successful
turnout. Members can Login and
submit their Event content online. Event submissions include
event name, location, date, contact phone, email, web address, admission
fees, and up to a 250 word description. Non member Event organizers
can petition the Chamber to have their event posted on the HarborCountry.org
site by the process outlined in our Policies.
Advertising
Policies
- All advertising
programs are subject to the Chamber's Marketing
Policy and Trademark Terms
of Use Policy
- Advertising programs/pricing
available to "In area" Chamber members in good standing."Out
of Area" Chamber members that do not have a physical business
presence located in the officially recognized Towns
of Harbor Country cannot participate in the Harbor Country Guide
or Internet advertising programs, with the exception of the External
Hyperlink program.
- Ad rates are affordably
structured to benefit the Chamber membership.
- All ads must point (hyperlink)
to an existing internet web site. We will not link to "under
construction" web pages.
- All ads are screened
for content of the linked web page.We reserve the right to reject
any ads that we deem inappropriate for this web site.
- All ads are pre-paid
for the duration of the ad campaign.
- Banner and Tile and
Tower (skyscraper) ads offered in the Chamber's programs voluntarily
conform to the Interactive
Advertising Bureau (IAB) industry dimensional standards.
- Ads are assigned to
a login account where you can track your visitor click-thru's to your
site, and view ad statistics. The site's automated ad delivery system
will also send you monthly statistics by email. Ads are automatically
disabled at the end of the subscription period unless subscription
is renewed.
TRAFFIC EXPOSURE
PROGRAMS:
(Click on Titles for Details)
Run-of-Site
Banner
468x60
Placement:
Appears at the top of All Business Directories and public accessed sub
pages otherwise known as run-of-site . Ads are randomly rotated each
time a new page is loaded or refreshed.This
banner is also displayed on the major Chamber site pages with the highest
traffic, e.g. Lodging Directory, Shopping, Dining, Hot Deals, Real Estate,
Maps, Photo Gallery, Virtual Tours, Events Calendar, Membership Directory,
etc. Based on year 2006 Chamber web site traffic statistics, the
banner ad should generate in excess of 200,000 impressions (number of
times ad is displayed) during a 1 year subscription period. When a visitor
clicks on the ad, it will redirect them to your site on a new browser
window. The Ad software automatically terminates ads at the end of the
subscription period. This banner advertisement does on appear or infringe
on chamber member web sites under the harborcountry.org domain, or externally
linked domains. The ad sponsor will be assigned to an online account
where members can log in to see their ad statistics.
Maximum banner ads: 1 per member, in addition to one of the tile/skyscraper
ads.
Minimum Order: 6 month subscription.
Ad Rate: $132/6 Mo - $264/Year Flat Rate ($22/Mo,
6 Month Minimum ad run)
(Flat rate for total impressions during that period)
Banner size (width/height): 468 x 60 pixels
Banner size (maximum bytes): 12k
Animation:
Total Image Frames, 2 (.gif) No Flash animation at this time.
Deadline: 10 days before date to appear
Acceptable graphic formats: GIF/JPEG
Embedded JavaScript: No
Hyperlink: To your web site page of your choice.
Changes: $15 additional charge to replace ad image during subscription
period
Development:
This cost does not cover development of
your banner graphic design. We can refer you to local talent for
this service. We can however provide a tasteful and colorful basic text
ad at no additional charge.
Click Here
To Download
Application Form
Tile Ad
120x90
Placement: Any Business
Subdirectory (Dining, Service, Shopping, Lodging, etc) These
are fixed ads (non-rotating)
placed in the order received,
top to bottom, on the left margin of subdirectory pages.
When a visitor
clicks on the ad, it will redirect them to your site on a new browser
window.The Chamber reserves
the right to rotate it's own ads for promotion of area events or specific
advertising campaigns designed to benefit ALL the Chamber membership.
For optimum performance
results we recommend placing your ad in your appropriate business directory.
The ad sponsor will be assigned to an online
account where members can log in to see their ad statistics.
Maximum number of ads: 1 per member
Minimum Order: 6 month subscription
Ad Rate: $120/6 Mo - $240/Year Flat Rate ($20/Mo,
6 Month Minimum ad run)
(Flat rate for total impressions during that period)
Banner size (width/height): 120 x 90 pixels
Banner size (maximum bytes): 8k
Availability: Any of the sites Business Directories.
Animation: Total
Image Frames, 2 (.gif) No Flash animation at this time.
Deadline: 10 days before date to appear
Acceptable graphic formats: GIF/JPEG
Embedded JavaScript: No
Hyperlink: To your web site page of your choice.
Changes: $15 additional charge to replace ad image during subscription
period
Tile Ad Development:
This cost does not cover development of
the tile ad graphic design. We can refer you to local talent for
this service.We can however provide a tasteful and colorful basic text
ad at no additional charge.
Click
Here To
Download Application Form
Tower
(skyscraper) Ads
 |
. |
 |
| 120
x 300 |
|
120
x 240 |
Placement:
Any Business Subdirectory (Dining, Service, Shopping, Lodging, etc)
These
fixed ads (non-rotating) placed in the order received, top to bottom,
on the left margin of subdirectory pages.
When a visitor
clicks on the ad, it will redirect them to your site on a new browser
window. The Chamber reserves
the right to rotate it's own ads for promotion of area events or specific
advertising campaigns designed to benefit ALL the Chamber membership.
For optimum performance results we recommend placing your ad in your
appropriate business directory. The
ad sponsor will be assigned to an online account where members can log
in to see their ad statistics.
Maximum number of ads: 1 per member
Minimum Order: 6 month subscription
Ad Rate: 120x240 $180/6 Mo - $360/Year Flat Rate
($30/Mo, 6 Month Minimum ad run)
(Flat rate for total impressions during that period)
Ad Rate: 120x300 $192/6 Mo - $384/Year Flat Rate
($32/Mo, 6 Month Minimum ad run)
(Flat rate for total impressions during that period)
Banner size (width/height): 120 x 240 or 120 x 300 pixels
Banner size (maximum bytes): 50k
Availability: Any of the site's Business Directories.
Animation: Total Image Frames, 2 (.gif) No Flash animation at this time.
Deadline: 10 days before date to appear
Acceptable graphic formats: GIF/JPEG
Embedded JavaScript: No
Hyperlink: To your web site page of your choice.
Changes: $15 additional charge to replace ad image during subscription
period
Ad Development:
This cost does not cover development of
the ad graphic design. We can refer you to local talent for this
service.We can however provide a tasteful and colorful basic text ad
at no additional charge.
Click
Here To
Download Application Form
ONE
PAGE WEB SITE HOSTING
Sample page at 20% size.
Click on these links for actual web page examples (Use Browser's
Back button to return here)
Blue
Sky Cottage
In
Town Farm House
The following image shows the layout of the web page, divided
into individual "Cells" to further categorize the information.
|
Cell
1
Logo/Image
Color or B/W
|
Cell
2
Logo/Image
Color or B/W |
|
Cell
3
Business
Description, Overview
|
Cell
4
Services,
Pricing, Rates, etc.
|
Cell
5
Contact Info: Address, Phone, Fax, Email
|
Cell
6
Policies, Disclaimers, Limitations |
|
. |
Chamber
members can now have a cost effective presence on the internet
with their own web page, hosted by the Chamber. In order to keep
the cost down there are some restrictions, and a standardized
format.
One Page Web Site Program Features:
- One
photo, One logo (2 images) Images will be size to
245 x 186 px. Acceptable image formats: .jpg or .gif. Another
option is to merge the two images into one large horizontal
image
- 250
words of text divided into four categories, 1)Business
description 2) Policies 3) Service Features 4)Location,
Phone/Fax and Contact Info. The standard format divides these
four categories along with 2 images into six "cells"
within the web page.
- Email
link Included.
- $75/year
fee + one-time $15 set up fee, prepaid for the subscription
period.
- Any changes
to web page mid-term there is a $15 fee. No charge for changes
at time of re-subscription for another year
- You will have
an actual web site address you can use on your brochures or
print advertising.
- A 30
word business description is part of this package
to your existing membership listing (on a major Chamber site
directory) .
To start development
of your web page, contact the Chamber office for a 1-Page Web
Site Registration form. Development will begin upon receipt
of registration and check for fees. From that date your web
page will be scheduled to appear on the Internet within 5 business
days. You will have your own URL (web address) within the Chamber's
domain, example, www.harborcountry.org/mywebsite.htm
Content Guidelines:
-Text must be no more than 250 words.
-Do not use ALL CAPS in your text content.
-Only two image files will be accepted, .jpg or .gif
Content not meeting this criteria will be returned to the applicant
for editing.
Instructions to send your content electronically:
Send your 1-page text (250 words max) in an email to webmaster@harborcountry.org
The images should be attached (.jpg or .gif format) Do not send
your content in an attached Word document, as it will contain
formatting that will take additional time to convert.
Click
Here To
Download Application Form
|
If your requirements exceed
the size restrictions of our 1-page web site program, The Chamber can
refer you to outside resources who can develop your site on a contract
basis
EXTERNAL
WEB SITE HYPERLINK
Get additional
exposure to your site by taking advantage of the high incoming traffic
to the Chamber's site. If you already have your own web site or
domain hosted by an outside source, you can have your Chamber membership
listing upgraded to a text hyperlink to your site. There is a $35 annual
pre-paid fee. As part of this service, you are entitled to a 30 word
maximum description to your business listing. Your description can be
modified at no additional charge upon annual renewal of your subscription.
There is a $15 charge if you choose to modify your 30 word business
description mid term. All subscriptions (hyperlinks and 30 word descriptions)
are automatically disabled by the system at the end of the subscription
when the term is expired, unless the subscription is renewed before
the expiration date.
For Lodging related members, the purchase of a hyperlink will include
an "Online Booking" or "Online Availability" icon
to your listing. This icon will link to your site's appropriate page
offering this feature. If you wish to add this icon at no additional
charge, please send us the correct web page address for your online
booking or availability.
All businesses purchasing a hyperlink from the Chamber's site must provide
a reciprocal link from their site in the form of either one of these
text links:
Member - Harbor
Country® Chamber of Commerce
The Official
Harbor Country® Site
Or using the Membership Button, linked to the Chamber's site:
Chamber Members may download this image to their site by right clicking
on image and saving a copy to their web directory. Do Not "Link"
to this image from the Chamber's site.
The reciprocal link must be present on the Chamber member's site before
the Chamber's site link will be activated.
We do not link to sites that are "under construction". Contact
us when your site is operational and is ready to be linked.
Out-of-Area members may purchase a link from their listing on the Chamber's
site, with the following restrictions enacted by the Board Of Directors
in October of 2001:
1. A reciprocal text or Membership Button link must be placed on the
out-of-area member's site.
2. Out-of-area members cannot market themselves as being "part
of" Harbor Country.
To Order Your Hyperlink -
Contact the Chamber office at 269-469-5409 for an "External Hyperlink
Registration" form. Be sure to include your 30 word description
with the registration form. This is a 30 word maximum. The system is
set up to cut off anything more than 30 words. You can also
Upon receipt of fee and completed form, and verification of
your reciprocal link, your hyperlink should be ready within 5 business
days.
Click
Here To
Download Application Form
For questions on
these programs, contact the Chamber at:
Email:
chamber@harborcountry.org
Phone: 269-469-5409
Click Here to return to the Chamber's site
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