Looksmart Launches One-to-One Banner Exchange

San Francisco-based Web directory company Looksmart launched a free one-to-one
advertising banner exchange program that it said “will double the industry’s
average banner exchange ratio.”

The program, LooksmartClicks, will allow members
to join the free banner exchange program at a one-to-one ratio, unlike the
current industry standard of two-to-one, the company said.

Powered by SmartAge Corp.’s proprietary technology,
LooksmartClicks will “double members’ marketing visibility” by allowing them
to earn banner advertising credits, the company said. Each credit earned
enables members to display their banner ad on another member’s site.

LooksmartClicks’ ad banners will have an integrated, customizable Web search
box built into each banner, allowing visitors to search through categories
that are relevant to the site. Members that place the LooksmartClicks search
box on their site will earn extra banner credits whenever a site visitor uses
the search box.

“LooksmartClicks is a revolutionary concept in banner exchange,” said Evan
Thornley, co-founder and CEO of Looksmart. “Through this program, we are able
to make our high-quality directory available to thousands of Web sites while
helping our members advertise their site offerings free. . .”

Looksmart is an independent portal with 750,000 URLs, editorially reviewed
and categorized. Founded in 1995, Looksmart currently claims more than 8
million page views a day.