9rules Paves Way for Blog Ad Network

Independent blog network 9rules has reorganized its member sites into vertical communities, paving the way for its upcoming blog ad network.

The new organizational structure, dubbed 9rules Communities, sorts the more than 120 sites in its 7-month-old network into 30 categories, with more sites and categories being added daily, according to Paul Scrivens, president and CEO of 9rules Inc.

“Our framework allows for a number of possibilities, but most importantly it is helping us lead into the ad network that we will be launching this year for our member sites,” Scrivens told ClickZ News. “In everything we do, we have our members and readers in mind first and foremost. These changes will make the 9rules Network even more useful for our readers. For advertisers what this will mean is targeted advertising on a number of blogs that they can count on being high-quality.”

Member sites are independent blogs that have had success prior to joining the network. Some are established business-to-business blogs, such as Om Malik’s GigaOm and Paul Boag’s BoagWorld. Others are consumer-focused, like the entertainment group blog Crap Filter, or the Washington, D.C., city guide Mudsugar.

All of the sites can be accessed via the homepage, or by browsing sites and recent posts within each topic. Community leaders also choose content from their categories to highlight content in that niche. Once the ad network launches, advertisers will be able to buy ads across a category, on specific sites, and on category pages on the 9rules site and search results, Scrivens said.

The ad network is currently in development, and is expected to launch in coming months. Scrivens declined to specify a time frame, other than “as soon as possible,” but stressed that the quality of the offering would override a premature release date.

“It was important for us to start with a solid foundation and work on what is most important to us now: readers and writers,” Scrivens said. “If we could get everything right with them, we had a good feeling the money would follow. We believe we have achieved a lot of our goals on this front, now we can begin to move forward helping our members make money, and hopefully take the guesswork away from advertisers looking to break into blog advertising.”