Advertisers

User guide, chapter 1: what this service is

This chapter describes only what the site offers as an overview. More chapters are added as each stage is finished, and each describes only what exists.

What the service is

The Advertisers section lets businesses and people advertise on this site without going through a salesperson. When it is finished you will open an account, design your advert, choose where it is shown, see the price, pay and follow the results yourself.

The three channels

• Google ads, served by Google.
• Advertiser campaigns, paid for by advertisers.
• Promotional overlays, clearly labelled and closable.

Honest limits

• Location targeting is approximate.
• Google decides which Google ads appear.
• The video guide has not been recorded yet. Only the written guide exists.

How to find your way

Buttons for every finished stage appear at the top of the Advertisers page. Below them, "Available now" shows finished stages and "What is coming" shows the rest. Inside a page, use Back to return to the Advertisers page and Home to go to the front page of the site.

Open the Advertising overview

User guide, chapter 2: your advertiser account and dashboard

This chapter describes only what exists today: an account, your details and draft campaigns. You still cannot design an advert, pay or publish.

Step 1: sign in

Press "My advertiser account" at the top of the Advertisers page. If you are not signed in, press "Log in to continue". Sign-in is the normal sign-in of this site. If you have no site account, use "Create a site account" when it is offered.

Step 2: create your advertiser account

Fill in your business or brand name, the contact person, email and phone. A Kenyan number such as 0712 345 678 is stored as +254712345678. A website is optional. Press "Create my advertiser account".

Step 3: make a campaign draft

Press "My campaigns", type a name, add private notes if you like, and press "Save as draft". A draft is shown to nobody and costs nothing.

Step 4: change, archive or restore

Open a campaign from the list to change its name or notes, or to archive it. Archived campaigns can be restored as drafts. Only you can see your own campaigns.

If something goes wrong

• A red message above the form says what to fix; your answers are kept.
• If your account is suspended by the site, you can read your details but not change them. Contact the site.
• There is a limit on open campaigns; archive one you no longer need.

User guide, chapter 3: designing and previewing your advert

This chapter describes only what exists today: designing adverts inside a draft campaign, uploading a picture and previewing. Nothing is shown to the public yet, and payment and publishing arrive in later stages.

Step 1: open a campaign

Press "New campaign" at the top to make a draft (or open one from "My campaigns"). Under "Adverts in this campaign" press "New advert".

Step 2: choose a format and a layout

Formats: Wide banner (1200 x 300 pixels), Square (600 x 600) and Tall (600 x 900). Layouts: picture only, picture with text, or text only.

Step 3: write the words

Headline up to 60 characters, text up to 150, button text up to 25 (empty means "Learn more"). Give the full address people go to, starting with https://. Describe the picture in a few words for people who cannot see it.

Step 4: upload a picture

JPEG, PNG or WebP only, within the size limit shown on the form, with the same shape as the format you chose (a larger picture of the same shape is fine). The picture is checked and saved again by the site, so it may look slightly different in file size. Animated pictures, SVG and other file types are refused.

Step 5: preview, change, delete

Press "Preview" to see the advert on a small phone and in a wider column, with the word "Sponsored" on it. The button does nothing in a preview. You can edit or delete an advert while its campaign is a draft.

If something goes wrong

• A red message under the picture field tells you what is wrong with the file; your other answers are kept, but you must choose the file again.
• There is a limit on adverts per campaign.
• An archived campaign cannot be changed until you restore it.

User guide, chapter 4: choosing places and age groups

This chapter describes only what exists today: choosing places and age groups for a draft campaign, and the optional age group a visitor can share. Nothing is shown to the public yet, so nothing is targeted in real life yet; the choices are saved and tested.

Step 1: open the campaign

Open a draft campaign and press "Choose places and age groups".

Step 2: choose places

Next to each place choose Include or Exclude, or leave it as "Not chosen". Include nothing and the advert is for everywhere. Excluded places always win. Use the search box to find a place; your earlier choices are kept. The list of places is the one loaded by the site owner, and its label is shown.

Step 3: choose age groups

Tick the adult age groups the advert is for, or tick none to reach all adults. The site does not guess ages: only visitors who chose to share an age group can be matched, so a chosen age group reaches fewer people.

Step 4: the "not known" choices

If a visitor's place or age group is not known, a limited advert is not shown. You can tick a box to also show it in that case, which widens your reach. Visitors who said they are under 18 are never shown an advert for chosen age groups.

Step 5: save, and read your summary

Press "Save places and age groups". The campaign page then shows one sentence such as "Shown in Nairobi, to ages 25 to 34 and 35 to 44."

For visitors: your age group

On "Regions and age groups" a signed-in visitor can share an age group. It is optional, needs a tick to agree, can be changed or removed at any time and only the age group is kept. It is never given to Google or shown to advertisers.

If something goes wrong

• If no list of places is loaded, only age groups can be chosen.
• Place detection is approximate (VPNs, mobile networks, roaming). A narrow target is never widened without your tick.
• An archived campaign cannot be changed until you restore it.

User guide, chapter 5: prices and quotes

This chapter describes only what exists today: seeing a price for a draft campaign and keeping it as a quote. A quote is a price, not a payment: nothing is charged and nothing is shown to the public yet. Payment is described in chapter 6.

Step 1: get ready

The campaign must be a draft and have at least one advert. Choose places and age groups first if you want them priced. If the site has not set its prices yet, quotes are not available and the page says so.

Optional: placements and spending limits

If the site prices by placement, tick where your adverts should run under "Where your adverts appear" on the campaign page; you need at least one before you can get a quote. Under "Spending limit for this campaign" you can set the most that campaign may cost; a quote above it is refused. On "My quotes" you can set a limit for your whole account: your accepted quotes plus a new one may not go above it. Leave a limit box empty for no limit.

Step 2: open "Get a quote"

On the campaign page, under "Price and quote", press "Get a quote". The page lists what is priced: your adverts, places and age groups.

Step 3: choose the number of days

Type the number of days and press "Show the price". The table shows every line and the total to pay. You can try different numbers of days; nothing is saved yet.

How the price is worked out

• Each advert is charged its format's price for every day.
• If the site prices by placement, each advert is charged once for every placement you choose, at that placement's percentage of the standard price.
• Each place you include is charged per day, at the price set for that place or else the price for its level. If you include a region, the cities inside it are already covered and are not charged again. Excluded places are free.
• Choosing some (not all) age groups adds a percentage.
• Longer bookings can earn a discount, then tax is added.

Prices have not been set yet by the site.

You cannot be charged twice for the same area: if you include a region, the cities inside it are not charged again.

Step 4: save the quote

Press "Save this as a quote". The site works the price out again by itself; the page only sends the campaign and the number of days. A newer quote for the same campaign replaces the older open one. An open quote is valid for the number of days the site shows.

Step 5: accept the quote

Open the quote and press "Accept this quote". This records the price; it does not charge you. After it is accepted its price and lines never change. If the campaign or the site's price list changes before you accept, the quote is refused and you can get a new one.

If something goes wrong

• "Add at least one advert": a quote needs an advert to price.
• "Prices have not been set yet": the site must set its prices first.
• An archived campaign cannot be quoted until you restore it.
• "Choose at least one place": the site prices by placement, so tick at least one on the campaign page.
• "Above the spending limit": raise the limit or change the campaign.
• All prices are in one currency. There is no currency conversion.

User guide, chapter 6: checkout and receipts

This chapter describes only what exists today. Payment is in TEST MODE: the site talks to the test services of M-Pesa and PayPal, so no real money moves. Nothing is shown to the public yet.

Step 1: accept a quote

Open the quote and press "Accept this quote". Under "Payment" you will then see "Pay for this quote", if the site has switched payment on.

Step 2: choose how to pay

Choose M-Pesa or PayPal. M-Pesa takes whole shillings only, so the amount is rounded to the nearest shilling and the page shows the exact amount. PayPal charges in US dollars: the page shows the amount and the rate used (shillings per dollar), and the same rate is saved on your payment.

Step 3: pay

For M-Pesa, type your phone number, press "Start payment", then enter your PIN on your phone. For PayPal you are taken to PayPal to approve and then brought back. Press "Check now" on the payment page to see the latest status. Pressing the button twice never charges you twice.

Step 4: receipt and locking

When the money is confirmed, the payment shows "Paid" with a receipt number, an email receipt is sent, and the campaign is locked: its adverts, places and details cannot be changed. Find all your payments under "My payments".

Refunds

Only the site can refund a payment, normally before the campaign goes live. A full refund unlocks the campaign as a draft.

If something goes wrong

• "Timed out" or "Not paid": no money was taken. Try again from the quote.
• "Needs a staff check": something arrived that did not match (a different amount, or a second payment). It was set aside; contact the site with your reference.
• If the quote or the campaign changed after you accepted, the quote cannot be paid. Get a new quote.

User guide, chapter 7: campaign control

This chapter describes only what exists today. Payments are test payments. Adverts are shown on the site only when the site owner has switched that on (see chapter 8). Here you learn how a paid campaign moves from review to live, and how to pause, resume, remove, restore and renew it.

Step 1: after you pay, the site team reviews

When your payment is confirmed the campaign shows "Paid, waiting for review". The team checks your adverts. You get an email when it is approved or not approved. If it is not approved you read the reason on the campaign page and you are refunded in full.

Step 2: start it now, or choose a date

An approved campaign is not live yet. Press "Start now", or choose a start date and time in your site time and press "Set the start date". You can clear the date again. Your paid days start counting only when the campaign is live.

Step 3: pause and resume

Press "Pause" and confirm. A paused campaign is not shown and does not use your days. Press "Resume" to go live again. A paused campaign keeps its unused days only for the time shown on the page; after that it ends.

Step 4: remove and restore

Press "Remove" and confirm. Nothing is deleted. You can restore the campaign for a limited time; it comes back paused and you press Resume. If the site suspended the campaign, removing and restoring it does not lift the suspension.

Step 5: renew

Press "Renew (add days)" and confirm. You then get a quote, accept it and pay, just as the first time. The days are added when the payment is confirmed. A renewed campaign is not reviewed again.

How your paid days work

• Paid days are used only while your campaign is live. Time spent waiting for review, approved but not started, paused or removed does not use them up.
• You can pause as often as you like. A paused or removed campaign keeps its unused days for 90 days from the moment it stopped being live. After that the campaign ends and the unused days are not carried on. A refund is then a decision of the site team.
• You can restore a removed campaign within 30 days. It comes back paused and you press Resume when you are ready.
• If the site suspends a campaign, it is not shown and your days stop counting until the suspension is lifted. Removing and restoring a campaign never lifts a suspension.
• Renewing adds days. When nothing in the campaign has changed it is not reviewed again.
• A full refund before the campaign has gone live makes it a draft again. After it has gone live, a full refund ends the campaign. A part refund does not change your days.

If something goes wrong

• "Suspended by the site": the campaign is not shown and your days are not counting. The reason is on the campaign page. Contact the site.
• "Ended": all the paid days were used, or the campaign stayed paused too long. Renew it to add days.
• Pressing a button twice never does a step twice.

User guide, chapter 8: where adverts appear

This chapter describes only what exists today. Payments are still test payments. Adverts are shown on the site only when the site owner has switched showing adverts on.

Step 1: what gets shown

Only a campaign that was paid for, approved, started by you, that still has paid days and is not suspended. A paused, ended, removed or suspended campaign is never shown. Every advert is marked "Sponsored".

Step 2: who sees it

Only visitors who match the places and age groups you chose. When a visitor's place or age group is not known, they see your advert only if you allowed that. People who said they are under 18 never see adverts aimed at age groups.

Step 3: where it appears

Open your campaign and press "Where my adverts appear". You see the placements you chose, whether space is held for you, whether the campaign can be shown now, and how each advert looks. The site team approves a campaign only when there is space in every placement it chose.

Step 4: turns and limits

Adverts in the same placement take turns; a campaign with a higher priority from the site team gets more turns. A page shows only a few adverts and never the same advert or campaign twice. The same advert is shown to one visitor only a limited number of times a day; this is counted in the visitor's own browser.

If your advert is not shown

• The campaign page says why it cannot be shown now (for example paused, suspended or no paid days left).
• Showing adverts may be switched off for now. The page "Adverts on the site" says so.
• A visitor outside your chosen places or age groups does not see it; that is how targeting works.

User guide, chapter 9: pop-up adverts (overlays)

This chapter describes only what exists today. Payments are still test payments. Pop-up adverts are shown only when the site owner has switched them on.

Step 1: choose a pop-up placement

The site team marks some placements as pop-ups. When you tick such a placement for your campaign, your advert is shown as a pop-up. It is priced like any other placement and needs space like any other placement.

Step 2: know the rules

Open "Promotional overlays" on the Advertisers page. It lists when a pop-up appears (after a short wait, at most a few times a day, never again for a while after the visitor closed it) and on which pages and devices.

Step 3: what it always has and never does

It is labelled "Advertisement", has a clear Close button, closes with the Escape key and works with a keyboard and a screen reader. It never opens a new window or hides behind the page, never fakes or hides the Close button, never starts a download or plays sound, and is never shown on the Advertisers page, to a visitor under 18, or when your campaign is not live, approved, paid and unsuspended.

If your pop-up is not shown

• Open "Where my adverts appear" on your campaign: it says whether the campaign can be shown now and why not.
• Pop-ups may be switched off on the site; the pop-up rules page says so.
• A visitor who closed a pop-up, or has seen enough today, does not see another; that protects visitors.