Advertising & Sponsorship Of OurLosBanos.com:
If you have found this site interesting or helpful it is certainly a possibility that your potential customers will as well. That being the case you might want to help to sponsor this site and gain the notice of some of those potential customers.

OurLosBanos.com is not a site that was designed to turn us into advertising millionaires. This website truly is a labor of love and we use the money mostly for the server, the bandwidth and what little advertising of OurLosBanos.com we can afford (mostly fliers at this point). (By the way we would love to be linked to your site if you have one.)

Having said that, we are very pleased when companies in the Los Banos community help with sponsorship advertising. Rates are very reasonable since this is not how we make our family income. We also do consider bartering advertising for goods or services that we need. Be aware that ALL barter transactions are claimed on our taxes and we would cooperate fully with any tax investigation. Everything is ON THE BOOKS.

For more traditional arrangements and info on the types of ad opportunities on OurLosBanos.com please read on.

Advertising Spaces We Offer:
Advertisement is done in the form of 'button ads' similar to the ones that you see on the right side of your screen. These ads link to another internal webpage and from there they automatically send visitors to YOUR website. If you do not have a website that is not a problem because we are willing to place your contact number and a paragraph or two about your company on a webpage here and link your ad button to that. This would of course likely also include other contact information for you such as a physical address or telephone number.

The button size we use is shown below:

This 160 x 123 size ad button is used on this website

In addition to being seen on the informational section of this website you will also be seen on nearly all forum display pages of OurLosBanos.com.

Finally if the price was really right or for VERY special activities we have the option of using the white space to the right of the horses bridle (484x57 pixels) for a large banner ad. This would NOT be a deal because it would kind of ruin the look of the site but for a special enough activity, or for a very high price (don't you love how blunt we are) this banner could be placed.

We work with our advertisers to produce buttons that look good for the OurLosBanos.com site and are at the same time pleasing to the client. So, if you do not have artwork already designed, do not despair! As part of the cost of placing your ad we can probably have our artist put a nice linking button together for you at no extra charge!

General OurLosBanos.com Information

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Let me tell you a bit more behind the scenes information about the OurLosBanos.com story as it has unfolded in the last 12 months.

OurLosBanos.com has really taken me by surprise and it has done far better than my wildest dreams. We are getting great numbers of page-views every day, we are very, very high on Google (search engine) for some outstanding keywords, and most importantly we have been VERY, VERY well received by the public.

While I still do not release exact numbers of page-views, I must say I am floored by how popular the site has become. People seeking all sorts of information on Los Banos flock to the site from Google, from word of mouth, from other search engines and from the fliers that we have put out and continue to distribute all over town.

We also regularly set up an info booth at events such as the Henry Miller Wild West Weekend. We have been asked to appear at the Kiwanis Club and speak about the site. We have been asked to join the Chamber of Commerce and attend the mixers and more! We accepted most of these kind offers and have had a wonderful time.

Our forums are one of the great surprises too. The OurLosBanos.com forums have grown incredibly and for every participant there are many, many other readers. The original kick that got the forums started was the election but the forums actually have picked up steam exponentially since then and by the end of this quarter we will see our 60 THOUSANDTH post by our members! This area where members of the community both new and native come to speak their minds is a great place where people have made friends, and helped persons getting ready to move into town. I could go on and on about the forums, the camaraderie, and the great dissemination of information that occurs there but I will move on.

Another positive piece of growth for OurLosBanos.com has been the main site. The initial sections on recreation, Los Banos calendar of events, restaurant reviews, education, homeschool resources, maps, weather, resources, and more have all grown. We have put a lot of hours and effort into expanding the site for those existing sections but we have also ADDED several exciting brand new sections such as our downtown shopping guide, a guide to churches in Los Banos, and more. The 'main site' as we call it (as opposed to the forums) brings in incredible numbers of people searching for everything you can imagine. We receive hundreds of hits a day from web searches alone.

This year we plan on expanding even further and the site remains a true labor of love that we have put thousands of hours into.

Advertising Costs:

Advertising on this site is reasonably priced for what we offer. Our pricing model is extremely competitive with other media that provides advertisers with a nicely targeted audience of people specifically interested in Los Banos. It appears that OurLosBanos.com this site will be extremely popular with homeowners and families with children. We also see a lot of homeschooling families using the site. We expect that there will be continue to be quite a following with the silicon valley commuter set because OurLosBanos.com naturally caters to the online crowd.

We do not publish our rate sheet online. Please contact us and we will meet with you personally to determine if advertising here would make for a mutually helpful business relationship.

What We DON'T Do
We are not a print advertiser. If you are looking for print ads publications, circulars, or other such needs go ahead and contact us or contact one of the local Los Banos Newpapers and print publications.

Politics:
We do not play games with advertising. We do not give priority or 'veto power' to one advertiser over another. We do not make 'exclusive' deals whereby only one kind of business or politician can lay claim to all ad button space on our pages (unless of course they wish to buy all of our open button slots). That is to say that if one widget sales company advertises here we will not guarantee that widget sales company two will be excluded. The "first come first served" mentality is generally in play here and we are proud of the fact that we do not select advertisers based on their relationships with (or animosity to) one another.

BARTERING for advertising may be available too:
We also consider bartering for advertising. Be aware that ALL barter transactions are claimed on our taxes and we would cooperate fully with any tax investigation. Everything is to be ON THE BOOKS, LEGAL, and ABOVEBOARD.

If you are interested in advertising in Los Banos California and would like an advertisement on this site please contact us. We would love to have your ad button grace our pages!

Fraud Prevention-
Potential Advertisers Please Note:

If you are unsure if you are dealing with a member of our staff read the following:

1) We always meet face to face with all potential advertisers. The ONLY exception to this is when an potential advertiser requests otherwise. You will meet with Charles Guest ASK for my driver's license as proof of ID.

2) We NEVER accept advertising money in advance of actually posting your advertisement on the site. Payment for advertising on this site is collected only AFTER the graphics have been created and the button and links appear on the Our Los Banos website. We will not ask for and probably will not accept advertising money before the graphics and links are posted - ever.

3) Advertising checks are made out to our company or to me personally. Again ask for my CDL.

4) We will never ask you to advertise with us in conjunction with a review. If after we do a review you approach us we will consider putting your ad on our site. But after writing a review of your establishment we consider it borderline inappropriate for us to approach YOU. You are welcome to approach us if you like.

5) For those who want advertising on this site please be aware that it will in NO WAY affect our reviews either positively or negatively of your establishment. Please do not ask. We can not be bought and hence those claiming to give you advertising here for a good review can immediately be flagged as frauds.

6) Anybody doing anything different than outlined above is not connected with Our Los Banos .com and should be considered a liar and a fraud.

If someone does claim to be from Our Los Banos .com and asks for ANYTHING that deviates from the above consider them highly suspect and demand government issued proof of their identity and proof of their connection to OurLosBanos.com. If they refuse or can not easily produce it on the spot you should consider calling the Los Banos Police.

If someone does claim to be from Our Los Banos .com and asks for ANYTHING from you having to do with a review, (with the exception of a copy of your menu) we suggest that you consider calling the Los Banos Police Department and report the fraud reviewer as they may well be attempting to scam you or steal from your establishment.