Web businesses use application programming interfaces (APIs) for all sorts of things, depending on their unique needs and the demands of their customers. These interfaces allow website developers to easily migrate their software to different platforms, support multiple operating system versions and offer more functionality than system calls.
APIs cover a wide range of categories and can provide routines, protocols and tools for everything from back-end modifications and payment processors to blogs and social media; in other words, APIs cover a lot of ground. Any Web professional could probably find one that will enhance his or her business.
However, because of the sheer number of competitors out there (a figure that grows on a daily basis), no company can be successful in today's online environment without advertising. It doesn't really matter what they do or which industry they operate in, at some point, they're going to need to get their name in front of interested consumers.
Well, there's an API for that! Keep reading to learn about eight awesome advertising APIs that each uniquely help Web businesses reach out to consumers on the 'Net.
Smadex
The mobile advertising service Smadex allows advertisers and publishers to put their ads into mobile apps and content. This API lets developers access Smadex functionality and then integrate it into other applications, which includes integrating ads into content, retrieving ad information and managing account information.
Ad Server Solutions
Not surprisingly, Ad Server Solutions gives publisher, advertisers, agencies and networks ad serving solutions, as well as an integrated platform for advertising campaign management. This allows users to plan, buy, optimize and analyze their campaigns from within a single platform.
Enthuse
It seems like one of the best ways to lure in consumers on the Web these days is to reward them for just paying attention to you, which is why gamification services have become so popular over the last few years. One such "fan loyalty" service is Enthuse, which allows brands, teams and companies to reward their fans with prizes and offer them exclusive promotions. Now you can cash in on this trend with the Enthuse API, which gives developer access to integrate Enthuse functionality with other applications.
Voodoo.com Domain Parking
With Voodoo.com, Web pros can make money off their domains, as the platform helps them manage their domain portfolios and optimize their domains to display relevant landing pages and advertising. The platform provides an assortment of tools, such as an ad provider, one- and two-click landers, customizable layouts and this API, which is free and provides access to all of Voodoo.com's functionality.
SodaHead
If you're unfamiliar with SodaHead, it's an opinion-based online social community platform that aggregates online news stories and events for users, in addition to a providing a polling platform and methods for marketers to reach out to its user base. The API gives up access to single polls, multiple polls and the ability to cast a vote by Poll ID and/or Answer ID.
Sendori
Sendori makes it possible to selectively reroute URLs that have been directly entered into an address bar by catching common typos or URL variants and sending the user to their desired site. Not only does this help webmasters ensure that users land on their site, but it also protects consumers from potential malware attacks. By using URL rerouting for a specific advertising campaign, publishers and marketers can send traffic to their intended promotional messages, thus increasing the value of their paid advertising efforts. Sendori's API supports targeted ad campaigns and the ability to manage traffic sent to campaign-specific URLs, as well as supporting the grouping of separate ads for common management. That's not all though, as this feature-rich API also provides thorough reports on ad performance and related traffic and various administrative functions (e.g. budgeting advertising expenses).
PosterOven
Not the most visually creative person in the world? That's fine, because you don't have to be with PosterOven, which provides multiple templates and designs that help users create their own PDF posters using their social media information or QR codes. The API lets developers integrate this functionality into existing applications, allowing users to populate templates, create and display posters.
InviteBox
InviteBox is a neat and easy way for online businesses to design and launch social referral programs, allowing them to immediately reward customers for sharing their site via various social channels after reaching a specific sharing goal with coupons, promo codes, download files, access to "locked" features or any other customizable treat that they can come up with. They can even set up promotional contests that have customers compete to get the most referrals. Using this JavaScript API, users can create their own customized rewards and reward conditions, and the Reward callback API can issue server-to-server calls when customers make posts to social channels, when referrals visit their site or when someone completes a referral goal.