Performance marketing is an opportunistic creature. Show it unsold ad inventory and it will devour those ads and return warm leads at better ROI. But give performance marketing artificially high prices and it will turn its back and look elsewhere. As the recession drags on, there's an outstanding opportunity for a range of online and offline media to align with the world of performance.

I read Angie McCloskey's article "Does Transparency In A CPL World Really Solve All Our Problems?" with great interest. After reading the post, I wanted to share my personal experiences to illustrate the value of transparency and openness in enabling advertisers to deploy and scale CPL campaigns effectively.

Transparency seems to be heralded as the next big thing for the CPA/CPL marketplace. But does it really address all of the problems associated with a CPL model: brand control, quality of lead sources, context of offer placement, etc.? I think the issue of transparency brings up a few important questions for both advertisers and publishers alike: 1) Is this scalable? , 2) Is it really possible, given the truth of network models and 3) what specific problem does it really solve for advertisers in this channel?

Dear Performance Marketer: The economic forecast for 2009 looks a lot like what we've already seen in the second half of 2008: pain. Thus, creating marketing initiatives that are both effective and accountable has never been more challenging, yet essential. With this in mind, buckle up and take a look at these 10 guidelines to help improve conversion rates while also strengthening your brand in the new year.

As 2009 takes hold, we've been growing philosophical about the accelerating rate of change in online media brought about by this economy, and its implications for performance marketing. If you're anything like us, you're not succumbing to negativism; you religiously continue to rely on your solid online marketing fundamentals to help moor you through these unprecedented times. And because you have to be, you're more open to new methods and new models than you were before. A pundit recently said: "Survival is the new success." We can all do better than that.

I seek instant gratification. I blame this on my over-zealous, hyperactive, espresso drinking (at least three shots) persona. This is why I am not always impressed with campaigns I launch on Google's Content Network. Sure, the impressions are there -- but where are my conversions? This is why I often recommend that my ecommerce clients look to content campaigns as a branding effort, first, and a sales-generating tool, second.