FAQs for SocialAds
Help ! I can't see the Ads I just created
The Ad is not shown to its creator. If you want to see your Ads you need to login as a user satisfying the targeting of the Ad.
How Does Geo Location Targeting work?
The User's Location is fetched based on their current IP & Ads targeted to that location are shown to him.
How does Social Targeting work?
The login user's profile data is fetched and matched with the Ads database.
What are targeting plugins ?
Targeting plugins allow you to use SocialAds to target using additional parameters or fields not natively supported by SocialAds. Developers can create their own targeting plugins to integrate with their own extensions or custom needs.
How is Estimated reach calculated ?
The fields entered in the targeting fields are searched against the user data and matched users are counted. This is a approximate value & still experimental.
What are promotion plugins?
Promote plugins allow users to promote the content available at your site. Examples are Promote Group, Events etc. Developers can create their own plugins to integrate with their own extensions or custom needs. This is similar to Promote Content on Facebook.
Where can I change the name of the payment gateways?
Go to the plugin manager to the plugins of type "socialads". You just need to change the plugin param "Plugin Name" as per your needs.
Can I Use SocialAds without JomSocial or CB, just as a Ad Management system for Joomla
Yes you can use SocialAds as a standalone with just Joomla.
How can we create Affiliate Ads with SocialAds?
You need to enable the option 'Support Affiliate ads' for the zone in the Zone settings. This will support creating Affiliate ads for that zone.
Now when a administrator goes to the Create Ad view, there is a 'Affiliate ads' option in the Ad Type select box. Selecting that option will let you create Affiliate ads.
Note that End uses are not allowed to do affiliate ads themselves as there is a risk of them posting malicious JavaScript. So we only allow administrator to create affiliate ads.
Why doesn't see "Create an ad" link in module as I turned it on in the module parameters ?
The "Create an ad" link will be shown in the SocialAds type module only when there are Ads shown in the module.
Can we display random ads in the module?
Set the Randomize Ad Display parameter to 'Yes'. Doing this will show a random Ad from the available Ads for the user, on every page load. Additionally if you want to display only a single ad in the module at one time & change it on every refresh, You can set the module to show only 1 Ad.
The Pricing Rates that I have set from the Settings view are not getting Reflected when I buy the ad !
If you have set 'Enable Zone Pricing?' to Yes in the settings view, then the pricing set on a per Zone level will override any pricing in the settings view. If you do not need this feature or want just a single pricing site wide, just set 'Enable Zone Pricing?' to No.
What is the alternative ad option? Is it just for admin?
Alternate Ads can be created by Admins only. The alternate Ads are shown to users if there are no Ads present to show the user
How does slabs work?
Slabs will only affect per day pricing. Slabs let you set promotional per day pricing rates for people who wish to pay by the week or by the month.
If you set Slabs to Yes in the settings view, the slabs will appear in the frontend pricing drop down box. For Instance if your regular Per Day Ad cost is 5$, You can set a weekly cost as 20$ & monthly as 60$.
I cannot see the Select Ad type & Select Zone drop downs on the Create Ad screen
In case you have Only one Zone Published, we hide the Zone & ad type selection boxes for making the flow simpler for end users.
If you wish to use Multiple Zones or Multiple Ad types, you need to have at least one valid, enabled zone for every ad type (ie. media or text or text and media type). By Valid, it means that you need to have at least one SocialAds module published with that zone associated with it.
Is there a way to only let admin insert ads for users?
This feature is not available natively in SocialAds. But the Admin can edit all the Ads from the backend Manage Ads view. If you want to create Ads on behalf of your users, we suggest you use the Master Password Addon available here :
Using this you can login on behalf of your users & create the ads.
Where can I add or edit Terms And Conditions ?
You just need to provide the Article Id of your article in the settings view against 'Terms And Conditions Article Id' config.
Can an Admin user create free/unlimited credits Ads?
Yes. When creating Ad, in the pricing tab there is a checkbox "Admin can create unlimited Ads". checking it will make the Ad with unlimited credits. Note that regular users cannot do this.
What is Orientation in Zone settings?
This is the orientation of Ads in the particular Zone when showing more than one ad in a single module.
ie. if orientation is vertical then, the Ads will be displayed one below the other. if orientation is horizontal then, the Ads will be displayed one besides another.
Do you recommend setting Random to Yes in the SocialAds module ? Does this affect accuracy ?
If you set Random to NO.. Then Targeting is applied very very strictly. Which means that only the most accurate Ad will be shown to the user. The less accurate ads will not be shown at all unless you have more modules configured to that Zone.
We recommend that you set Random to 'Yes'. This is something we are considering making a default setting in SocialAds ..
Randomization does not affect the accuracy at all over a period of time.. Because randomization is only done on the Result set which has returned accurate Ads.
I hate your Ad Styling. How do I add my own custom styles & layouts for the Ads ?
In order to give you full flexibility in styling your ads, We have introduced something called as layout plugins. You can either modify our layout plugins or create your own. Make sure you override when you modify as otherwise you might lose changes when you upgrade! For full details of how to create your own layouts or modify them, read our docs here.
The styling of the Ads is handled via the layout template css files. For every Ad type we have a different layout template. These templates are plugins of type 'socialadslayout'
Layout 1 & Layout 3 are for Text & Image ads. Layout 2 & Layout 4 are for Text Only Ads.. While Layout 5 is a layout for Image ads.
Depending on your Ad's Ad type you need to change the layout.css file of the layout template. You can also override this file.
The css file will be at path (J2.5) yourjoomla/plugins/socialadslayout/plug_yourlayoutname/plug_yourlayoutname/layout.css.
To change the color of the borders you need to change the border styling for the class yourlayoutname_ad_prev_wrap.
Also if you look at the html template file at path (J2.5) yourjoomla/plugins/socialadslayout/plug_yourlayoutname/plug_yourlayoutname/layout.php you will get to know the elements to use for styling.
I need to remove the "I want to advertise something I have on...." link from Create Ad page
You need to disable all the plugins of type "socialadspromote" from the plugin manager
Some kind of code is displaying other than Ads. What do I do?
This is turned on if you enable the debugging option in the SocialAds module. This can be useful to check if the module is showing the correct ads. This is Debug code in module. There is a parameter 'Debug' in SocialAds module. Setting it to 'No' will not show the debug code in the module.
I have installed SocialAds but here is no Admin menu for SocialAds. What can I do ?
This basically happens because if an installation fails, a proper cleanup doesn't occur and the not installed extension's menu entry is left in place.
You need to follow the following steps.
1) Uninstall the component (SocialAds)
2) Execute the following SQL queries using your favorite SQL client
Goto to your site's database and make sure that you change the prefix to your database prefix.
Please run this query first
SELECT *
FROM `#__menu`
WHERE `title` LIKE 'COM_SOCIALADS%'
LIMIT 0 , 30
Second
DELETE
FROM `#__menu`
WHERE `title` LIKE 'COM_SOCIALADS%'
3) Try to install it again.
Help ! I can't see the Ads I just created
The Ad is not shown to its creator. If you want to see your Ads you need to login as a user satisfying the targeting of the Ad.
How Does Geo Location Targeting work?
The User's Location is fetched based on their current IP & Ads targeted to that location are shown to him.
How does Social Targeting work?
The login user's profile data is fetched and matched with the Ads database.
What are targeting plugins ?
Targeting plugins allow you to use SocialAds to target using additional parameters or fields not natively supported by SocialAds. Developers can create their own targeting plugins to integrate with their own extensions or custom needs.
How is Estimated reach calculated ?
The fields entered in the targeting fields are searched against the user data and matched users are counted. This is a approximate value & still experimental.
What are promotion plugins?
Promote plugins allow users to promote the content available at your site. Examples are Promote Group, Events etc. Developers can create their own plugins to integrate with their own extensions or custom needs. This is similar to Promote Content on Facebook.
Where can I change the name of the payment gateways?
Go to the plugin manager to the plugins of type "socialads". You just need to change the plugin param "Plugin Name" as per your needs.
Can I Use SocialAds without JomSocial or CB, just as a Ad Management system for Joomla
Yes you can use SocialAds as a standalone with just Joomla.
How can we create Affiliate Ads with SocialAds?
You need to enable the option 'Support Affiliate ads' for the zone in the Zone settings. This will support creating Affiliate ads for that zone.
Now when a administrator goes to the Create Ad view, there is a 'Affiliate ads' option in the Ad Type select box. Selecting that option will let you create Affiliate ads.
Note that End uses are not allowed to do affiliate ads themselves as there is a risk of them posting malicious JavaScript. So we only allow administrator to create affiliate ads.
Why doesn't see "Create an ad" link in module as I turned it on in the module parameters ?
The "Create an ad" link will be shown in the SocialAds type module only when there are Ads shown in the module.
Can we display random ads in the module?
Set the Randomize Ad Display parameter to 'Yes'. Doing this will show a random Ad from the available Ads for the user, on every page load. Additionally if you want to display only a single ad in the module at one time & change it on every refresh, You can set the module to show only 1 Ad.
The Pricing Rates that I have set from the Settings view are not getting Reflected when I buy the ad !
If you have set 'Enable Zone Pricing?' to Yes in the settings view, then the pricing set on a per Zone level will override any pricing in the settings view. If you do not need this feature or want just a single pricing site wide, just set 'Enable Zone Pricing?' to No.
What is the alternative ad option? Is it just for admin?
Alternate Ads can be created by Admins only. The alternate Ads are shown to users if there are no Ads present to show the user
How does slabs work?
Slabs will only affect per day pricing. Slabs let you set promotional per day pricing rates for people who wish to pay by the week or by the month.
If you set Slabs to Yes in the settings view, the slabs will appear in the frontend pricing drop down box. For Instance if your regular Per Day Ad cost is 5$, You can set a weekly cost as 20$ & monthly as 60$.
I cannot see the Select Ad type & Select Zone drop downs on the Create Ad screen
In case you have Only one Zone Published, we hide the Zone & ad type selection boxes for making the flow simpler for end users.
If you wish to use Multiple Zones or Multiple Ad types, you need to have at least one valid, enabled zone for every ad type (ie. media or text or text and media type). By Valid, it means that you need to have at least one SocialAds module published with that zone associated with it.
Is there a way to only let admin insert ads for users?
This feature is not available natively in SocialAds. But the Admin can edit all the Ads from the backend Manage Ads view. If you want to create Ads on behalf of your users, we suggest you use the Master Password Addon available here :
Using this you can login on behalf of your users & create the ads.
Where can I add or edit Terms And Conditions ?
You just need to provide the Article Id of your article in the settings view against 'Terms And Conditions Article Id' config.
Can an Admin user create free/unlimited credits Ads?
Yes. When creating Ad, in the pricing tab there is a checkbox "Admin can create unlimited Ads". checking it will make the Ad with unlimited credits. Note that regular users cannot do this.
What is Orientation in Zone settings?
This is the orientation of Ads in the particular Zone when showing more than one ad in a single module.
ie. if orientation is vertical then, the Ads will be displayed one below the other. if orientation is horizontal then, the Ads will be displayed one besides another.
Do you recommend setting Random to Yes in the SocialAds module ? Does this affect accuracy ?
If you set Random to NO.. Then Targeting is applied very very strictly. Which means that only the most accurate Ad will be shown to the user. The less accurate ads will not be shown at all unless you have more modules configured to that Zone.
We recommend that you set Random to 'Yes'. This is something we are considering making a default setting in SocialAds ..
Randomization does not affect the accuracy at all over a period of time.. Because randomization is only done on the Result set which has returned accurate Ads.
I hate your Ad Styling. How do I add my own custom styles & layouts for the Ads ?
In order to give you full flexibility in styling your ads, We have introduced something called as layout plugins. You can either modify our layout plugins or create your own. Make sure you override when you modify as otherwise you might lose changes when you upgrade! For full details of how to create your own layouts or modify them, read our docs here.
The styling of the Ads is handled via the layout template css files. For every Ad type we have a different layout template. These templates are plugins of type 'socialadslayout'
Layout 1 & Layout 3 are for Text & Image ads. Layout 2 & Layout 4 are for Text Only Ads.. While Layout 5 is a layout for Image ads.
Depending on your Ad's Ad type you need to change the layout.css file of the layout template. You can also override this file.
The css file will be at path (J2.5) yourjoomla/plugins/socialadslayout/plug_yourlayoutname/plug_yourlayoutname/layout.css.
To change the color of the borders you need to change the border styling for the class yourlayoutname_ad_prev_wrap.
Also if you look at the html template file at path (J2.5) yourjoomla/plugins/socialadslayout/plug_yourlayoutname/plug_yourlayoutname/layout.php you will get to know the elements to use for styling.
I need to remove the "I want to advertise something I have on...." link from Create Ad page
You need to disable all the plugins of type "socialadspromote" from the plugin manager
Some kind of code is displaying other than Ads. What do I do?
This is turned on if you enable the debugging option in the SocialAds module. This can be useful to check if the module is showing the correct ads. This is Debug code in module. There is a parameter 'Debug' in SocialAds module. Setting it to 'No' will not show the debug code in the module.
I have installed SocialAds but here is no Admin menu for SocialAds. What can I do ?
This basically happens because if an installation fails, a proper cleanup doesn't occur and the not installed extension's menu entry is left in place.
You need to follow the following steps.
1) Uninstall the component (SocialAds)
2) Execute the following SQL queries using your favorite SQL client
Goto to your site's database and make sure that you change the prefix to your database prefix.
Please run this query first
SELECT *
FROM `#__menu`
WHERE `title` LIKE 'COM_SOCIALADS%'
LIMIT 0 , 30
Second
DELETE
FROM `#__menu`
WHERE `title` LIKE 'COM_SOCIALADS%'
3) Try to install it again.