What does this mean and what do I do next?
I'm glad you asked. Here are five steps to using networks and ensuring the experience is painless and ROI-filled.

1. Comparison shop. No two networks are alike, and knowing the difference between them is advantageous to the simplicity and productivity of the relationship.
2. Interview networks heavily before using them, and be sure to ask for case study or technical proof of what they say is possible.
3. Set ground rules and expectations with both the network and your client before the campaign begins. Many clients want to know which sites are performing best during the buy, which is generally pretty tough to know since if you knew this you likely wouldn't need the network any more. Knowing what you will and won't get in terms of results and reporting up front is critical to being satisfied with your network partnership.
4. If you haven't run a particular product across an entire network, do this first and demand the learnings be leveraged to increase performance during the first campaign and held over to future campaigns.
5. Know what criteria or parameters for your campaign are actually required and which are assumed to be right. "I only want my ads to appear on travel sites because I'm an airline" isn't a requirement, it's an assumption -- and a bad one at that. Once you've broken free from assumptions and limited your parameters only to true requirements you'll be amazed at how well your campaign can perform.

Good luck, and feel free to email me directly at jay at goodwaygroup dot com if you'd like further elaboration on any of these issues!

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Jay Friedman is president of and co-founder of Goodway 2.0. Read full bio.