I know in concept how ad networks and the ppm pricing work - but I'm nervous. Who can I talk to -- highly unbiased -- that knows this subject inside out so I can pick the right service provider. Co-op would be one of the many options but which one's best? We're a small company. Our expertise is seo and paid and that's it. We sell giant SKU list of mid-high priced baked products direct to consumer, with a fast growing health and critical diet food category. I figure if we show to dairy-free researchers on web-md we'd do well since this category of food is brutal to find in stores and the web. We can attack the market by must-need (eg wheat-free) and lifestyle preferences (eg multi-grain). We wont always get the consumer at the moment he wants to buy (unlike search) but worthwhile associations could be made.
You should try using Google Adwords. There are some useful features on it that could help you. And with a limited budget you could still do really well with it. You could just create a campaign, with 2 ads per item/service with some solid keywords. You could use the google content network if you know how to optimize your campaign for it, otherwise your ctr will drop quickly. Then its just a matter of testing and repeating. There are some other tricks to it of course. I hoped this helped.