WB Ad Manager integrates natively with BuddyPress and bbPress, giving you dedicated ad placements inside activity streams, member profiles, forum listings, and topic threads. If you run a community site, you can monetize your social pages the same way you monetize the rest of your site — with full rotation, targeting, and tracking support.
Requirements
- BuddyPress or bbPress must be installed and activated
- The corresponding module must be enabled in WB Ad Manager -> Settings -> Modules
To confirm the integrations are active:
1. Go to WB Ad Manager -> Settings -> Modules
2. Make sure BuddyPress Integration and/or bbPress Integration are enabled
3. Click Save Changes if you make any changes
BuddyPress Integration
Available Placements
| Placement | Where the Ad Appears |
|---|---|
| BuddyPress Activity | Injected between items in the main activity stream |
| BuddyPress Profile | Shown on member profile pages |
These placements appear in the Placements panel when editing any ad. Check the placement you want and save the ad.
Activity Stream Ads
Activity stream ads appear between activity updates in the BuddyPress activity feed — similar to how promoted posts appear in a social media feed. The ad rotates based on your zone’s rotation settings, so you can assign multiple ads to the same placement and let WB Ad Manager cycle through them.
Recommended use cases:
– Promote a site-wide membership upgrade to all community members
– Show sponsor banners to visitors browsing the activity stream
– Feature a community event or announcement between activity items
Member Profile Ads
Profile ads display on individual member profile pages. These are useful for targeted promotions that make sense in the context of a member’s public profile — for example, an upgrade offer to grow their profile features, or a relevant sponsor banner.
bbPress Integration
Available Placements
| Placement | Where the Ad Appears |
|---|---|
| bbPress Forum | In forum index and forum listing pages |
| bbPress Topic | Inside individual topic thread pages |
Dedicated bbPress Widgets
WB Ad Manager adds two bbPress-specific widgets to your WordPress widget areas.
WBAM: bbPress Forum Ad Widget
Shows an ad on bbPress pages. You can control exactly which bbPress context it appears in.
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Title | Optional label shown above the widget |
| Select Ad | Choose a specific ad to display |
| Show On | All bbPress pages, Forum pages only, or Topic pages only |
WBAM: bbPress Topic Sidebar Ad Widget
Shows an ad in the sidebar only when a visitor is reading a specific forum topic. This is ideal for topic-relevant advertising.
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Title | Optional label shown above the widget |
| Select Ad | Choose the ad to display |
The topic sidebar widget only activates on single topic pages, so it will not clutter the main forum listing.
To use either widget:
1. Go to Appearance -> Widgets
2. Find the WBAM widget you want
3. Drag it to your bbPress sidebar or footer widget area
4. Configure the settings and click Save
Tips for Community Ad Placement
Keep ads relevant to your community. Ads that match the interests of your members perform significantly better than generic banner ads. If your forum is about photography, show photography equipment ads rather than unrelated promotions.
Avoid overloading community pages. Activity streams and forum threads are content-heavy. Limit yourself to one or two ad placements per page to preserve the user experience.
Use targeting to reach the right members. Combine BuddyPress and bbPress placements with WB Ad Manager’s targeting rules to show ads only to logged-in members, specific user roles, or visitors from particular locations.
Test on mobile. Community sites often have high mobile usage. Preview your ad placements on a phone to confirm they display cleanly inside the activity feed and forum threads.
Related Settings
These settings in WB Ad Manager -> Settings affect BuddyPress and bbPress integration:
Modules Tab:
| Module | What It Controls |
|---|---|
| BuddyPress Integration | Enable/disable BuddyPress placements |
| bbPress Integration | Enable/disable bbPress placements |
Related Guides
- 14+ Placement Options — Full list of placement types
- Smart Targeting — Refine who sees community ads
- Analytics & Tracking — Track community ad performance