However, ad spending in western markets like Western Europe, North America, and the MENA region stand robust in the face of this turndown. Their growth forecasts for this year have not changed. This is because these regions have the strongest economies and consumer spending. Advertisers are more mindful of the channels they are investing in to ensure they have maximum returns on their investment. Last year, there was a huge growth in digital advertising in Europe. It touched $92 billion, growing by almost 30.5%. This year, it is estimated to grow just by 10.1%. Several platforms like Snapchat and Google have already forecasted that their advertising revenue will grow more slowly for the next two years. 

The Impact of Digital Endemics 

The growth of digital advertising in the last couple of years was mostly because of the “digital endemic” businesses that are now slowing down. This is due to high ad prices on Facebook, supply chain disruptions, high shipping costs, and the explosion of customers wanting to buy more from physical stores than online. These digital endemic businesses that contributed to the growth of digital marketing in the past are not growing at the same scale as they did during the pandemic. Additionally, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has increased market uncertainty. 

People are keen to go out and spend; however, marketers have to constantly pivot to meet the demands of customers. This means addressing and revisiting the fundamental questions of whether their value is still relevant to the changing consumer needs and financial pressures. 

The Case of Buzzfeed

Buzzfeed reported flat revenue in Q3 as it struggles with advertiser uncertainty and a drop in user engagement. The advertiser revenue was $50 million, the same as its Q3 revenue last year. The rate of revenue growth decelerated as compared to Q2 due to the uncertainty of consumer demand and continued price compression. Data suggests that the time spent across third-party platforms and properties owned and operated by the publisher has decreased by 32% YoY to just 151 million hours. This is because of declining traffic on Facebook videos, as there is an increasing interest in short-form vertical video formats. For Buzzfeed, the advertisement revenue from content monetization platforms like Facebook accounted for 20% of its revenue. Buzzfeed saw an increase in ad spending from travel verticals and financial services.

Even though most of Buzzfeed’s larger advertisers are renewing at the rate of 90%, their spending has reduced. Many techs, consumer service, retail, and telco advertisers are spending less than what they did last year. Sponsored content, the biggest source of Buzzfeed revenue, was up by 45% YoY, accounting for $38.4 million. This included revenue from short-form and long-form video content. However, the revenue from sponsored content slowed down as compared to Q2 due to constraints on ad budgets. Despite this, Buzzfeed remains bullish about its vertical short-form video offerings as the interest in vertical videos increases. This quarter Buzzfeed published 5,000 videos across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube shorts. This number is twice what it was last year. Vertical video content views have grown by 60% when compared to Q2. The time for Q3 (151 million hours) does not include the time spent on TikTok and Instagram reels.

Customer spending during the holiday season and inflation are the two leading reasons for advertiser uncertainty. As such, they are looking to transact for shorter cycles and maintain flexibility in their budget. A lot of advertising partners are just looking at how the economy will play out. As the current market does not seem too great, companies need to prepare for further deterioration.

As demonstrated above, advertiser uncertainty in the current market has led to flat revenue growth. As the world comes out of the pandemic, customer behavior is changing and businesses are evolving. This has led to an increase in advertiser skepticism and uncertainty about where and how to invest.

As experts in the programmatic advertising market, Publir offers a one-of-a-kind unified platform specifically built to maximize earnings for digital content creators. We provide complete solutions for Ad Optimization, AdBlock Recovery, Subscriptions, and Crowdfunding. Curious about ad optimization? Visit us here or email us at sales@publir.com to get started today.

The post Advertiser Uncertainty Stunting Ad Revenue Growth first appeared on Publir.

Top 10 Questions for Publishers

Here is a list of top questions a publisher should ask their advertisers to assist you to save time and increase your success. 

1. What added value do you bring to my company?

This should be the very first question posed since it is, without a doubt, the most significant. It’s critical to understand how your ad partner (or any other partner, for that matter) can help you as a publisher. You must be aware of their objectives and mission in order to improve your life. It’s critical for an ad partner to understand that their clients spend half of their time building their website and the other half monetizing it. As a result, their solution must be adequately managed. They must be able to assist publishers in better monetizing their websites so that they can devote their time and resources to generating new content or improving the user experience.

2. What sets you apart from other advertising networks? 

There are ad partners that are just concerned with their own bottom line. They increase sales for publishers in order to satisfy their shareholders. While it is simple for a firm to claim that they operate in the best interests of their customers, it is also crucial to understand what sets them apart from other ad tech partners.

3. Does collaborating with this ad partner help me achieve my long-term objectives? 

It’s critical to understand how you want your ad partner to represent your website. One thing to consider is whether or not the ad partner can effectively represent your website. There must be systems that allow you to log in and manage your own inventory; we believe this is an essential feature for publishers since it gives them control over their long-term objectives.

4. How might an Ad Network assist me in increasing revenue as a Publisher? 

Publishers should figure out why they’re joining a new ad network. They should think about the possible earnings they could make from an ad network. As a background check, publishers could look at the Ad Networks’ client list. Publishers should also look into payment arrangements.

5. Asking the ad network whether there is a fixed CPM? 

Working on a set CPM price model will be beneficial to a Publisher in terms of determining monthly predicted income. A fixed CPM model will be a simple approach for a Publisher with a high impression volume to monetize his site and have better income visibility.

6. Does the Ad Network / Demand Partner have a preference in the monetization funnel that the Publisher has set up? 

The publisher should specify inventory type (display, video, mobile, in-app), inventory sizes, inventory placements, any geo-targeting, and any impressions targets with Ad Network before signing the contract. Publishers must also specify what type of priorities they wish to deliver to the Ad Network, such as First Look, Top Priority, or Remnant.

7. Will there be any sort of share in the revenue? 

Prior to onboarding any Ad Network, the publisher must explain the revenue share on a signed contract. As a result, both parties will be aware of the distributions of the impression. In addition, publishers must clearly define payment conditions.

8. What kinds of ad formats are allowed on the website? 

The publisher must confirm with the Ad Network the sorts of advertising they wish to appear on their site. Publishers should make certain that ad formats do not degrade the user experience of their website or app visitors.

9. What is the payment structure for the ad network? 

The payment structure, as well as how the ad network will make payments, must be clarified by the publisher. It should be made clear whether it is a prepaid or a postpaid plan. And also, if they are postpaid, whether they are functioning on a net 30 or net 60 model. This information must be entered on BO/ IO.

10. What are the policy guidelines of the demand partner or ad network? 

With the ad policy framework, the publisher should acknowledge his new ad partners. Publishers must ensure that if advertisers are using Google AdX on their end, they are using the same blocking that Publisher AdX is using. The same is applied when it comes to the pixel in policy. The publisher must make it clear upfront and explain the ramifications of breaking the pixel policy.

11. What are the details regarding the implementation of ads.txt? 

Before monetization with the ad partner, the publisher must change his ads.txt file. If it is not implemented, the ad network will be unable to display advertisements on the publisher’s website. IAB guidelines should be followed when implementing. Hence, it is important to know the details about the implementation of ads.txt.

12. Do I have the access to your ad network’s reporting portal? 

Publishers should have access to the Ad Network’s reporting site or an arrangement of daily reports given by the client after onboarding a new Ad Network to track performance. Such a report is vital for helping a publisher in assessing performance, inconsistencies, and the fill rate.

The Ad Network/ Demand Partner must share the following data elements with the publisher:

• Ad requests made from the Publisher Ad Server to the Demand Partner
• ad requests received by Demand Partner from Publisher Ad Server 
• bid requests submitted to other Partners by Demand Partner
• bid reactions from other Partners
• ad inquiries that are matched with a buyer 
• impressions that were monetized 
• impressions returned to Publisher Ad Server 

At the very least, this data should be supplied by Device type, Geo, Ad size, and Ad unit (Placement) in the Publisher’s preferred time zone.

Conclusion 

The year 2021 is gone, and like with most things in business and life, it’s better to look ahead than back. Whatever outcomes you saw in your publisher’s company in 2021 – excellent, awful, or mediocre – it’s important to learn from them and move on. 

No matter which partner you pick, and whatever network system they use, it’s critical to understand what makes them special and what makes them a firm that will work in your best interests. After all, it’s your website, and your ad partner should primarily be concerned with your interests.

In 2022, your ad income plan will either make or ruin you. Remember to check out new display ad networks, ad optimization strategies, and new collaboration opportunities. So, allow your new digital marketing efforts some time to work, and then watch for an increase in sales overall. That’s how you’ll know whether everything is going according to the plan.

The post 10 Questions Every Publisher should ask when selecting an Advertiser first appeared on Publir.