What is a Demand Side Platform? 

An ad tech used by advertisers in real-time bidding options, demand-side platforms allow people to purchase ad inventory from multiple suppliers simultaneously, including ad networks, ad exchanges, and individual publishers. The DSP network keeps all available suppliers in one place, so ad buying and management are easier for advertisers. A DSP is one of the most basic tools in programmatic advertising, almost eliminating the need for human participation in the auction. Demand-side platforms and supply-side platforms automatically pit publisher inventory against suitable ad units, in accordance with the parameters set by advertisers and publishers. This happens in a short period of time and this is what makes it a very cost-effective method of ad inventory purchase and selling. 

DSPs are used for programmatic ad buying, particularly bidding in RTB auctions. DSP’s task is to purchase the impressions on a suitable inventory, showing it to users that have met certain criteria of the optimal (minimum) price. Commonly used by agency trading desks (ATDs), advertisers, agencies, or in-house marketing teams, DSPs allow media buyers to get access to many SSPs, Ad Networks, and Ad Exchanges through a singular interface. So they may buy rich media, mobile, video, and native ads simultaneously. This process of inventory purchase happens within seconds, making trading profitable and less cumbersome. 

DSPs are the opposite of SSPs or Supply Side Platforms, which refer to a technological platform representing the publisher’s interests, selling ad inventory. SSPs receive the bids from advertisers and inventory requirements from DSPs. When someone wins the RTB auction, both parties i.e the advertiser and publisher have their interests served. 

Why Did Demand Side Platforms Arise? 

Earlier, digital ads were purchased and sold by ad buyers and salespersons. DSPs came into being to remove the need for media buyer and publisher negotiations. The process became cheaper, more transparent, and fully automated. Manual negotiation has no place in the world of DSPs. Purchasing ad space in real-time through DSPs allows advertisers the chance to target audiences very specifically, with certain campaigns, at the right time in the right ad formats. 

DSPs have basically automated decision-making and decide which impression is worthy of a bid while calculating the maximum value of each impression. An RTB auction sees the system sorting impressions automatically to announce the highest bidder, who pays the price which is preset by the second-price auction, i.e a $0.01 increase over the 2nd highest bid offered. This is called a fair price mechanism, put in place from preventing overspending by advertisers. 

How Do Demand Side Platforms Work? 

Using a DSP campaign building tool, an advertiser can provide certain criteria to set a target audience, like age, gender, annual income, etc. Then, if they want to spread their ad budget throughout the day, the ‘Daily Cap’ option allows them to do so. The ‘lifelong pacing’ option allows you to distribute the budget over the ad campaign’s lifetime. If you want to make sure that your ads show only on good-quality websites, you can block web pages that show sensitive content and blacklist publishers you don’t want to deal with. 

Manipulations, tuning, configurations, and optimizations are up to the advertisers, which is why DSPs are called self-served demand-side platforms. There are managed service and full-service DSPs, designed for advertisers who need support in managing their campaigns. 

RTB Bidding

DSPs analyze inventory to decide its value on behalf of the advertiser. If it fits the targeting settings, DSP calculates the maximum cost of that ad inventory. The bid response is then relayed back to the ad exchange. Bid prices are based on the advertiser’s preset budgeting data, and information like browsing behavior, place, and age groups. Machine learning algorithms have ensured that analyzing impressions happen almost immediately. 

Ad Networks

What Are They? 

Acting as a bridge between advertisers and publishers, or DSPs and SSPs in case of programmatic advertising, Ad Networks also known as Digital Advertising Networks pick up inventory from publishers put it into categories, and offer this as inventory to advertisers based on demographics. There are many kinds of ad networks, each of them with a different purpose. 

Horizontal Ad Networks

Working with multiple publishers, such networks give publishers the golden treatment, i.e there are no barriers on the way. They work on a CPC model, which means that you only pay if the visitor clicks on your ad. Such a network is amazing for low-budget ad campaigns, as the ability to target could be curtailed. 

Vertical Ad Networks

These allow you to target site visitors. They will work with publishers who specialize in a particular niche, like sports, fashion, hobbies, lifestyle, and so on. Some networks may work with publishers just based on niche, so if the site isn’t a fit, the publisher may not be presented. 

Premium Ad Networks

Only accepting the best inventory with the highest levels of traffic, like The Guardian or HuffPost, premium ad networks are tough to join. It is deemed to be the safest place for online media trading. 

Basic Difference Between a DSP and an Ad network

While demand-side platforms may sometimes offer features as ad networks do, the ability to dip into a pool of resources and specific targeting is their USP. Most DSPs offer one tool for the ad campaign launch, optimization, and analysis, which gives them a point over ad networks that aren’t always all-in-one. DSPs charge only when a transaction takes place, without adding margins to inventory. Both DSP platforms and ad networks work in conjunction without losing quality. The latter adjusts RTB bidding opportunities, while the former purchases the premium ad inventory, only to resell it with higher margins.

The Following Table Presents a Comparison of DSP and Ad Networks

Which Should You Choose? 

Advertisers prefer DSPs over ad networks because of a lack of control and low efficiency. Ad networks have certain disadvantages, like fixed CPM and masked site reporting. Earlier with the absence of automation software, they were used, but today advertisers use programmatic advertising, without relying on ad networks anymore. Thanks to DSPs, you have an unlimited supply of inventory from many sources, and can create custom audience segments with specific targeting. The advertisers get access to a range of publishers all over the world and only have to manage ad campaigns, while real-time bidding is implemented by the media buying process. 

Final Thoughts

To start purchasing inventory automatically, you need to sign up with a DSP provider or build your own. Look for one with a sophisticated DSP and customizable technology so you can always expand your brand’s services. Read our blog on ad viewability and its impact on publishers’ revenue to find out how low ad viewability can negatively impact publishers. 

The post A Guide to Understanding Demand Side Platform first appeared on Publir.

While it is granted that seasonality trends impact publishers year-round irrespective of industry, keeping your revenue high is possible if you pay attention to certain factors and optimize your website. Seasonality has quite a sizable impact on revenue. Some months, your revenue might increase or decrease noticeably. As a publisher, you may not be in a position to control the onset of seasonality trends, but you can understand them and take steps to safeguard your interests.

 What Causes Seasonal Fluctuations in the AdTech Industry?

Google says that seasonality is any predictable fluctuation or pattern occurring during certain weeks, every year. Some publishers may experience higher CPMs during the holiday season. This might be during Christmas for countries like the US and the UK, or Diwali, in India. Holidays are a cultural aspect that drives seasonality. Apart from this, publishers might also experience higher CPMs due to commercial aspects like the end of the season and Black Friday sales. Nowadays, advertisers are lavishing large amounts of money on their campaigns, while the number of users online on e-commerce and social media websites is burgeoning. Both these factors contribute towards publishers earning a higher revenue than usual. Last year 2020 saw a significant rise in the number of online consumers, primarily due to Covid-19. eMarketer estimates that US consumers spent around $190.47 billion dollars on holiday eCommerce purchases, a whole $50 billion more than 2019 figures.

Publishers benefit quite a lot from ad tech trends, serving an increased amount of ads to an ever-widening audience. The converse is also true. Traffic may trickle down during months like January and July. This might primarily be due to the drop in ad spending, as advertisers get back to the drawing board for planning. User behavior changes too, as people get back to normal routines. Seasonal fluctuations might also occur due to ad-hoc reasons, like a World Cup, Olympic games, or a presidential election. Such seasonal patterns could affect publishers. There’s no escaping them. However, some strategic planning might mitigate the damage. 

Quarter Wise Breakdown

Most organizations divide their year into 4 quarters, namely 

Q1, from January to March

Q2, from April to June. 

Q3, from July to September. 

Q4, from October to December. 

The following points can shed light on what these quarters can bring, so publisher trends can be leveraged accordingly. 

Q1 – Most publishers might know what the January Slump is. During the first quarter, as advertisers primarily focus on devising new strategies, they spend less money on campaigns. Moreover, online purchasing trends change as well, because people are less keen after Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year, to splurge. It isn’t a stretch to say that this is the worst quarter for publishers, in terms of revenue. Direct sales drop leads to more ad inventory being sold through programmatic channels, which might compensate for a drop in eCPMs. The middle of the quarter might see things return to normal. 

Q2 – This quarter is relatively better for publishers, in terms of revenue generation. After drawing up their plans it’s time to spend those marketing dollars, putting money into different campaigns, focusing on experiments too – all this leading to higher revenue for publishers. Seasonality trends might change however, In Q2 of 2020, global media ad spending fell by around 46%, as compared to the same period in 2019, as businesses suffered because of the pandemic. Q2 is different because many advertisers or ad agencies finish their financial year, and try to spend all their budgets, ensuring nothing is left. For publishers, it’s a great quarter in terms of ad RPMs, as we move towards the end of June. 

Q3 – There is a slump here as well, though not as bad as the one in January. One factor is a decrease in traffic, another is advertisers recalibrating their budgets. Traffic change depends on publisher niches, but when advertisers revise their budgets, everyone is affected. Summer is a quiet season, as people spend more time outdoors, less time online. Advertisers adjust their budgets, devising new strategies. Publishers might see a considerable dip in July, after which CPMs might increase. 

Q4 – This is probably the best quarter for all publishers, as the end of the year sees a spike in online users, thanks to the number of holidays during this time. Brands splash money on ad campaigns, and publishers leverage this to earn higher revenues. For brands, being seen is imperative and competition is higher than ever. Holidays like Thanksgiving Day and Diwali begin in November. There’s also Black Friday and Cyber Monday. CPMs remain high all the way through the winter months in the run-up through Christmas and the New Year. 

How Do You Optimise Revenue In The Face Of Seasonality Trends? 

Q1 – Since earnings in this quarter are quite low, there are certain steps that you can take to ensure your revenue doesn’t drop much. Optimize your ad inventory, and try to experiment with various ad units, placements, and formats. Don’t be afraid to try out innovative ad sizes and layouts, and add them to your inventory. Ensure your content is top-notch, even if your site traffic isn’t much. Good content gives users an incentive to stay on your site, ensuring that your site ranks better in the coming months.

Good quality content aside, website health and keyword optimization should be your goal. Consult ad operational professionals, who can help you monitor your website. Private marketplace deals instead of programmatic auctions might give you results, as you have more control and increase your inventory value. Reducing floor price post Q4 might aid in bagging more deals, increasing the fill rates on your site. February is better for revenue generation, as you can take advantage of events like the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day, and the President’s Day Sale.

Q2 – Performance in this quarter might be better than the first. If you were able to sail through the first quarter, you might have noticed a small increase in traffic and user engagement. Try marginally increasing your inventory’s floor price, to bag revenue. If the ad formats you used in the previous quarter are working, then great. However, if ad viewability hasn’t increased, consider a change. In the second quarter, occasions like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Memorial Day might help. Don’t make major website changes on holidays to avoid technical glitches. 

Q3 – Performance this quarter may not be as bad as the first, but publishers might need to implement certain changes to make sure they earn from their sites. During the start of the quarter, you could reduce the floor price a little, then increase it again in the quarter’s middle. Always re-adjust to see what works best. Q3 should also see the groundwork for Q4. Optimize your inventory, by experimenting with different ad placements, formats and units. By the end of Q3, you should figure out what works best. Try PMP deals if you think your inventory isn’t going anywhere using conventional methods. Look out for the 4th of July and Labor Day during this period. 

Q4 – This is the most exciting time for publishers. Make the most of opportunities. Ensure you are aware of all the holidays and events during this quarter, even if they aren’t in your country. Your users may belong to a place where that event is important, so optimize your inventory. As the quarter commences, you should test if all website aspects are working properly. That means an effective traffic strategy, low page latency, keyword research, and website performance on different devices. Your ad viewability should be high. As more people browse and purchase, optimize for ad viewability for better revenue. Increase floor prices for higher returns, and take advantage of dynamic allocation for maximizing revenue. Tools like Google Analytics can help track user engagement and site performance. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, seasonal patterns are inevitable, and if revenue declines in one quarter, it may increase in the next one. Publishers must be aware of what tactics to use so as to make the most of each phase. Prepare for each quarter to ensure you don’t fall prey to seasonality trends. Read our blog on ROAS to understand how to maximize your returns for each dollar spent on advertising.

The post Seasonality Trends in the AdTech Industry – What Should Publishers Do? first appeared on Publir.

Publir has launched a homegrown sticky ad unit solution that gives publishers the ability to customize their ad unit, allowing for flexibility as to what the ad unit looks like, where on the page it renders and how often the ad refreshes.

Publir’s sticky ad units complement any publisher’s current ad layout. We offer two types of sticky ad units – horizontal units and vertical units. Each type comes in a range of sizes. Horizontal sticky units span the bottom of the webpage in a landscape format. In contrast to horizontal units, vertical units stick to the sides of the webpage in a portrait format.

Our sticky units are intelligent. The ads only display/refresh if they are in viewport and the user is actively engaging with the page. 

Sticky ad units generate higher yield than a standard banner units because of increased viewability – advertisers will pay more for a placement that has a higher likelihood of being seen by a user. Banner blindness, a term describing a website visitor’s behavior to consciously or unconsciously ignore placements that they perceive to be ads, is largely overcome by sticky ads that tend to catch the attention of the reader and maintain in view for longer periods of time. 

Publir also has the ability to target our header bidding and programmatic ad stacks. This results in more competition amongst buyers, creating greater auction pressure. For Publir clients, implementing our homegrown solution eliminates the need for third-party vendors, resulting in higher net revenue to the publisher. 

Check out Publir’s sticky ad units in action. If you’re interested in learning more, inquire directly at inquire@publir.com.

The post Publir Sticky Ad Units Are Live! first appeared on Publir.

Consumer identity and permission are the future of the open web, with a newfound trust and transparency between publishers and readers being the result of the death of third-party cookies. Privacy tools help publishers offer their users a way to manage their data with consent and preferences, giving individuals more choice and control. 

Publir is integrating LiveRamp’s Privacy Manager for CCPA and GDPR, a platform that enables compliance by storing proof-of-consent and preference choices, responds to visitors who request to alter data the website collects, and provides  additional transparency into a site’s data collection and usage practices. We’re also integrating their first-party cookie solution. 

LiveRamp, together with Publir’s technology, will allow for the gathering of authenticated user data, ultimately allowing us to best support our publishers’ long-term growth by encrypting and translating the data and sending it through with every ad request. 

This partnership will benefit publishers by: 

• Driving high CPMs and more efficient ad delivery 
• Enabling marketers to deliver a better customer experience and more accurate campaign matching to their readers 
• Establishing a clear, honest and direct relationship with their readers 
• Giving their readers a direct way to manage their consent preferences

###

The post Publir Partners With LiveRamp first appeared on Publir.

Before you commit to any one vendor, you should take time to research companies and be prepared with questions to ask those that you are interested in. Partnering with the right company will provide your business with sustainable, long term success, and should give you more time to focus on what you do best – creating content and managing your website.

Here are some questions that can help you identify the right ad provider for you:

1. Are they honest and transparent?

Entering into a partnership with an ad vendor should be a mutually beneficial relationship that’s built on trust right off the bat. The company that you choose to run your programmatic ads should be transparent about the value that they provide and how much they charge for it. Be sure to identify the rev share arrangement and the payment terms that the company operates within. Pay attention to the fine print, such as whether or not the vendor charges an additional ad serving fee or requires a long-term exclusivity commitment.  

2. Do they offer features and services outside of ad serving?

A diversified package of offerings can highlight industry knowledge and show adaptability. Look for partners that can augment your revenues by offering tools like subscriptions, fundraisers, and others. Choosing a company that has strengths outside of one specific offering can be of great benefit to publishers.

3. Are they future-proofing your business?

The ad industry is constantly changing and evolving. From greater data regulation (for e.g.: GDPR and CCPA) to the phasing out of first-party cookies, new government rules and technology policy changes can severely impact your business. Make sure your vendor has a pulse on these changes and is actively addressing these issues. 

4. Does the partner have references and material to share?

Any easy way to verify a partner is to check who they’re working with currently. Many companies have case studies, presentations and testimonials backed by data to support their strengths and successes. Asking for such material is a great way to verify the value add of the company, and to ensure credibility and legitimacy. 

5. Do they offer timely and accurate reporting and accessible support?

It’s important that you’re confident that you’ll be able to reach your provider when something goes wrong. Clearly communicating the importance of quick response time will be beneficial for both parties as it helps to establish expectations from the get-go. It’s also important to decide how often you’d like direct communication to be. You might find it valuable to hire a company that’s willing to tailor communications to meet your preferences, such as how often reports are delivered.

Hiring the right provider should increase your revenue and take the ad-portion of the business off of your plate. 

The post Questions To Consider When Choosing Your Ad Vendor first appeared on Publir.

While Lucianne and her team created an excellent editorial product that continued to attract a growing audience, generating a consistent revenue stream was becoming increasingly challenging.

Publir worked closely with Lucianne’s team to create a diversified monetization strategy – a three-pronged approach for long-term success.

Ad Optimization 

We revamped the site’s existing ad layout, introduced lucrative new ad formats, and implemented cutting-edge real-time bidding technology that tapped into leading ad demand sources. The result was a 23% increase in the site’s RPMs. 

Subscriptions

By converting a portion of the regular readership to paid subscribers we were able to augment existing revenue streams by 10% and improve the average revenue per user on the site – A total increase of 467% in RPMs for subscribers, versus the RPMs generated from ads.

Fundraisers

We created a donations mechanism to enable loyal users to support their favorite authors and content pieces right on the site, resulting in an additional revenue stream reliant on direct user support. Fundraising CPMs were up to 12-times higher than comparable ad units during special appeals and on average resulted in a 7% increase in site RPMs. 

By holistically integrating Ad Optimization, Subscriptions and Fundraisers Publir significantly increased sustainable revenue for Lucianne in months. 

“We began our political aggregation web site two decades ago. We were understaffed and running out of money when a colleague suggested we consult with Publir… In six months, we have doubled our revenue and staff.”

Lucianne Goldberg

Publir powers monetization for some of the best publications on the web. Find out more about Publir’s services here.

The post Case Study: A Sustainable Approach to Revenue Optimization first appeared on Publir.

Publir’s comprehensive ad block recovery tool gives publishers the power to understand their ad block traffic, such as what percentage of their site’s traffic is composed of unmonetized users and what devices and locations these users are coming from. 

Once identified, Publir’s ad block recovery tool allows publishers to display a message to ad block users, requesting that they whitelist the site and allow ads to be displayed.  

The customization of the tool gives each publisher complete control over the parameters of their message and how it’s delivered to each individual ad block user. 

For the message itself publishers can:

• Choose the location of the message on the page
• Set fonts and coloring to match with the sites aesthetics
• Create customized copy for you appeal 

When the message appears publishers can:

• Set it to show up on an ad block user’s first visit to the site, or on their second, third, etc.
• Blur site content behind the ad-block message
• Set a time-based cap that dictates when a user will see the message appear again

This technology is unlocked by deploying a few simple lines of code. 

By appealing directly to users who have an ad blocker enabled, publishers are able to establish a relationship with those readers by communicating a specific message – that message being that ads support the editors and journalists, and keep the operation as a whole up and running. 

The post We Launched A Comprehensive Adblock Recovery Tool first appeared on Publir.