What Is An In-Feed Ad? 

In-feed refers to a type of ad format that is placed inside the newsfeed to monetize a site and enhance user experience. It relies on branded content on digital properties. A feed might be an editorial feed or list. These ads can be customized to match the look and feel of the content. These ads are placed between content on the feed, or where it begins or ends. As visitors scroll down the content, they encounter in-feed ads. They fit seamlessly into the feed, and are non-intrusive, as they don’t interfere with user flow. To qualify as an in-feed ad, it has to be part of the user experience and match the format and aesthetics of the content. Moreover, it should specify that the ad is sponsored or promoted content

Where can we use In-feed Ads?

Feeds may be either content sites, like Forbes, or news aggregators like Yahoo or CNN. Or eCommerce sites and apps like Amazon and eBay, and social networking and media sites like Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. The ad may be placed in-feed in a news site, or somewhere on a product listing or eCommerce site. As this ad is native, it matches the content in terms of aesthetics. Preferably palace the ads between two content units on the feed, or at the beginning or end. As visitors scroll through the feed, they can see the ad, but it doesn’t interrupt their user experience. These ads don’t break user flow and complement the content. This ad format was adopted by tech giants like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, to seamlessly present content to users. Usually, the ‘infinite scroll’ method of content delivery was used in social media networks. As mobile grew, the trend of organising content in a proper ‘feed’ format was adopted by the publishing industry too. A lot of publishers started using this ‘feed’ format to deliver stories across properties. Forbes, Gawker, and CollegeHumor, as well as 9gag, are all adopting responsive design so ‘feed ads’ can be incorporated into their mobile sites and apps.

As the ‘feed’ format of content delivery becomes popular, publishers have realized that banner ads aren’t great for monetizing, because they disrupt the user experience, especially when inserted between content. They don’t help in delivering rich experiences to consumers on mobile. In-feed native advertising may be the solution to delivering branded content to users without disrupting user experience while increasing engagement with ad units, both static and video.

Types of In-Feed Ads  

These ads are often placed between content appearing on news sites and social media that use the infinite scroll format. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, in-feed ads may be classified according to the type of feed. The IAB defines the different types of in-feed native ads as 

Summary of Sponsored Content 

Placed in a normal content feed and written by partnering with the publisher’s team, the performance of this content is measured using brand metrics. Since the ads are on a publisher’s website, the users remain on the website. Endemic in-feed ads are in a publisher’s content, written in story form in partnership with the publisher’s team, to match the surrounding content on the website.

Static In-Feed Ads 

Static ads link to the websites of the brands being promoted. They take the user off-site to a particular brand’s landing page. The efficiency of this ad may be measured in terms of click-through rate and conversions. 

According to the IAB, there are 4 kinds of ads that are in-feed – 

• Story ads, that are written ads inside editorial content pieces. 
• App installs ads, which direct you to download a mobile application. 
• Product ads that link to landing pages for products on eCommerce sites.
• Video ads that direct users to videos which may be either in short or long formats, on Vimeo or simply GIFs. 

Are In-Feed Ads A Type of Native Advertising? 

Matching the form, function, looks, and aesthetics of the page on which they appear, native ads are usually found in social media feeds or as sponsored content on websites. The IAM includes in-feed ads in the main kinds of native ads. The special thing about native ads is that they don’t look like ads. They appear to be part of the content on the page, so they don’t disrupt the user experience. There are 4 kinds of native ads. 

1. In-feed ads, or ads that appear in the feed like news, eCommerce or social network sites. 
2. Paid search ads or listings that appear on the top of Google search results or the sidebar. EIther text or non-text, these could include images and product descriptions. 
3. Recommendation widgets, or content pieces like sponsored posts, recommended articles, and more, appear on the screen after the article. 
4. Promoted listings, or paid content that appears on eCommerce platforms like eBay. Served with priority to more high-intent buyers, these increase the possibility of a purchase.

In-Feed Ads And eCommerce Platforms 

eMarketer estimates that the global eCommerce market has grown to approximately 4 trillion in 2020. Some eCommerce platforms enhance their user’s experience by serving in-feed ads. For instance, ‘recommended products’ or ‘articles you may like’, or other forms of paid content. This form of sponsored content doesn’t appear like an ad but looks like a recommendation. This makes it more likely for a user to click on it. Nowadays, with the help of tech, in-feed ads have expanded to include mobile, carousel catalogs, and video formats. In-feed ads are great for eCommerce platforms because they keep consumers engaged as the latter keep proceeding down the customer journey funnel. Such ads are flexible and are able to meet each stage of the journey.

What Is The Difference Between In-Feed And Standard Ads?

Display ads, banner ads, and other standard formats are placed around website content. Pop-up ads spring upright in the middle of the screen. All the aforementioned ads irritate users and disrupt the customer experience. Moreover, customization options are limited. In-feed ads are part of the user flow. Highly customizable, they are greeted by high-intent users. 

What Are The Advantages of In-Feed Ads?

Such ads have a lot of advantages for both publishers and advertisers. Some of these are enumerated below. 

Better User Experience – In-feed ads make for a better, non-disruptive user experience. Being part of the user flow, they don’t interrupt the user’s journey or change the website’s look and feel. They integrate seamlessly into the website and serve their purpose.

Superior Monetisation – These ads give publishers the chance to find and monetize new spaces on their web pages, right inside their respective feeds. 

Fabulous for Mobile – Because they can help you monetize small screen spaces like mobile devices, such ads are great for mobile. 

Conclusion

Superior Reach – For advertisers, such in-feed ads offer a great opportunity to reach out to a highly-engaged audience. In conclusion, in-feed ads are loved because they don’t ruin the user experience. In an age where that is the deciding factor on which customers may return to your website, in-feed ads can make the difference. Read our blog about how to strike the right balance between ads and user experience to always get it right.

The post What Are In-Feed Ads – How Can You Make The Best Use Of Them? first appeared on Publir.

However, publishers and marketers have used behavioral data for both advertising and customization for years to improve the relevance and effectiveness of adverts and marketing messages delivered to online audiences. Marketers may utilize behavioral targeting to improve the customer experience and produce results with the correct technology in place.

We’ll take a deeper look at what behavioral targeting is and how it works in this piece.

What is Behavioral Targeting?

Marketers may use behavioral targeting to send appropriate marketing messages to customers depending on their behavior. Customers are segmented based on their interests and stage in the customer lifecycle or buying funnel using data from several channels. These segments may be used to target shoppers with highly relevant information at the exact moment they are most likely to convert. An effective eCommerce personalization strategy includes behavioral marketing as one of its components. It may be used to increase the return on investment (ROI) from bulk and triggered emails, as well as across your website and social media advertising.

The terms “behavioral targeting” and “online behavioral advertising” (OBA) are not interchangeable. Online behavioral advertising (OBA) is a type of online advertising that employs behavioral targeting to provide users specific adverts and tailored information, such as product suggestions. In some ways, online behavioral advertising is a sort of advertising, whereas behavioral targeting is a strategy. 

Behavioral marketing nowadays is much more than simply collecting explicit user data; it’s also about deciphering data and deriving appropriate inferences.

What are the benefits of Behavioral Targeting?

Increased User Engagement: Behavioral monitoring gives publishers access to customers who engage with certain marketing content on a regular basis. Consumers may be routed to online marketplaces and get information about a firm in a couple of seconds by using one-click advertising.

Increased Ad Click-Throughs: A tailored ad that catches the viewer’s likes and requirements is a far more valuable tool in assisting consumers to go down the purchase funnel than a generic banner ad with no relevant attraction.

Improved Conversion Rates: Advertisements that reach a behavioral target market are more appealing to individuals who see them, increasing the likelihood that users will seek more information or make a transaction. Companies that use behavioral targeting tactics can experience an increase in sales and returning consumers, as well as increased earnings overall.

What is the process of behavioral targeting?

Data is collected

Behavioral data of customers may be gathered via eCommerce websites, mobile apps, emails, and in some cases through in-store data. Effective behavioral targeting necessitates the real-time collection and coordination of vast volumes of behavioral data. Items explored, carted products, material watched, search phrases, and visitor frequency are among the behavioral data, as well transactional data like average order value and purchase history.

Segmentation of customers

The data gathered is examined and user segments are created. Users are divided into categories based on their activity. Individuals who travel frequently, people who enjoy shopping for clothes, people who frequently return to the same product category, and so on. Customers’ real-time preferences for elements like color, brand, and style may also be tracked with advanced customization systems, allowing for more complex behavioral segmentation.

Applying data for content targeting

After you’ve created segments, you can utilize them to target clients with the most appropriate website content and choose which triggered emails they should get. Lists may be exported to your email service provider (ESP) for use in bulk mailings, as well as utilized to retarget consumers through other channels like social media and Google AdWords. Ad campaigns are tailored to a certain user segment, making advertising more relevant to specific groups of people and enhancing conversion and response rates.

What is the difference between Behavioral targeting and Contextual targeting?

It’s important to understand that there is a difference between behavioral targeting and contextual targeting, which shows information depending on its relevance to the web page presently being viewed – for instance, displaying a tableware ad on a food website. 

Contextual targeting entails showing advertisements that are related to the web page’s content. Usually, this kind of targeting does not involve user information; instead, it relies only on the context of the ad. Behavioral data, on the other hand, maybe utilized to increase the relevancy of contextual advertisements.

Advertisers and marketers may target specific consumers via behavioral targeting. The strategy is founded on the idea that ads should be relevant to the user who is viewing the website, rather than the page itself. Because of the increased availability of user data, behavioral targeting has been widely employed in internet advertising and marketing for over a decade.

Final Thoughts

Thanks to behavioral targeting innovation, increasing your conversion rates has never been easier. You may increase the cost-effectiveness of your advertising by publishing material to target people on a tailored level once they have shown a certain interest, saving both energy and resources.

We live in an era of revolutionary new technology and creative marketing strategies. As a consequence, brands now have access to more tools than ever before. Contextual and behavioral targeting are among the strategies available. Testing and a close examination of the data obtained from this experimentation are required to determine which is best for your business and clients.

You may even need to create your own targeting hybrid because you’re working with a distinct audience. After all, you’ll most certainly require the finest of both strategies.

The post Understanding Behavioral Targeting to use in 2022 first appeared on Publir.

What is Ad Refresh

The term ‘ad refresh’ refers to the process of refreshing ads to serve new ads to users when they visit a particular web page. From a publisher’s perspective, the number of ad impressions served to users increases based on certain preset triggers, which can also be based on user action, time or custom events. Auto-refreshing ads allow site owners to maximize their revenue. However, this depends on a few factors, and may not be a suitable method for all web pages. 

How Do Auto-Refresh Ads Work

Ad refreshing works via certain predefined publisher declarations. According to Google’s Ad Exchange, there are 3 major types of triggers, defined by publishers. 

User Action Based 

In user action-based refresh, ads are refreshed based on actions that the user takes. From scrolling to clicking on the screen to conducting a search, all direct user activity assures a higher viewability for ads than event-based and time-refreshed ones. 

Event-Based

When publishers initiate content changes, event-based triggers refresh the ad units. The most common example of this can be seen on sports sites, where the content is updated according to the latest scores and stats. 

Time-Based 

A time-based refresh is a simple trigger, which depends on certain time intervals to call the ad servers to load new ads. This can be set to intervals of 30,60 or 90 seconds. The minimum time interval that Google allows is half a minute, while the recommended best practice is 1 minute. Publishers must note that most time-based ad refreshes occur regardless of whether the user is browsing the page. This could mean a boost in impressions but a decrease in ad viewability. Advertisers often bid less for slots with a time-based refresh, because no one wants to buy slots with poor viewability scores. 

In-View Ad Refresh

This method depends on technology to ensure that the ad unit gets refreshed only when it is 100% in view of a user. The value of the ad impression is not lost for the advertiser. In-view ad refresh actually drives up viewability, as each subsequent request will have 100% viewability because each ad is viewed by the user. CPMs stay flat, while impressions increase, leading to a revenue boost. 

What Are The Websites Best Suited For Ad Refresh

Ad refresh is not effective in all cases. Sites with above-average sessions are the best candidates. Gaming sites, educational sites, or websites with high-value niche content fall under this umbrella. Session duration is a very important factor. Refreshing ads will be redundant if the user isn’t sticking around long enough to see them.

Also, not all networks and exchanges permit ad refresh, with each having its own policy. For instance, Google’s Ad Exchange, OpenX, and Rubicon allow for automatic ad refresh, but Google’s AdSense does not. Publishers must remember their exchange policy while making ad refresh decisions. If they do not adhere to the policy, their account may be suspended. 

The use of ad refresh also depends on the website’s strategy. If publishers want to maximize revenue per user through programmatic ads, then ad refresh is a good tool to use. However, if you are selling directly to advertisers and wish to maintain your inventory’s value, it makes sense to concentrate on ad viewability and the view time of your ad units, to ensure each advertiser gets the maximum value for their ad placement.

What Are The Risks To Keep In Mind

While the prospect of increased overall revenue is appealing, ad refreshing can have a negative impact on your inventory and reputation, if mis-implemented. Here are some risks you should keep in mind. 

Ad Viewability Concerns

When an Ad set on a page is refreshed, the user should be able to see them. The ad should be within the user’s viewport because the latter needs time to engage with the ads. Many ad refresh vendors discard the viewability factor, opting for a ‘blind refresh’, which can damage a publisher’s inventory, bringing down its viewability score, which results in DSPs blacklisting a publisher’s supply. 

Refreshed Ads Have Reduced CPMs

Whenever websites auto-refresh ads, advertisers always get notifications. This could result in lower CPMs for each refresh, as advertisers lower bids due to ad viewability. However, lower CPMs are compensated for by higher total impressions per user session served. When using ad refresh, publishers would do well to consider alternative metrics for ad growth measurement. Parameters like Page RPM or EPMB (Earnings Per Thousand Visitors) rather than CPMs could give an accurate impression. 

Higher Bandwidth Usage  

Ad refreshing may not impact the initial page loading speed because the first set of ads loads per usual, auto-refreshing ads may result in the page making repeated new HTTP requests to the server for fresh ads, based on specific triggers. These repeat requests and the consequent ad fetching, end in higher bandwidth usage per refresh.

Best Ad Refresh Best Practices 

Follow Network Policies.

Various ad networks and exchanges have their own policies about auto-refreshing ads. Some have a blanket ban, others have a limit on the triggers that are used, like high minimum intervals. Some networks require publishers to declare their inventory. Read the network policy properly and follow the set parameters to stay away from policy violations. 

Using Time-Based Triggers 

Time-based triggers should allow ads to remain on the page for at least a minute, to ensure adequate viewability. If you want better UX and ad engagement, increase the intervals between refreshes. Some publishers even set intervals as low as 30 seconds or less to ensure more impressions. However, this is not advised as it hampers viewability, bringing down CPMs.

Keep Testing 

Always run A/B tests for various auto-refresh triggers and time intervals. Comparing results against a control setup can teach publishers what version of auto-refresh works for their site. Run these tests on a part of your site and check results before implementing them site-wide. 

The Right Partners 

Certain ad refresh solutions in the market take ad viewability criteria into account. Partnering with ad-tech vendors that offer such services ensures you don’t compromise on ad viewability, while increasing overall revenue, with no impact on the inventory quality of CPMs. 

Wrapping Up

In conclusion, if you use ad refresh carelessly, it can impact your revenue negatively. However, new and improved viewability measurements are slowly changing the way ad refresh is being used. Publishers should stick to the objective of advertising, when implementing ad refresh, to make sure that both users and brands derive some use from ads being served on the website. Read our blog on optimizing your ads so that you can maximize your revenue per dollar invested. 

The post Ad Refresh – A Simple Guide For Publishers 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.