Publisher Ad Serving
September 20, 2009 by Luke Manion · Leave a Comment
For the majority of sites which are part of the AdTorque network, most will simply drop our ad tags into the code of the site and we’ll run 100% of the impressions. AdTorque runs on the Adify platform which in many ways is a huge ad server so sites don’t need the added complexity of their own ad server as well as all the business rules associated to get going. From a monetization perspective this is the most ideal solution as we are selling your ads around the globe.
However for a limited numbers of publishers (we tend to see this on bigger sites only) this isn’t the most ideal solution. We’d recommend using an ad server to give you significant control on how ads are served on your site. It also means that you run multiple ads through the one ad space. We see a lot of the automotive blogs that are part of our network think that they need to run a number of ad units on a page, like running 3 skyscrapers for example. Not only does this look terrible, but the clickability of the page also decreases which means your page isn’t performing and we could optimize you out of the buy. But this isn’t the case anymore, as most ad servers are free these days.
Unlike other ad networks, AdTorque is non exclusive with our publishers which means you can run other networks. However, we do ask that you provide us an equal allocation to any other network running within your adserver. So sites wishing to use an ad server typically will fall into one of these categories;
- Have an internal sales team and using the AdTorque Network as part of the ad serving cycle.
- Wish to use geo-targeting, i.e. running the AdTorque Network in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia and other providers in the other countries.
- The need to run a different ad provider in each category of the site ie AdTorque Network in the Car section and another provider in each category like Food, Travel, Small Business etc.
- Prefer to use multiple sources of advertising such as AdTorque and say Google Adsense.
The ability to run multiple ads from different providers will be very appealing to some publishers. We personally don’t recommend any one ad server to our publishers, but here are a few ad server related links to help you navigate the next step.
- Openx hosted – free, plus great geo targeting features and simplicity of use.
- Google Ad Manager – Very complex to setup, only suitable for very large sites with complex rules.
- Blog about Free Wordpress Ad servers
- 7 Great Ad Serving Solutions
Finally, if you’re a publisher and not part of the AdTorque Network, you can apply to join here.
Comparing Apples to Oranges with Google AdSense CPM
October 22, 2008 by Luke Manion · Leave a Comment
Publishers are often striving to optimize their earning potential, and they face difficult choices while evaluating different ad network partners. If they’re considering the possibility of joining a premium ad network, or evaluating the performance of the networks they’re currently using, it’s critical that they compare performance metrics consistently across networks. If they have to make “apples to oranges” comparisons, they may form an inaccurate perception of which network is delivering real value for them.
Of all the performance metrics they’re likely to compare, eCPM (effective cost per thousand impressions) is perhaps the most important. But which eCPM measure are they using? The industry standard practice, shared among virtually all ad networks and ad industry associations, is to use Ad eCPM. For example, if a publisher has an Ad eCPM of $1.00, they’re making an average of $1.00 for every 1,000 times an ad is displayed on their site.
Here’s the challenge: the popular remnant ad network AdSense uses a different metric that they have named Page eCPM. This metric calculates a publisher’s revenue based on the sum value generated by all the ads they have on a given page.
If a publisher’s site has more than one ad per page (as most sites do), their Page eCPM will always be higher than their Ad eCPM. In fact, the non-standard Page eCPM metric typically runs 100% to 200% higher than the widely-accepted Ad eCPM metric. Thus, if the publisher is using AdSense to monetize their leftover inventory, they should be careful when they compare. They may get an inflated perception of how AdSense has been performing for them.
How can a publisher get an accurate understanding of their true AdSense eCPM? There is a way to find Ad eCPM in the AdSense interface, but it requires a little digging in the data. Here’s a hint: it can’t be found in the Account Overview.
The publisher should log into AdSense and click on Advanced Reports, under the Reports tab. Down the left side of the screen, they will see “Show Data By”. Below it, they should open the drop-down menu and select “Individual Ad”. From there, they can adjust the date range and other preferences, and then click “Display Report”. The resulting report will show Ad eCPM in the second-to-right column.
It can indeed be disappointing to view the true remnant eCPM, compared with the eCPM a publisher thought they were earning with AdSense. But there’s no reason to despair. AdSense is a very efficient seller of last resort. There’s no reason not to continue using AdSense, or another remnant network, to monetize leftover inventory. But publishers deserve the opportunity to participate in high-eCPM buys from brand advertisers too. An Adify-powered premium verical network like the AdTorque Network in the Automotive Vertical can bring that opportunity.
The blog was has been reproduced with permission from Adify.com
