Most web publishers measure their performance in number of page views. While page views tell you how many people visited your website, it doesn't tell you how long they stayed. Ultimately, it doesn't matter how many people are visiting your website, what matters is whether they're sticking around long enough—that's what your conversions and revenue depend on. In this post, we … [Read more...]
Explainer: What is a Supply-Side Platform?
Ad tech loves its three-letter acronyms, and one of the most commonly heard ones is SSP, short for supply-side platform. So, what are supply-side platforms? Who uses them? And how do they work? Here's everything you need to know. What is a supply-side platform? A supply-side platform (SSP), also known as a sell-side platform, is a technology platform that enables web … [Read more...]
Going Forward, AdBlock Plus Won’t Block These Types of Mobile Ads
Last year, eyeo, the company that makes AdBlock Plus, handed over the reigns of the Acceptable Ads Committee to handful of independent members including users, publishers, advertisers, and researchers. The committee is tasked with defining the Acceptable Ads criteria, i.e., which types of non-disruptive ads are users okay with? The intention is to find a middle ground … [Read more...]
Google Gives Advertisers the Option to Buy Ads.txt Authorised-Only Inventory
Google has announced that advertisers using Display and Video 360 (previously known as DoubleClick Bid Manager) will now have the option of exclusively buying inventory that has been authorised by a publisher's ads.txt file; currently an opt-in, Google will make this a default setting by the end of this year. What's ads.txt? It's a protocol created by the IAB Tech Lab to … [Read more...]
“Speed Update”: Faster Web Pages Now Rank Higher in Mobile Search
Site speed first became a signal for search back in 2010 when Google announced that it was going to factor in how quickly a website loads into its search algorithm. This made sense: Users place a lot of importance on how fast a page loads and Google is obsessed with delivering good user experience. According to Google's own estimate, this change was to affect less than 1% of … [Read more...]
Google is Sunsetting its ‘AdWords’ and ‘DoubleClick’ Brand Names
Google started its ad business 18 years ago by letting local businesses buy text ad placements on its search engine results pages. Google AdWords, the product that enabled this, has since grown to become the bonafide industry leader with multibillion dollar revenues and access to text, display, and video inventory over multiple channels including search, partner publisher … [Read more...]
Programmatic Audio: Google, AppNexus Bring Ads to a Playlist Near You
Ad tech is finally waking up to the potential of audio. After text, display, and video, advertising on audio platforms seemed like the next logical step, but it's only with the recent spike in the usage and the widespread adoption of streaming services and podcasts that the big players are taking notice. On May 31, AppNexus announced a global programmatic partnership with … [Read more...]
In-Image Ads: Frequently Asked Questions
Display ads are still the mainstay of web monetization for publishers over two decades after they were first launched. But increasingly over the past few years, relying only on display ads for generating ad revenue has become an increasingly risky proposition—banner blindness led to the gradual declining of CTRs with ad blocking delivering the final blow to p … [Read more...]
A GDPR Checklist for Those Who Are Tired of GDPR Checklists
Come 25th of May, GDPR will come in effect and any website not complying with the new norms will be liable to pay heavy fines. While the web is full of GDPR guides right now, actionable information is hard to find. In this post, we're outlining some of the most important steps you need to take to ensure compliance. > Audit your existing data: You have to sort all the user … [Read more...]
AdSense Moves from “Served Impressions” to “Downloaded Impressions”
AdSense is changing the way it measures impressions by introducing downloaded impressions based on recommendations from The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Media Ratings Council (MRC). So far in AdSense reporting, an impression was counted when an ad matching the request was located on the server, this was called the "served impression". Going forward, impressions … [Read more...]