Google offering view-through in AdSense

Google announced that they are going to set cookies on sites that offer AdSense ads so that advertisers can now see if the visitor goes to the site without clicking. This is Google’s first move in the “ad server” space and hopefully many more will come. The tool also allows advertisers to cap how many times the ad is viewed by a vistor.

I would like to see them offer this service for PPC ads as well to provide some more data about search as a branding tool. It would also be nice for them to open an ad server that is free, which isn’t too far out of the realm since it seems like Google is willing to give free tools away in return for data. What better way to get costs, CTR’s, dayparting, and geotargeting data from advertisers and publishers than offer a free ad server.

That may be the next step, knowing Google they are most likely way ahead of that.

Google opens Ad network to third party tags

Google announced Monday that it is opening its ad network to certified third parties. This will allow advertisers to run their campaigns more effectively through the AdWords channel and use third party tracking and technology. Google has done a good job of monetizing its network thus far, but by opening it up to approved third parties, there is more money to be grabbed. By allowing specialists such as rich media companies Eyewonder and Point Roll and Ad serving companies Mediaplex and Doubleclick, there will be more revenue generated for these parties to share.

The approved partners thus far are:

• Pointroll
• Eyewonder
• Eyeblaster
• Interpolls
• Doubleclick Rich Media
• Mediaplex
• Doubleclick

Note the omission of Atlas, Microsoft left out.

 

Smart buying or Gaming the system?

There has been a lot of talk recently about Google and CPG marketers around the value of search as it relates to branding. However, as brands and retailers bid on the same keywords, it drives up the cost and ultimately hurts both parties. So, some companies have looked more closely at co-op search marketing where certain terms are off limits to various parties involved, thus reducing the competition and costs.

Other companies have tried to create search copy that does not elicit a click, searching for the ‘free impression’ but Google’s algorithm will reduce rank or remove completely if there is not enough click volume. After all, Google knows how they make money and will only serve ads that are likely to get clicks.

This question is also raised is in the ad network space. If I can buy inventory on a CPC basis and remove any call to action, it is likely that the CTR will decrease dramatically, thus extending the reach of the buy for branding purposes. I see this as smart buying. The current situation in the market allows people to complete this kind of buy, of course, with client approval. If the client is expecting clicks, you better have a prominent call to action, brand logo in every frame and other ways to increase the CTR. Overall, the industry is young and it seems like Google wrote the rules first, but that doesn’t mean that they will be around forever and that they are the golden rule for all online media. Until I see that this is truly gaming the system and unfairly punishing someone, I think it is a smart strategy for certain campaigns.

Is economic downturn good for the safety of ad networks?

With the recent or not-so recent in some eyes downturn in the economy, marketers are beginning to look at every dollar spent and what the return is. They are no longer just forking over dollars for sponsorships and “new cool things” to try and be associated with the next up-and-comer. Enter ad networks. As ad networks have grown and become more sophisticated regarding targeting, reporting and accountability, marketers are seeing the value in using them to reach their target audience online much more cost effectively than traditional mass media and portal or site specific display advertising.

This downturn in the economy could not have come at a better time for ad networks that are just starting or for those that have been around for awhile. They have a strong platform to build from, and marketers are shifting budgets to more accountable and less expensive media, which ad networks are. So as many people said ignore the click rate a few moths ago, it now appears that the economy has driven the click rate back to the drivers seat.

ESPN cuts ties with Ad Networks

ESPN.com has made a bold move and cut ties with ad networks. They are taking the stand that arbitrage and algorithms that are the current basis of online advertising is not for them. It will be interesting to see if ESPN’s cry for other large sites to follow suit is heard and accepted or if they continue the mixed sales channel of direct sales and filling remnant inventory with ad networks.

Clearly, there are two groups that are forming within the online marketing world. The math driven data side and the premium brand inventory side and ad networks are being caught in the middle. I see arguments for both parties as to why they are right, but unfortunately I can only see both for large sites such as ESPN. There are thousands of smaller sites that rely on ad networks to pump ads through the system to support their sites as they don’t have a full time sales force to sell premium sponsorships or placements.

This will be an interesting intersection in the online display advertising future to watch and see how other large premium content sites react and if they take the stance of ESPN, or still allow ad networks to sell their remnant inventory. This might be the first domino in a long line of moves that shake up the display advertising model, and I am sure the big boys of Yahoo and Google are taking note, not to mention the likes of Advertising.com, Specific Media, Valueclick and the likes.

Google completes DoubleClick deal- now ready for agencies?

Google completed the $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick yesterday which allows Google to have a much higher stake in other forms of online advertising. They will now offer advertisers and publishers more options than the traditional search and content advertising. Advertisers and publishers have been pushing on Google to increase their display offering for years and now they have acted and will open the display world to their advertisers and publishers.

Google will also now be able to analyze much more user data based on search, email, video usage and display ads and work on targeting better ads to the user. They will also have an affiliate network under their wings that might be able to help  spur the struggling Google CPA program.

All in all, Google now has a much larger share in the online world. The question is, will Google now try to become an interactive agency? I do not believe so, but never doubt Google. Instead, they are trying to become the operating system that all online marketers will use to buy, manage, and report online media. They have Google Analytics, Adwords, and now Doubleclick brings display and affiliate channels under the same roof.

One issue with the model is that agencies get discounts through other channels like print and CPM buys direct from sites, which might be a reason that large agencies have tended to shy away from managing large search campaigns for clients. The traditional agency model of media commission is not there since they do not receive a commission break from Google. If Google was to become the operating system for an agency, they must drastically improve their offline offerings, but its hard to bet against their online capabilities currently, and definitely in the future.

AOL uses Penguins to explain ad targeting..

AOL is using penguins to explain the ad targeting technology that happens online, as they say its technical and people don’t really understand. I can agree with that, a lot of people in the ad industry that are not in online media don’t understand, so if people in the same office have a difficult time, I can only imagine my mom and friends trying to contemplate. There was an interesting post on the New York Times article discussing AOL’s attempt explaining the ad targeting technology.

Unlike most people, I seem to be frustrated by how irrelevant to me the ads I usually get are, and have given up clicking them.

I actually want to buy things on the web and if there were a form I could fill out stating in what areas I wanted to see ads, particularly from small and foreign companies I might not be aware of, I would gladly do so. Most of what I am interested in (documents and books on the history of diamonds prior to 1980 for example) is pretty esoteric, but the probability of my actually purchasing, if not now, then in the future, is perhaps gratifyingly high.

What the web really needs is a good, and well-known “Target Me With the Following Types of Ads” site with a section for “right now” and another for “permanently until further notice”.

I think this is an interesting comment but would be much tougher to actually facilitate than some believe. He went on later to explain that the Millenials “get it” in terms of ad supported content, but I don’t think he “gets it” when it comes down to actual targeting. If we begin creating a master list where users could “opt-in” to types of ads based upon interests it would become a nightmare to manage.

Each small company would want a specific niche market to target and the list of approved ad segments would become enormous and unmanageable. Instead, we need to trust technology and explain to people that data collection is safe and the better we become at it, the better targeted the ads will become and the more pleasure they will enjoy on their preferred sites. I think we would also face the same dillemas we haev with email opt-in lists. Which list did someone opt-in to, and which did they opt-out of? Is there a master opt-out list or an individual opt-out list for each? Did I opt-in to receive small business ads, or opt-in to receive small business technology solution ads?

Another interesting point to me was that, the quote talks about his interests in books about the history of diamonds prior to 1980, well I’m willing to bet that sites that offer those kind of books are placing cookies on his machine and learning that his interests are around diamonds. Whether they are acting on that data, that is a different question, but I bet they are collecting it.

Once companies understand how to use this data, and it becomes economically feasible, I believe the quality of internet advertising will increase and users will agree that data collection is making a better online experience, with or without the help of penguins.

Google and Yahoo: Then what for local business campaigns

Why is it so difficult for small local businesses to do an online campaign successfully these days. Google has made fortunes from small businesses as they steered away from the portal model that Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft thought would make them fortunes. However, times have changed and so have user habits. Around 80% of online activity has at least one interaction with a search engine, and most likely its Google. Google figured out a way for businesses to list their offerings where people search, cap their monthly spend, and target certain geographic areas all for whatever budget the business has.

Yahoo was late in the game and still does not have the targeting and feature set that Google has and is struggling in the small business arena. They are  also struggling with network buys as there are so many new networks starting up each week, the value of the portal buy is weakening. Yahoo at least offers a second place for a local business to advertise online however.

Once you get past Yahoo and Google, there aren’t really a whole lot of options for small businesses. Most networks and portals have such high monthly minimums, it does make sense to test. Some networks offer tests on smaller budgets, but small businesses so not have the time to talk to several networks and see who will offer a small test. Local media outlets like radio and TV station sites say they have the “best” local reach. That is just a saying from their offline sales strategy. I haev talked to very few who actually understand their own inventory and how most of it is ad networks.

Hopefully there will be another model that evolves where local businesses can be more aggressive in online advertising and make online ads more relevant to the local population. Otherwise, they are going to be tied to Google and Yahoo and try to apply search metrics to every online campaign.

Pay per interaction video ads

Just as I had briefly mentioned about ads being sold on engagement, VideoEgg offers a pay per interaction ad model. It’s not excatly the same as paying a varibale rate depending on level of interaction, but it is a step closer. Rates range from around $.20 to$1 per interaction. They are defining an interaction where a user mouses over and the flash video clip loads.

As marketers still try and find a scalable branding solution online, performance based models dominate the online spend. This enables marketers restrained to only doing performance advertising like CPC or CPA to now look at video advertising. It will be interesting to see how this sticks and if large brand marketers adopt this model as it reduces their risk from the traditional CPM model.

Microsoft has been the first large advertiser to work with VideoEgg and the AdFrames product. They are currently paying less than $.50 per interaction. That is probably a lot better rate than they are paying for CPC terms.

Newspaper agencies forming online ad network

Some top national newspaper agencies are coming together to form an online ad network. As newspapers are missing out on online advertising revenue to larger ad networks that can do a lot more specific targeting and optimization, they are finally making a move. The New York Times Co., Gannett Co., Tribune Co. and Hearst Corp. have joined forces to create a an ad network called quadrantOne. By joining forces, it will give them a larger number of page views and more inventory to sell, and also optimize.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out and if the group can work together functionally, or if they get in a pissing match over top sites and such.