What is an ad network?
An ad network is, at its most basic, an intermediate. It’s an advertising platform that facilitates the selling of ad inventory between publishers and advertisers. An ad network connects app or website publishers with marketers who look to promote their products and services. The network’s primary function is to collect advertising slots from publishers and match them with advertiser demand. It allows publishers to easily make money from their websites with advertising rather than making one-on-one sales pitches for potential sponsors, which takes a significant amount of time and effort. In the age of programmatic advertising, where nearly everything we do is done online, an ad network is essential.
How do ad networks work?
Ad networks are an essential tool for both marketers and publishers. But how precisely do they work? Here’s a standard ad network strategy — however bear in mind that these steps might be always changing according to developing technologies.
To begin, advertising networks bring together a significant number of publishers who have inventory for sale.
In the meantime, the advertiser will establish a campaign by using the campaign panel provided by the advertising network. During the process of developing the campaign, the advertiser will provide information regarding the budget, target audience, and other relevant factors.
On the publisher’s end, they are the ones who are responsible for installing the ad network tags on their website.
The advertiser’s campaign and the publisher’s supply are compared against one another, and if there is a match, the advertiser’s details are forwarded to the publisher. The ad network makes money by either taking a portion of the revenue generated by the advertisements or by marking up the price of the inventory before selling it.
Once the ad is live, the advertiser will be able to monitor and control its success through the campaign interface of the advertising network.
Why are ad networks important?
Online advertising ecosystems need ad networks to monetize. They bridge advertisers and publishers technically and commercially. Supply-side integrations to offer inventory and demand-side connectors to launch and monitor campaigns are commonplace on the technological level. Ad networks serve as a middleman in commercial transactions and payments. If publishers didn’t have access to ad network solutions that pulled demand, they’d have to strike separate deals with each advertiser.
These platforms let many websites thrive on advertising while providing free content.
How to choose the best ad network?
Several factors should be taken into consideration while selecting the most suitable ad network:
Size of the network
The size of the ad network indicates how many adverts they can offer. The ad network has more options to connect ads to websites based on content with a greater inventory.
Better targeting boosts user engagement and CTR. A high inventory equals more network advertisers.
Quality of ads
Overall, low-quality ads are terrible for advertising. Whether you want it or not, visitors see your website ads as a direct or indirect promotion.
Publishers often ignore their site’s adverts. While this boosts short-term profits, it may harm your brand and customer experience.
Partnering with ad networks that only offer user-friendly adverts is optimal. Advertisements should match your website’s niche.
Ad formats and placement requirements
Ad formats can have a major impact on how well ads do. There isn’t a perfect ready-to-use answer for any ad format because they all have their own pros and cons. If you’re not sure which ad style to choose, it makes sense to choose a network that lets you show ads in a number of different ways.
You can then try out multiple types and see which ones work best for you. When looking for an ad network, make sure it has a lot of different types of ads, like normal IAB display units, text ads, custom display units, rich media ads, video rolls, interstitials, and more.
Payment terms
You should verify the accepted payment terms before committing to anything. You should find out how they plan to compensate you so you can decide if it is feasible for your company. When selecting an ad network, it’s also important that payments are made on a consistent timetable and that you have access to all relevant data.
Ad management and support
Find an ad network with active management support. Pay attention to your site’s ad control.
Set up ad filters to block unwanted ad forms and categories on your site. A good ad management platform from an ad network will minimize trial and error.
Conclusion
The process of selecting and evaluating new advertising networks to incorporate into one’s advertising stack might be perceived as overwhelming, particularly for individuals with less expertise in ad optimization. Maximize your efficiency and mitigate any financial losses by entrusting ad optimization professionals with the comprehensive management of your advertising endeavors. Join Pubfuture today, and we’ll help you connect the ad networks that are best for your business, test ad formats, and make your ad revenue go up.
