No gross stuff, please
A practical guide to managing content recommendation ad quality.
Content recommendation ads are an easy way to effectively monetize high-traffic sites. That said, many hold back from making the best of their setup because of – you guessed right – ad quality.
So what steps can a publisher take to ensure the quality of content recommendation ads? Do publishers need to resign themselves to a mix of toenail fungi and brand-name advertisers?
The answer is an empathetic NO.
Here are our three top recommendations for online publishers ↘️↘️↘️
Speak up.
All native ad vendors are for-profit operations and you – the high-traffic domain – are their money maker. So it is in their best interest to listen if you want to change ANYTHING in your ad setup.
Is there a particular advertiser whose ads are… less fortunate? Are there specific topics you might want to stay away from like adult content ads, health-related ads, and more?
Tell your account manager to take them out of the mix. Vendors have sophisticated ad quality controls in place. They assign tags to every ad sent through their system and can filter out the pre-defined unwelcome ads and remove others upon request including:
- advertisers you don’t want to see,
- specific topics,
- specific websites,
- certain images,
- sometimes even competitors.
In general – the world is your oyster. Create a concise list of your wants and don’t-wants and share and discuss it with your account manager. Explain what your expectations are and let him give you their two cents on the issue.
It’s important to note though that removing or restricting ads can lower fill rates and decrease RPM in the short term.
Try a different ad vendor.
Are your current vendor’s ads absolutely irrelevant to you? Have you asked them to make changes but there is still no improvement, just inappropriate ads?
Just say your goodbyes and sign up with someone else. There are plenty of fish in this sea.
Work with several vendors simultaneously.
Let multiple native content ad vendors monetize your domains, but make sure they are all aware of your needs when it comes to ad quality – what ads are acceptable for you and which ones are not.
There are a few benefits to such a setup. Just to start…
- Your CPM rises as soon as you introduce competition for your traffic. The highest-paying (most appropriate) ad wins.
- Your fill rate stays healthy, even when you block ads of questionable quality. When vendor “A” can’t fill your inventory – vendor “B” may do so. And if “B” can’t…well then “C” might.
Would you like to learn more about working with multiple vendors? Click here.