Archive for the 'AffinityClick Blog Roll' Category

What is Ad Retargeting and Why Does it Matter?

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by
admin
on May 12, 2011
in AffinityClick Blog Roll, Marketing and News
. 1 Comment

Since the beginning of the advertising age, the basic premise of advertising has been the same: create an ad and put it where people who you think will buy your products will see it. As advertising evolved, the methods to do this became increasingly more sophisticated through demographic profiling and focus-group testing while the range of advertising medium grew to include, print, television, radio and other new means of dissemination. However, despite these advances in advertising medium and technique a fundamental problem still existed: once initial assumptions were made, content was created, and advertising buys were executed, an advertising campaign was a largely static, impersonal, one-way method of communicating to potential customers.

In the mid-90′s, as the Internet became a growing force in communication with the general population, advertising once again took a fresh toehold. Like print and television before them, initial forays into online advertising were clumsy, poorly targeted, and largely static. Early banner ads assaulted website viewers with irrelevant content that neglected their interests or preferences.

Fortunately, the web continued to evolve, and as one of the primary revenue generators, advertising was often on the vanguard. Today we enjoy an online experience that is vastly different that the one that existed even five years ago. Content is far more dynamic, and through profiling techniques, web pages can be automatically tailored to specific readers on the fly.

And of course, advertising is at the forefront again through retargeting. Retargeting, in its simplest form, refers to the practice of serving advertising based on previous user behaviour to create a more relevant user experience (and, ultimately, more effective return on advertising efforts). Through retargeting, advertisers can ‘learn’ user preferences in order to more effectively target advertising inventory to achieve both higher passive engagement (impressions) and higher active engagement (e.g. clicks or conversions).

For example, on an automotive news website, a user is presented with two ads for automobiles: a black sedan and a blue truck. The user clicks on neither. On the following page, the advertiser presents the user with a different range of ads: a white convertible and a red van. The user takes an action on the white convertible (for example, roll-over the ad to expand it). Based on the preference for the white convertible, on the following page the user is presented with two different ads for white convertibles: one domestic and one import. The user clicks on the ad for the foreign make and continues down this avenue. In this case, the end result (user clickthrough) would have likely not have occurred if ads were randomly selected. However, through analyzing user behaviour and retargeting ads as the user navigates, the advertiser is better able to gauge user interests and tailor advertising content to better suit the users preferences.

Through retargeting, the advertiser (and website) are able to provide more interesting, relevant advertising content which leads to the user taking the desired action. Retargeting allows both websites that host (and are paid by) advertising and advertisers to maximize the number of effective impressions and ultimately achieve higher click through and conversion action rates, leading to greater exposure and sales.

As an advertising platform, AffinityClick takes the concept of retargeting one step further. Our approach is to analyse publisher content and match content keywords to advertising for optimal placement of ads. We further refine this placement by using aggregate network behaviour data and [anonymous] user session data to retarget ads for even greater efficacy and user relevancy.

The results of retargeting: greater revenues for websites with advertising (especially if they are paid on a Cost-per-click basis). Advertisers enjoy greater return on investment for pay-per-click campaigns through more engaged clicks while minimizing poorly matched positioning which chews through impression budgets. And for users, it ensures that advertising content is more topical and interesting and less distracting to them for a more useful browsing experience.

 

 

 

All That Twitters Is Gold

Published
by
David Hicks
on February 14, 2011
in AffinityClick Blog Roll, Marketing and News
. 0 Comments

There is a rumour on the street that Twitter is once again in acquisition talks. This is no surprise. In many ways it is the belle of the social media ball and all the big Silicon Valley princes want a dance and shot at her hand in marriage. More specifically, two princes are vying for Twitter’s attention: Facebook and Google.

This time around, Twitter’s valuation has ballooned to 11-digits: $10 Billion. Having doubled in value in under a month and pushing it into the range of stratospheric multiples (220 times earnings…time to buy tulips?) that’s a lot of zeros on a golf cheque. Whether or not that is a reasonable price is an entirely separate discussion for another time.

But this article isn’t about the price Twitter can command, nor is it about Facebook, other than to say that I personally hope that Zuckerberg and company are not successful as a suitor. Facebook is a walled garden with a somewhat dubious track record for doing the right thing. Not to mention the prospect of Farmville on Twitter makes me cringe.

The reason I’m rooting for Google is because, to me, the real value in Twitter is in the constant inflow of up-to-the minute data generated by its users. This data is valuable not only from a commercial perspective (read ‘advertising’) but also in a more meaningful social context.

Curation is a big thing right now. Personally I think the term does a huge disservice to those who actually curate things for a living. It’s a tough job and deciding what’s important and saved and what get’s discarded or devalued; it is more difficult while you’re inside the fishbowl. The fact is that in the digital world storing data (e.g. Tweets) isn’t as big a problem as finding and accessing the data you need when you need it. Twitter produces a torrent of data, some 90 million tweets per day (as of November 2010) and growing exponentially. While arguably many of these tweets have the shelf-life of toast, some are very significant (as witnessed by recent events on Egypt) and en masse, form an intricate tapestry of collective context.

Unfortunately, Twitter’s current infrastructure is fragile at best and can barely manage its data as it happens, let alone anything it has archived. The Fail Whale, Twitter’s unofficial mascot held aloft by his bird friends and displayed when the site encounters technical troubles and overloads, collects more frequent flyer points than George Clooney’s character in Up in the Air. Searching for anything older than a few days is an exercise in futility: Twitter’s “Older Messages temporarily unavailable” warning in reply to searches has proven itself as temporary as Cambrian granite.

Google, on the other hand, knows how to collect, store, manage, and search data. Very, very well. Google also has a massive amount of computing resources (estimates peg GOOG’s server inventory in the 500,000 range) and knows how to operate a service with a high degree of robustness—when was the last time Google was down? Google is also desperate to gain a toehold in the social web (Orkut doesn’t count…unless you’re in Brazil) and seems to have had a dry spell on the acquisition front as of late (most famously, Groupon’s spurning of its $6 Billion purchase offer). If Google weds Twitter, they gain an invaluable amount of real-time data that also meshes very nicely with their lucrative AdSense/AdWords model from the union (I should add, AffinityClick *also* offers CPC ads! Twitter, call us!) But it’s not a one-sided deal: Twitter gains access to Google’s deep computing resources, talent pool, and operational expertise, and, of course, a nice payday for all at a valuation which seems very…generous.

But to me, the sum is greater than the parts. I want all that raw, unfiltered information that pours out of millions of Twitter users to be organized, catalogued, and preserved through Google’s massive data index so I can pluck the needles out of Twitter’s haystack. Fewer Fail Whales would be nice too.

Affiliate Programs Defined

Published
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marie@affinityclick.com
on August 17, 2010
in AffinityClick Blog Roll
. 0 Comments
affiliate programsAffiliate Programs
The concept of an Affiliate Program is nothing new and the method of paying commission for referrals predates the emergence of the Internet. However the sheer speed of connections between potential consumer, affiliate and online vendor makes this space a valuable and lucrative marketing and income-generating resource to many. According to MarketingSherpa, in 2006 $6.5 billion US was earned online by affiliates across a broad variety of verticals worldwide.

Technically speaking, affiliate programs could include all of the below employed online advertising methods, as each pays a sum for referrals made. One main difference between the methods lie in where the revenue earned/paid is derived from. Depending on the method it could be a bulk payment per distribution, CPS (cost per sale) or a rev-share model, CPA (cost per action), CPC (cost per click) or CPM (cost per mille), among other lesser popular methods. Let’s talk a little about what these revenue sharing models look like.

Payment per distribution
In methods such as Email Marketing, E-Zine Marketing or sponsored articles, websites or preview pages, sometimes there is a bulk sponsorship payment requested by the distributor. Often depending on certain statistics such as page views or subscription/distribution list size and quality, a lump sum for one or multiple ad slots (via graphic banners, buttons, company descriptions or sponsored editorials or articles) is required prior to dissemination. The advantage to this type of method for the advertiser is that there is very little leg work or calculation required aside from content and graphic requirements and production. The advantage for the distributor/affiliate is that it’s a one-time action resulting in a bulk payment, not a result-driven revenue model. The disadvantages could involve the difficult to predict ad/editorial performance and ROI.

Cost Per Action (CPA, or Pay Per Action (PPA))
CPA is a broad term used to define when an advertiser compensates their ad host based on a particular action generated, such as a purchase, a subscription or a form submission. The advantage to advertisers here is that they only need to pay when their desired action has taken place, meaning they can define what is that they desire greatest to occur and set their budgets accordingly. For example, when an ad is hosted on a website CPA here could mean that the advertiser only pays when a sale has been completed via this specific ad. This is most effective when buying advertising.

Note: sometimes CPA is used to refer Cost Per Acquisition. In this sense, CPA means that the advertiser pays based on the desired acquisition being received, such as a form submission or sale. As at all times Cost Per Acquisition can fall under the definition of Cost Per Action, the opposite cannot be said to be true so it is important to understand the difference.

Cost Per Sale (CPS) / Revenue Sharing
One of the most popular methods of earning income online is via a rev-share model, or CPS. Here, online vendors pay their partners or affiliates a percentage of their revenue generated from sales in exchange for the original referral. This is a very simple and effective method as there is very little calculation involved aside from agreeing upon a fair compensation percentage.

Cost Per Click (CPC)
This is probably one of the most well-known revenue generating ad models. CPC refers to the amount of money paid by an advertiser to their ad host for the number of clicks generated by the hosted advertisement. As a whole, this method is referred to as a PPC model, or Pay Per Click, meaning the advertiser pays their ad host based on the number of clicks generated through the ad. This term is closely linked to search engine marketing, where advertisers bid on keyword phrases that closely match their target market. Here, often the CPC depends on the search network used and the amount of popularity/competition for the desired keyword phrase. However this changes outside of the search marketing world where the advertiser does not use a bidding model. The advantage here is that you have a targeted audience that is encouraged to click based on relevant environment with which they are surfing. Additionally, for the ad host the advantage is that they generate revenue whether or not an action other than the click is made.

Cost Per Mille (CPM)
As in Latin, “mille” means thousand, this term technically means cost per thousand. As such, CPM is a measurement used to quantify the value of 1000 impressions of an ad, and helps define the relative cost of an advertising campaign. So a set amount of money is paid per thousand of ad impressions shown. As with CPC, the advantage to the ad host is that they are paid whether or not a sale is generated.

Hope these quick and dirty definitions help clarify anything with those confusing and similar abbreviations. Anything to add? Or should I say… ATA? :)

The Traditional and the Social: Online Advertising Methods 101

Published
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marie@affinityclick.com
on August 16, 2010
in AffinityClick Blog Roll
. 0 Comments
Part of the goal of our blog here is to help educate and pass along helpful information and knowledge to those of you who are just getting started in the online advertising game or perhaps those looking for a little refresher along the way. So considering this, we thought we’d touch on a little of the basics of online advertising…a kind of 101 class, if you will. For those of you who are slightly more seasoned in terminology and methodology, please jump in! We’d love it if you could pass along some of your experiences and insights into these posts. It will help create a deep resource of “getting started”- and “what’s next”-type information that will only prove to help our community grow!

Online Advertising Methods For this first post, let’s talk a little bit about some popular methods found in online advertising and discuss a bit of shift in the ways in which these advertisements are viewed. In a follow-up post we can elaborate on these methods, their pros/cons and their respective effectiveness.

So, in my head at least, I organize methods of online advertising in terms of these categories: Traditional; and Social. I will admit that these are pretty broad categories so I’ll elaborate a little below.

Traditional Online Advertising Methods
Since the dawn of time…well, the dawn of the Internet anyway, entrepreneurs have been looking for new and improved ways to access and draw in a new and targeted audience and make more money online. As a result, there have been many methods tried and developed of promoting products or services (legitimate or not) online. These types of online advertisements are built to catch the user’s eye in the hopes that the content/imagery is enticing enough for the reader to click through to further information, pulling them deeper into the sales funnel. Sometimes, the goal of the methods employed to serve the ad is to increase the ad reach and other times it’s to increase the depth of reach, or in other words, to create a more targeted ad. Some of these seasoned and proven methods of online advertising include:

  • Affiliate Programs
  • Ad-exchanges
  • E-zine Marketing
  • Email Marketing
  • Pop-up advertising
  • Sponsored Articles/Websites, Sponsored Website Preview Pages
  • Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
  • Banner Advertisements; In-text Advertisements

All of these methods have their pros and cons, not to mention some of these methods proved to be greatly effective for a period of time but have seen their popularity decrease due simply to the evolution of Web usage. These techniques eventually became more intelligent (and at times, controversial) by employing behavioral and/or contextual targeting to help foster a greater ROI through access to a more targeted audience. However in recent years, we’ve seen an emergence of new and/or evolved online advertising methods that have one main difference than that of the Traditional type; interactivity. Read on.

Social Online Advertisement Methods
As the ways in which Internet users navigated the Web and interacted online shifted to a more social practice, thus spawned the emergence of Social Online Advertising. The goal of these new and improved social advertising methods is to provide the viewer with an ad experience that encourages them to want to share it with their own network of connections. Some of the ways in which this is done include:

  • Social Online Network Advertising, i.e.:
    • Directly: Facebook Ads, MySpace Ads, Sponsored Tweets, etc.
    • Indirectly: Branded Facebook Groups, Branded Facebook Fan Pages (a.k.a. “Likes”), Corporate/Brand Twitter Account
  • Corporate Blogs
  • YouTube Videos
  • Social, Interactive Banner Advertisements

Should the advertisement and channel with which is used to disseminate the ad is effective, enticing and engaging, then the ad reach takes care of itself aiding in the overall effectiveness of this method. However, the fact that a new group of educated consumers have emerged who enjoy voicing their satisfaction or a distaste for a particular product or service online – sometimes termed “Brand Ambassadors” when the message is positive, the ability for a company/individual to direct their own brand image online has proven to be more difficult than in previous years where open consumer engagement was non-existent. Now, online advertising also must employ a sort of “brand management” wherein much of the actual “advertising”, if meant in the sense of growth of brand awareness, is out of the control of the companies/individual themselves. Therefore an active presence in social networks is in almost all cases prudent for the company or individual as part of an effective online advertising strategy as they can employ proactive advertising measures to help with brand management and awareness, and when necessary, PR issues.

What remains to be seen, although already begun, is ways in which the Traditional methods of Advertising adapt to include a more Social component to continue to fit in with how users/consumers are playing online. How many of those methods on the Traditional list will soon be able to fit under the Social list in…let’s say…a year’s time? Any thoughts?