The ad network landscape is crowded, with plenty of options purporting to be the best in the game. The truth is that the vast majority are mediocre at best. However, it’s not features or pricing that differentiate which networks stand out in effectiveness. Typically, it’s operational where the differences and capabilities lie, and they only become apparent after running campaigns.
Should advertisers know these differences preemptively, they could save themselves time and money while increasing performance tenfold. The difference between the best in class and average is not based primarily on pricing or traffic volume, but instead, relative differences in industry operations, how effectively certain partners work with others, and how truly dedicated a network is to the success of its advertisers.
Here are eight differences to note about traffic quality, targeting, fraud detection, account management, creative capabilities, data reporting, and publisher management that separate high-performing ad networks from the average.
Traffic Source Standards and Transparency
Top-performing networks have stringent standards for traffic sources. They also maintain authentic transparency as to where placements will be made. High-quality networks are aware of what their published networks can do, meaning they continually audit traffic quality and remove publishers generating low-quality clicks (like bots from places other than developed nations) or nefarious activities (like accidental clicks leading to click-farming).
As such, advertisers are met with traffic more likely to convert than strike up redundant clicks. Average networks use any publisher willing to house ads. This includes questionable sites with poor engagement. Average networks claim their transparency when, in reality, they provide vague descriptions as to traffic sources with no real credibility for advertisers to know where their efforts and budgets go.
The best ad networks go further by offering detailed reporting about traffic sources, allowing advertisers to see exactly which publishers and placements are driving results. This level of transparency enables better optimization decisions and helps build trust between the network and its advertising partners.
Targeting Technology and Optimization
Top networks leverage investment in targeting technology based on behavioral patterns, intent signals and conversion likelihood – not simple demographics or geographics. This means ads get placed in front of people most likely to take action from a digital psychology perspective, not just data-driven ones.
High-quality networks use optimization capabilities to adjust allocations accordingly. High-performing networks understand that targeting technology learns over time and performs better as the campaign gets older. Average networks stick with outdated targeting or basic demographic-finding filters that lend themselves to no precision.
They provide minimal optimization without intelligent assistance from the platform. When campaign metrics improve or decline, they may do so independent of the network’s input.
Fraud Prevention
One of the biggest threats to advertising budgets comes from fraudulent traffic; high-performing networks take fraud seriously. They implement multiple levels of detection, from red flags raised in real-time to suspicious clicks before they become problematic for advertisers.
They rely on machine learning to determine fraud as it becomes increasingly sophisticated while continually updating detection methods when more awareness comes about. They provide reporting as to what they do to prevent fraud, so advertisers feel their budgets are protected.
On the other hand, average networks operate with a basic level of fraud detection where they might catch bot traffic but miss subtler nuances that still waste significant budgets.
Support Quality/Account Management
It’s not the platform that makes or breaks a campaign but the level of support provided. Top networks assign dedicated account managers who know both the platform and the business’s needs.
From this position, they can suggest optimizations, new campaign possibilities and troubleshooting before problems arise. They provide educational resources like best practice guides and perpetual performance reviews that help impart decisions over time.
Average networks boast mediocre support where advertisers might run into issues but figure out solutions on their own – or wait an extended period for mediocre insights into questions posed.
Creative Formats
Top-performing agencies continuously innovate ad formats that outperform standard banner ads as attention-grabbers. They test robustly so advertisers can experiment with different approaches before finding one that outperforms competitor placements for engagement and conversion rates.
Average agencies abide by simple ad formats with limited testing to allow for optimization above minor adjustments.
Reporting and Analytics
Top agencies provide comprehensive analytics that go beyond reporting basics into inciting possibilities as they track user behavior down the funnel, provide attribution modeling, and tailor reporting options to business objectives.
They can work within popular analytics platforms with APIs for those looking to include network data within internal reporting systems. Lesser networks provide basic reports with limited customization options and time-delayed data availability for real-time optimization.
Publisher Relationships
The quality of publisher relationships makes a difference between great performance and mediocre buys. High-performing agencies maintain quality partnerships – top-notch sites – that receive better opportunities and placement purposes than they do views.
They collaborate with publishers for best placement opportunities that funnel into a better user experience, benefiting advertisers through higher engagement and conversion rates simultaneously.
Average agencies have more transactional relationships with publishers who could care less about what’s going on, so long as they get their money.
As a result, these differences vary per industry standards, how well partners work together, the level of commitment versus minimum requirements, and more – meaning that it’s not just the best and average agencies operating as they do above – but relative differences that truly separate what’s good from what’s less than mediocre. Understanding these pitfalls beforehand could result in advertiser success that might otherwise take campaigns to find this success.
