Contextual ad network ContextWeb is rolling out a new pricing model that allows publishers in its network to set their own CPM rates for their inventory. Publishers have long felt that Google’s AdSense program favors advertisers, leaving publishers with little control over pricing their inventory.
A test of the “Open PO” pricing model has been running at 100 publisher sites, including The Boston Herald, The Denver Post, World Now and Weather Underground. The model is now being made available to all publishers.
“There’s been no innovation in business models of ad networks presented to publishers in 11 years,” Jay Sears, ContextWeb’s SVP of strategic products and business development, told SEW. “In every previous model, the risk has been on the publisher. It’s time for the ad networks to shoulder the risk.”
He’s specifically calling out Google, which has traditionally been very limited in transparency toward publishers. Sears says that when Google launched AdSense in 2003, it was a step backward for publishers, who gave up a defined revnue share from ad networks to get an undefined share of revenue, with limited visibility, from Google.
While most current ad networks allow advertisers to choose the price they’re willing to pay, and require the publisher to accept that bid or hit the road, ContextWeb is promising publishers a new level of control over the pricing of their ad inventory. Under Open PO, a publisher will tell ContextWeb the minimum CPM they’ll accept, and only those ads exceeding that price will be shown. If an ad does not fit that requirement, ContextWeb can serve an ad from a competing ad network of the publisher’s choice. ContextWeb will continue to give pricing control to advertisers as well, offering CPA, CPM, or CPC models for its ads.
If the pricing is set properly, ContextWeb can usually fulfill 100 percent of the publisher’s inventory, said CEO Anand Subramanian. “A lot of inventory is undervalued, and a lot of inventory is overvalued,” he said. “One publisher shouldn’t have to subsidize the poor performance of another publisher, but that’s what’s happening with some ad distribution networks.”
Related reading
The merged approach: How combining traditional and digital brings marketing success
Digital is vital to the success of any marketing strategy. Or is it? It's a bold statement but one that is only true if combined with traditional marketing, to really allow brands to effectively dominate the advertising space within their market place, regularly targeting and connecting with the consumer.
IWD 2018: Eight SEO ladies give their advice on being a woman in search
In honor of International Women’s Day 2018, we wanted to highlight the perspectives of women working in SEO, and how – if at all – they think gender affects the industry and the work that they do. Search Engine Watch spoke to eight successful ladies in SEO to find out their thoughts and advice on being a woman in SEO.
Ranker: How to make a Google algorithm-proof website
Any SEO or webmaster who has ever had a website affected by a Google algorithm change – or feared being affected by one – has probably wished that they could find a way to make their website “algorithm-proof”. One site believes it has found the formula.
Mystified by martech? Introducing the ClickZ Buyers Guide series
Search Engine Watch sister site ClickZ has just launched the first report in its new series of buyers guides, which aims to to disentangle and demystify the martech landscape for marketers.