This
week’s Trends Report examines the search engine
market through the weaving together of search related topics
in the news. Here, we look at search and its similarities,
differences, and impacts on the affiliate and ad network
space. The latter can intertwine with search but as a whole
are very different markets. Among the more obvious
differences between search and other forms of online
advertising is the type of ads. Search runs text ads with
very specific limits. Affiliate networks and display ad
networks might offer some text ads, but as a whole they
offer advertisers a much richer array of choices - there is
no single text ad with strict formatting guidelines. Another
more obvious difference between the two segments is where
they run. With the exception of Google Adwords, search ads
run on search inventory. A third obvious difference between
the two types of advertising is targeting. By and large,
search runs exclusively on keyword targeting whereas
affiliate networks and display ad networks do not.
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When
thinking about the differences between search advertising
and other forms, it is that last point where one starts to
tease out some of the core differences between running a
campaign on search and running it on an affiliate network or
display ad network. If you are an advertiser that is looking
for volume, you can get it both on search and through
other forms. Among the biggest differentiators though,
regarding running campaigns on search and on other media
types, deals with the real time nature of campaign changes.
One of search’s most engaging characteristics is the level
of control over the campaigns and how those controls impact
campaign performance in real-time.
Display ad networks and affiliate networks also
offer advertisers the ability to set pricing. What they
don’t offer is the stock market simulation found with
search. In search, were an advertiser to choose to set a
price and keep it at that price they could. Conversely,
were they to want to change the price at any moment in time
they could. That, too, is not very dissimilar from
non-search, or other online media.
What is so different is who
makes the changes, how quickly they are implemented, and the
expectations arising from the change. Regarding who makes
the change, in search, the advertiser makes the change. With
a majority of affiliate programs and ad networks, an
employee must make the change. When it comes to how quickly
the changes become implemented, with search the time to
refresh is almost seconds. That is definitely not the case
with affiliate and ad network advertising. Lastly, when it
comes to the expectations arising from the change, with
search the advertiser expects to see an almost immediate
increase or decrease in traffic. Not only that, but the
increase and decrease often is almost predictable. In
non-search, changes in prices do not bring about any
bankable guarantees. The volume and pricing are much less
transparent and the ability to predict the level of traffic
much less sure and consistent.
However, more and more non-search companies are
aligning their advertiser functions with that of search
advertising. Metrics Direct, a 180 Solutions Company that
provides contextual marketing via their desktop application
user base, offers keyword bidding and a self-serve interface.
Theirs is not as robust and dynamic as that of the search
engines, relying more on reactions to reports, but they very
much mimic the key qualities of search advertising –
targeting, pricing transparency, and volume expectations.
Finding all three is not easy in non-search companies, and
in fact might be one reason why Metrics Direct bills itself
as a search company. They do appear to be the first Cost Per
View program that offers that nature of advertiser
interaction.
Other companies that blur the lines between
search and media are Quigo and Vibrant Media. The former
offers keyword based, content targeted advertising in the
form of text ads similar to Google AdWords; the latter
offers contextual advertising that is also keyword based but
offers both graphical ads and hyperlinked editorial content.
Both exist to marry the benefits of search advertising with
display ad inventory. Quigo charges CPC while Vibrant offers
both CPC and CPM options depending on the product. In
between these two sit less technology focused companies that
offer targeting, some levels of transparency, but not the
traffic experience. They work primarily on a sponsorship
model such as BlogAds. A third blend also offers sponsorship
on sites, where advertisers by for fixed amounts of time
rather than specific impression / click levels. These offer
some security and transparency but their fixed nature
does not work as well for those looking to control performance. An
example here would be the recently funded AdBrite who, like
Quigo, focuses on text ads.
Will the networks and affiliate marketplaces
benefit from increased levels of advertiser control? Do they
need to mimic search in their targeting, transparency, and
volume control? It’s hard to say. What the non-Quigo, non-BlogAds
do offer, which none of the others mentioned, is risk
absorption / risk transference. The above companies offer
targeting and tight controls because the advertiser assumes
the risk. There is no high volume option with a guaranteed
CPA, but that is exactly the value proposition and upside
with some of the display ad and affiliate advertising
networks. For now, that is enough to keep many advertisers
happy. It’s hard to think though that the shift towards more
automation and advertiser control won’t seep into the truly
performance-based world. I can say this – the one who
figures it out first should anticipate more business than
they would have imagined.
Jay Weintraub
