Ad networks match company ads to various advertising venues, such as websites and magazines. They are responsible for placing ads in a way that attracts consumers’ attention. There are three main types of ad networks: vertical networks, blind networks, and targeted marketing. Ad network operators coordinate online targeted advertising by monitoring internet traffic and serving ads to specific web users based on their browsing history. Ad exchanges use algorithms and data to generate prices and availability for certain types of ads in a portfolio of websites.
In most contexts, an ad network is a company that matches company advertisements to various advertising venues, including websites, magazines, and television commercials. Ad networks are so called because they operate networks of ad placement opportunities. They are usually not networks in their own right.
Ad networks have long been a staple in the advertising industry. While advertising agencies are usually responsible for devising advertising campaigns and creating graphics and slogans, networks are responsible for placing those ads in a way that attracts consumers’ attention. Much of the science behind an ad network’s success involves studying consumer trends to develop effective ad placement strategies.
Once upon a time, print media was the primary canvas of the ad network. Most network advertising today takes place online. While the context may have changed, many of the core strategies have remained consistent.
There are three main types of ad networks. The first is the vertical network, which is a clearly delineated list of advertising places and site placements. Ad networks that use vertical networks are usually able to identify the location of each individual ad.
Blind networks work the other way around. Advertisers will pay the networks a flat fee for placing ads in a set number of publications, on a set number of websites, or for a set number of days. However, details of where the ads will be placed are usually not disclosed and are often left to the discretion of the network.
For advertisers who know the audience they want to reach, targeted marketing can be a better and more cost-effective route. Targeted marketing focuses on directing ads to an unobtrusive type of consumer. In print, this usually takes the form of advertisements placed in trade magazines or on billboards outside certain types of shops. It tends to take on a slightly more nuanced meaning in the internet space.
Ad network operators typically coordinate online targeted advertising by monitoring Internet traffic and serving ads to specific Web users based on their browsing history. Tracking can be both behavioral, i.e. triggered by an individual’s click history or purchasing trends, and contextual. The contextual ad service depends on the type of websites a person typically browses and the type of content they typically read. This type of ad may simply feature a certain brand that a person recently searched for, or it could offer a targeted promotion or deal related to something sold on the page the user is currently visiting. Orchestrated ad serving is a defining feature of contextual advertising.
One of the biggest differences between the work of print media ad networks and online ad networks is the driving technology. Where an ad network once actually had to liaise with various publishers, today it maintains most of those networks electronically, as opposed to what’s known as an ad exchange. An ad exchange is a type of computer program that uses algorithms and data from a variety of sources to generate prices and availability for certain types of ads in a portfolio of websites. Person-to-person contact is increasingly rare.
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