Ad Networks
Article | October 20, 2022
The impact of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, is being felt by millions of people across the globe. While nobody knows how long this period will last, I believe it's important for companies to try to find some semblance of normalcy. To do so, companies should consider all the ways they can continue to move forward with an eye toward empathy. This mindset comes with its own unique restrictions and challenges as human behaviors evolve. With the rise of social distancing and limits around public gatherings, people are moving away from live entertainment, such as movie theaters, plays, sporting events and concerts. Instead, they are spending more time streaming their favorite movies and shows, browsing social media, and playing video games from the comfort of their homes. In lieu of socializing at restaurants and bars, people are connecting with colleagues, friends and loved ones digitally, and many are doing their shopping via e-commerce.
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Retargeting
Article | July 20, 2022
Just like adtech (advertising tech) revolutionized digital marketing, artificial intelligence (AI) is now revolutionizing ad tech. Many digital marketers believe that AI is the next big thing when it comes to digital marketing. This is easy to believe since AI has made automating tasks for proper targeting and positioning of ads, extremely easy and highly effective.
AI is very effective at making ads both lucrative for advertisers and relevant to consumers. Many experts predict that AI will continue to grow significantly throughout the remainder of the decade. AI is being utilized to target ultra-specific niches in order to get the right ads in front of the largest number of highly targeted people.
I has fully proven to be highly valuable in maximizing ad spend. With AI, advertisers are able to establish better quality leads than ever before. Adtech will continue evolving as AI technology continues to improve. This will create an ever-increasing number of adtech software development opportunities advertisers can take advantage of. We’ll take a deeper look at how artificial intelligence is changing adtech.
1. Consumer-focused advertising
Each consumer is relatively different when it comes to their online behavior. This means that the ads for each consumer should be unique too. However, before AI, it wasn’t possible to make content that’s customer-centric for each individual consumer. AI has made it possible for advertisers to create consumer-driven content, which makes ads perform better now, more than they ever have before. There’s an increase in consumer data and that makes it easy for AI to predict the ads that will perform best with different types of consumers.
2. Advanced audience targeting
Adtech has become more relevant with AI. The reason why ads are performing substantially better now than they were before, is because they’ve become more personalized. People get to see the ads that they are actually interested in. Several years ago, it was so hard to find the perfect audience to show an ad to. It was almost impossible. Now, the right audience is selected and targeted with AI-managed ad campaigns through the use of consumer data. Gigabytes of data are analyzed by artificial intelligence in a matter of seconds. It then is able to suggest an ideal audience for each ad campaign. It reduces the work that would have been done by humans in weeks. AI takes only a few minutes and the results are much better.
3. Sentiment analysis based on AI
One of the most recent adaptations of AI is sentiment analysis. Through the use of different techniques, such as computational linguistics and natural language processing (NLP), artificial intelligence can now judge what emotional state a consumer is in. Being able to understand consumer sentiment, allows AI to better understand the preferences and opinions of consumers. Consumer opinions are very important sources of consumer data. As a consumer, you’ll only see ads that are relevant to you. A business experiences an increase in ad clicks, conversions, and revenue through the use of sentiment analysis.
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Advertiser Platforms
Article | August 2, 2022
Did you know that there are over three billion smartphone users globally? While browsing through varied content, they see ads relevant to things they explore in their downloaded apps and games. In addition, they receive offers through SMS and see banner ads on websites they visit. These ads are a part of mobile ad campaigns specifically targeting a certain demographic.
Some examples of mobile ads include carousel ads, image and text ads on Facebook, Snapchat filters and ads, video ads on YouTube, notifications from downloaded apps, ads that play between videos or games, and Instagram Story ads.
Why are advertisers so keen on utilizing mobile ad campaigns?
Mobile Ad Campaigns Speak the Revenue Language
Marketers understand the power and impact of mobile phones on users’ lives. As a result, U.S. marketers spent a record 120 billion U.S. dollars on mobile promotion in 2020. (Statista).
Mobile ad campaigns can achieve tremendous results and bring in revenue for you by creating a connection with the user through personalization and by catering to all kinds of online audience on-the-go.
“The mobile device has become our communications hub, our diary, our entertainment portal, our primary source of media consumption, our wallet and our gateway to real-time information tailored to our needs. The revolution is now!”
- Nihal Mehta, Founding General Partner at Eniac Ventures
Mobile Advertising Covers All the Bases
Companies engage in mobile advertising for objectives like lead generation, customer retention through new offers, brand engagement activities like contests, and creating awareness about a product or a service. Mobile ads are the preferred channel for advertising because:
They are cost-effective
Allow geo-targeting
Get a quick response
Can be easily tracked
Let us look at all the tricks that can help you optimize your mobile ad campaigns.
Grab the Users’ Attention
Imagine mobile users aggressively scrolling on their phones. Your ad should make them stop and grab their attention enough to make them read it. The goals of your ad campaigns should be clear. If you are looking to redirect the user to your website or want them to click on the ad, your campaign execution should align with these goals.
Adding Value Through Your Messaging
Pushing your message effectively to the user can ensure the success of your campaign. Your text should be crisp and sharp, interesting yet simple to comprehend. Use popular phrases or buzz words to create a connection with the users.
Don’t Underestimate Visual Appeal
Visual appeal plays a vital role in the way users react to ads. The image size of your ad, the moving flow, and the options for interacting with the ads can impact your ad’s performance. Ensure that you never interrupt your user’s reading flow when they are browsing and that the visuals of your ad are pleasant and appealing to the eye.
Remember, Brevity is the Soul of Wit
The content of your ad should be impressive enough to make the users engage with it. Users will respond to clear copy, visuals and your message’s simplicity. Furthermore, make sure that your landing pages are bug-free, load quickly and relate to your display ad so that the users can form a tangible connection between them.
Wrapping It Up
Mobile advertising helps brands remain connected to their customers around the clock while on the move. It is a personalized and flexible type of advertising that can help advertisers understand the lifestyle of targeted customers to offer them just what they need.
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Advertiser Campaign Management
Article | December 10, 2020
Where’s the nearest click and collect? What time does our local store close in light of the latest COVID-19 restrictions? Where can I order that toy car he/she wanted for Christmas?
Our bet is Google is your first port of call for an answer to any of these questions.
If it is, you’re not alone. In fact, it’s estimated that Google processes 5.8 billion user searches per day. And, even though there are other search engines out there, like Bing and Yahoo, it is by far the most popular.
So, with so many potential customers – because let’s face it, of those 5.8 billion there are bound to be a few thousand searching for your specific products or services - businesses simply cannot overlook advertising on Google. And even more so now thanks to restrictions on physical stores across the world being put back in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Nate Burke, CEO and founder of Diginius, an ecommerce solutions provider that specialises in digital marketing PPC management, explains how you can get the most out of your Google advertising activities.
The first round of lockdowns during the spring and early summer saw many businesses with physical outlets grind to almost a complete halt. Going digital was the only option for many in order to have some chance of survival.
This saw restaurants offering online order services, more retailers moving into ecommerce and professional services conducting remote meetings via video calls.
Despite some easing of restrictions, many have kept digital their focus. For example, video meetings such as Microsoft Teams, which grew by 894% between February to June in 2020, are now prevalent as the office’s new best friend. And restaurants for instance, have advanced their minimal contact table service, allowing customers to order and pay for food on their phones by scanning a QR code or downloading an app.
But now, with lockdown restrictions being re-enforced in Britain and many other parts of the world, businesses looking to maximise their sales and earnings ahead of the Christmas period, and before the New Year begins, can’t ignore the advertising opportunities available on Google.
PPC
PPC advertising is perhaps the most obvious opportunity. It’s the best way to guarantee that your brand is put in front of an audience and can help generate a spike in traffic and leads.
Paid Search identifies “buyers” immediately. People who have typed in and are clicking a specific keyword tends to already be in buying mode, even if only at the research stage of the journey, which is so powerful compared to the rest of the marketing mix
This is because searchers seek convenience. We have come to expect the first listing on a Search Engine Results Page (SERP) to provide an answer to our query. If it doesn’t, we are more likely to change our search than scroll through pages and pages of results.
Therefore, getting your brand on that all-important first page is crucial for success on Google, which is exactly why paid advertising is beneficial. Not only can it promise a guaranteed spot here, if, the price is right for you, but it could also, potentially, provide you with the number one position.
As well as SERPs, ads can be created for the display network, utilising visual aids in the form of graphics and videos to attract leads on the Google Shopping network, which is particularly beneficial for ecommerce businesses looking to increase sales.
However, to ensure your ads are shown to people who will add value to your business, PPC activity must be strategically mapped out and effectively managed. Account set-up, keywords and bidding strategies must be considered, monitored and then adjusted to ensure your activity is effective and a return on your investment is achieved.
This requires dedicated personnel, time and budget – for both ad spend and management practices for either training, wages or outsourcing the task to an agency.
But, despite the capital required to get started, there are a number of ways to ensure you yield results that make it worthwhile. For example, remarketing can help minimise lost leads and maximise budget by targeting potential customers who have already shown an interest in your product or service.
Automation strategies are another. Bidding and ad copy can be altered automatically, depending on factors including the time of day, location and the user’s specific query wording, for instance. This lessens the chance of clicks from users with little intention of purchasing or submitting an enquiry, and, consequently, reduces wasted budget. Another common way to get more out of search advertising is to replicate campaigns across Microsoft Ads, where there is typically less competition, cheaper clicks, and a better return on investment, albeit lower search volumes.
Local strategy
One of the greatest benefits of the internet is its ability to connect businesses and customers no matter the physical distance between them. And, with lockdown enforcements, an online offering presents an opportunity to reach an even wider customer base than a shop or physical facility that is restricted by location.
However, the internet is a big, old place. It houses greater competition than what many businesses are used to in the physical realm and, as result, it’s easy to become lost, especially if you are in the early stages of establishing an online presence.
So, no matter whether you’re a retailer offering click and collect or running business as usual albeit remotely, keeping things local is your best bet for online success.
In fact, Google uses a Relevance, Distance and Prominence model to determine search results. Those most relevant, the closest in distance to the searcher and most prominent or popular are more likely to be ranked higher on results pages.
In order to maximise your chances of ranking highly for those searching for your products and services in your local area, you should make the most of tools, such as Google My Business and reviews.
As well as providing potential customers with vital business information, such as your address, contact details and COVID-adjusted opening hours, you can also instil trust and confidence in them by presenting a business that appears to be well established and organised. This is particularly important as those consumer sentiments have declined due to the pandemic.
So far, businesses have done well in adapting their processes to changing customer needs in such a short amount of time and under incredibly difficult circumstances at that.
With the coronavirus crisis far from over and many facing an online future, the only thing we can be certain of at this point is that businesses and retailers must act now to grasp opportunity. By utilising platforms such as Google and Microsoft, business owners are not simply making the best of a bad situation but are more so positioning their brand at the forefront of their chosen industry, gifting a significant advantage when markets reopen in their newly digital-focused form.
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