This is the first article in a series where we will be discussing the various digital platforms and their relationship to native direct response advertising. Over the next several articles, we will highlight the top digital advertising platforms and networks and how they affect your advertising strategy.
At Tapstone, we live and breathe results, so we engineered a more robust approach to Native advertising, ‘Native for Direct Response’.
Native advertising is a type of advertising that matches the platform’s form and function upon which it appears. Native for Direct Response is an advertorial format that delivers the superior look and feel of Native, with Direct Response Advertising’s tangible results.
In this first article, we highlight Taboola.
Most people are surprised when they hear that Taboola is the web’s largest content network.
And suppose you’re not currently advertising on Taboola. In that case, you’re missing out on reaching customers at the most logical point of engagement.
Taboola Reaches Potential Consumers Everywhere
Taboola has 1.5 billion unique users monthly across mobile and desktop devices. Taboola also boasts premium placement on over 22,000 publishers worldwide. These publishers include some of the most well-known and well-respected news and information sites on the web, including CNN, ESPN, the Washington Post, the New York Post, Fox News, The Weather Channel, and many others. We’ll get into the mechanics of this later in the article.
If you have ever visited any website, and have scrolled down through an article, then chances are you have seen the Taboola widget.
These ads’ function is simple: to take the reader through a tightly controlled funnel that results in a defined action (a “direct response”). But more importantly, these ads exist because they’re more lucrative than any other kind of digital advertising.
The service appeals to audiences who don’t know what they are looking for but are randomly searching.
Taboola Competes Against The “Walled Garden”
What’s the walled garden?Â
A walled garden is a closed ecosystem in which one or two entities control all operations. In the digital marketing industry, Google and Facebook are prime examples.
The big three are:
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Google for searchÂ
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Facebook for socialÂ
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Amazon for E-CommerceÂ
Facebook and Google sell their inventory while also representing the demand side and controlling their ad slots price.
Facebook and Google can gather data on users and then have their clients run campaigns using the digital companies’ entire marketing stack. Including their Data Management Platforms (DMPs) and Demand Side Platforms (DSPs). In such a manner, Google and Facebook have ensured airtight systems with zero data leakage.
And that has left little other avenues for major publishing companies to derive revenue. What Taboola has done is so impressive.
Taboola enables publishers to compete against Google, Facebook, and Amazon by giving access to publishers and advertisers known as the open web. (See our previous blog “Digital Advertising Beyond Google, Facebook, and Amazon†for more information)
Your Advertising is Seen on the Sites Your Customers Visit Across the Web
Digital mainstream news providers are fighting for revenue as Google and Facebook claim more than 60 percent of online advertising revenue.
Taboola has an advantage that Google and Facebook don’t: they are placed directly on the publisher’s page. The publishers can monetize advertising dollars from readers on their site. But just because your ad appears in the Taboola widget, you’re not getting charged for the millions of eyeballs seeing your ad.
Only When Your Ad Gets Clicked Does Taboola Make Money
Taboola makes money on each click, paid to them by the advertiser posting the ad.
An ad can live in the Taboola widget and be potentially seen by millions of people. However, if the ad is not clicked, then there is no payment made. Whenever a reader clicks on that ad, Taboola gives a portion of that revenue to the publishers hosting the ads.
Taboola’s Reach Is Massive
Taboola claims its services reach more than 1.5 billion people a month. Through publishers like MSN, CNBC, USA Today, Fox News, ESPN, The Weather Chanel, Huffington Post, The Washington Post, BBC, The Guardian, and many other reputable sites.
Taboola gives advertisers a way to reach the masses by engaging them at the place they are most likely to see an ad – on the site they are currently on.
That’s why Taboola’s ads have long been popular with many publishers: In fact, most well-known news organizations use Taboola on their websites. 82 percent of the top 50 news sites have a Taboola ad box embedded in their site.
It’s a win-win for all. Publishers secure guaranteed income for external clicks. Advertisers reach engaged new audiences. And people get content that may interest them. That’s why Taboola and similar companies are considered a threat to traditional context-based offerings such as Google’s AdSense.
The Bottom Line
The Taboola platform is engaging to readers, and an engaged reader leads to more sales.
And here’s the best part for advertisers, big and small. Your ad appears in the Taboola box across multiple reputable sites. Yet, you only pay if the consumer clicks on your ad.
With the reach of over 1.5 billion people worldwide every month, 3X higher time on site than a banner advertisement, and 5X higher at visibility than banners, this is advertising you can’t afford to neglect.
Tapstone: The Taboola Experts
Navigating the world of Taboola – and all forms of digital advertising – can be tricky for inexperienced and experienced advertisers. That’s why you need an agency with a specialty in the arena. Want to learn more about engaging audiences at the sites they are visiting? Then connect with the experts in the native and digital advertising space. Contact Tapstone today.
