Advertising Networks Frequently Asked Questions

The world of advertising has many ups and downs but most importantly, it has been known to be extremely beneficial for marketers around the world.
For newbies, Advertising is nothing short of an industry that is riddled with complected terms.
These terms make it difficult to understand the differences between Advertising Networks and how to use them effectively.
It is the duty of experts within the industry to make it easy for Advertisers and Publishers to understand the key terms and how to use them effectively.
In this article, we state and describe all the types of advertising Networks.

What are Advertising Networks?

Advertising Networks which are also known as “Ad networks” are online advertising technologies that make it easy for Advertisers to create and distribute Ads to publishers’ Ad spaces.

This simply means, Advertising Network simply connects Advertisers and Publishers for easy advertising and monetization.
One could simply say, the main function of an Ad Network is to aggregate publishers’ inventory to fit advertisers’ demands.

On the other hand, Advertising Networks provide advantages to advertisers as it enables them to create and target their ads to a specific audience while at the same time, advertisers can track their results through impressions and clicks, and video average watch time.
The flexibility the system provides for publishers and advertisers is simply the connection that benefits each party.

What are Mobile Ad Networks?

Mobile Ad Networks work just like any other typical Ad Network, the difference is that these types of Ad Networks put more emphasis on targeting only mobile traffic, these traffic is traffic that is generated only from mobile Apps, Mobile search results, mobile display Ads etc.

The advertising industry has seen a massive change since mobile phones became smarter, the advertising industry has done a great job of utilizing mobile device users and the results are fantastic.

Mobile Ad Networks give advertisers to target specific mobile audiences.
For instance, markets advertising Apps could use mobile Ad Networks to target only mobile user who is mostly potential customers.
It makes sense to use mobile ad networks as all types of ads can be displayed or shown on mobile devices such as banner ads, text ads, interstitial ads, In-App Ads etc.

The video below gives a very detailed explanation of the advertising ecosystem

What is PPC Ad Networks?

Pay per click (PPC) which is also known as Cost per click (CPC) is basically an Internet or digital advertising model used by Advertising Networks.
This makes PPC Ad Networks be Ad Networks that specifically use only the PPC pricing model for their adverting.

It is one of the most used advertising price models which is easily understood by advertisers and some can argue it is the most preferred pricing model used by both advertising networks and advertisers.
PPC advertising model comes in two different types: The Flat rate PPC and Bid-based PPC

The Flat rate PPC: This model of pricing specifies that the advertisers and the Ad network or the Publisher agrees on a flat rate price per click generated. For instance, the advertiser and the publishers may agree on 0.5 per click generated.

In some cases, Ad Networks or the publisher will charge based on each Ad space on the webpage.

Bid-based PPC: In this model, several advertisers compete against each other in an auctioning system hosted by the Ad network.
The advertisers set the maximum amount they are willing to pay for each specific ad position on the publisher’s web pages.
Keywords are often used to enhance the target while the auctioning system is triggered automatically each time a visitor triggers the adposition or spot.

What are CPM Ad Networks?

First I will like to explain what is CPM in the simplest way, Cost per impression (CPI), also known as Cost per thousand impressions (CPM) is an advertising pricing model which pays the publisher a fixed amount for every 1000 impressions or page-views generated.

After understanding what CPM is, it will be easier to understand what CPM Ad Networks are which are, Ad Networks that specifically use this type of pricing method for both advertisers and publishers.

Some publishers prefer this pricing model due to its flexibility.
The calculation of CPM is taken from the set advertising cost and the number of impressions which is expressed as Cost per impression ($) = Advertising cost ($) / Number of Impressions (#).
For example:

1. The total cost of running the ad is $15,000.
2. The total estimated audience is 2,400,000 people.
3. ($15,000/2,400,000) = $0.00625
4. CPM is calculated as: $0.00625 x 1000 (meaning per thousand impressions) = $6.25

What is eCPM?

Effective Cost Per Mille (eCPM) is a measurement system used by advertisers, Advertising Networks, and Publishers to estimate the actual value of advertising costs.
eCPM is calculated in the following manner: Cost-per-Click (CPC) auction is calculated by multiplying the CPC times the click-through rate (CTR) and multiplying that by one thousand. (Represented by: (CPC x CTR) x 1000 = eCPM.).
Example

• There are two banners: “Curious Apps” and “Sensor Apps”.
• The publishers earn $1 per click.
• Both banners were published for the duration of one week.
• “Curious Apps” was viewed by 5000 visitors of which 20 clicked on it.
• “Sensor Apps” was viewed by 5000 visitors of which 70 clicked on it.

This shows that:

1. “Curious Apps” has an eCPM of $7 ($1 * 20/5000) * 1000
2. “Sensor Apps” has an eCPM of $20 ($1 * 70/5000) * 1000

What is Video Ad Networks?

Video Ad Networks are Ad Networks that specifically sell online video inventory across multiple platforms and devices.

These Ad Networks focus on online video ads which are mostly displayed before the main video is played also known as “Display video Ads” Online video advertising comes in different forms: in-stream, out-stream, interactive, in-game, and webpage-based videos, creating video messaging before, during, and after consumers take in the content on their mobile devices or desktop.

Video advertising allows Internet marketers to engage their audience with engaging video ads in very effective ways.
YouTube is the biggest video advertising platform on the Internet while several other Ad Networks are also grabbing a share of the market.
Video Ad Networks also use CPC and CPM methods for video advertising.

What are Banner Ad Networks?

To answer this we first have to understand what is banner advertising. Banner advertising refers to the use of a rectangular graphic display that comes in various forms and is placed on the top, bottom, or sides of a web page.
Now that you understand what is banner advertising, let’s jump into Banner Ad Networks: these are Ad networks that include banners in their Ad units.

Publishers or advertisers will be able to place ads in various banner sizes and formats of their choice while publishers also will be able to monetize with various banner sizes and formats from such Ad Networks.
Many Ad Networks have banner advertising as part of their Ad units and ad inventory.

What is Native Ad Networks?

First, let’s look at what native advertising is: I would make this simple for you to understand, Native advertising is simply placing Ads on platforms that match the content of the Ads.
Thus, ads should be put in content that matches the ads with the intent to target a specific audience.

A typical example of this may display video ads on videos that are related to the ad video or putting sports equipment ads on sports blogs or advertising new cars on car review YouTube channels or car review websites and blogs.

What is Ad Exchange Networks?

Let’s simply put it as an advertising technology designed to enable the selling and buying of media advertising inventory across multiple Ad Networks.

Ad Exchange platforms use a bidding pricing system. This process is entirely technology-driven.
Some of the most popular Ad exchanges are AppNexus, AOL‘s Marketplace, Microsoft Ad Exchange, OpenX, Rubicon Project Exchange, DoubleClick, and Smaato among many others.

What is Interstitial Advertising Networks?

It will be better to understand what is an Interstitial Ad before moving to an Interstitial Ad Network.

Interstitial Ads also known as full-screen Ads are ads that cover your screen either on mobile or desktop as soon as you reach a webpage or open an App on your mobile device.

These ads are most common in Apps. they are shown mostly between activities or some minutes after interacting with the App.

Now that you understand what is an Interstitial Ad, let us define Interstitial Ad networks: These are specific Ad Networks that deal with interstitial ads as part of their Ad inventory.

A lot of Ad Networks are beginning to offer advertisers and publishers the opportunity to advertise and monetize with interstitial Ads.

How do I know my Advertising Cost and ROI?

Understanding how to calculate your Advertising cost will definitely help you go a long way in your online advertising.
You will be in a better position to know your advertising ROI and also make better decisions on your subsequent advertising.
Here is a post that clearly shows you how to calculate your advertising cost and ROI

Conclusion

These are some of the most asked questions by newbies in the advertising industry.

We understand there are more than a hundred questions that needed answers but can’t put all of them here in this list. however, we will be happy to know from you which questions you would want us to answer and add to this list.
Let us know your suggestions in the comment section below.