Selling inventory to multiple
advertisers

Exactly who are direct advertisers, ad networks
and ad exchanges? And, why do they want to
advertise on your website?

Publishers can sell advertising space to different types
of organisations

- Advertisers that buy space directly from individual web publishers
- Ad networks
- Ad exchanges
- Direct advertisers

Sell space (inventory) on behalf of multiple websites to multiple
websites

• Generally take a “revenue share”
• Examples: Google Adsense, Commission Junction, Tradedoubler
• Auction inventory to the highest paying advertiser / ad network
• Different models
• Examples: Right Media, Traffiq, ADSDAQ

Direct advertisers are attractive buyers for publishers’
inventory, where publishers can find them

Benefits
• Hardest to find / negotiate with
• Often not interested in dealing
with individual publishers
‐ Time consuming
‐ Seeking websites with proven reputation
• Pay the best rates
‐ No middle men taking a cut
• Relevant ads
‐ Advertiser seeking websites
with relevant audiences

Disadvantages
Ad networks give publishers access to a large numbers
of advertisers

Benefits
• Hard for publishers to measure
“value” ad network is adding
– Makes it hard to compare
performance of different
networks
• Can be costly
– Some revenue share deals
only leave publishers with a
small cut of the advertising
spend.
• Make large numbers of
advertisers available to each
publisher
• Minimize amount of work
publisher needs to do to serve
ads, e.g.
– technical work
– manage relationship with
advertisers

Disadvantages
Ad exchanges offer publishers an exciting alternative
route to sell inventory

Benefits
• Different ad exchanges offer
different models
– Real time auction vs prepay
• It can be unclear which model
provides publishers with the best
deals
• Should maximize revenue by
selling inventory (advertising
space) to the highest paying
bidder

Disadvantages

Thank You!

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http://www.openx.org/online‐advertising‐explained