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Media Buying Newb Questions

by theofferguy2342
4 replies
I am looking into doing some media buying myself, but I must admit it is completely new territory to me. I have a very limited understanding of the process, and I was hoping some fellow forum members can answer a few questions I had.

1) Are the terms ad exchange/ ad server the same thing? They seem to be used synonymously in certain cases, but I wanted to know for sure. Also, I know Google uses DoubleClick to serve their display ads (or at least that's what I am assuming, please correct me if I am wrong), which is why I wanted to know what the differences are between an exchange and an ad server, if any.

2) When making a media buy on a network such as Sitescout or CPX Interactive, who exactly am I bidding against when it comes to my ad placement? Is it just the other advertisers on Sitescout's network who are using the same keywords/ channels as I am, or are there advertisers from other networks involved as well?

3) When making a media buy with a bigger network such as Facebook or Google, do they provide tracking tools for CTR, conversions, etc or is that a separate piece of the puzzle that I acquire on my own? Also, do other networks such as Sitescout typically provide tracking, or is this something I acquire on my own?

Like I said the display/ media buying landscape is pretty foreign to me, so any help/ comments are much appreciated.
#buying #media #newb #questions
  • Profile picture of the author wizzard1222
    You'll have to do a lot of content siffting....
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  • Profile picture of the author wDigital
    Hey,

    A few quick answers...

    1) Ad Server is a tool such Open X or AdShuffle (paid tool) to monitor and place your ads. Best used for large/small direct to site buys.

    Ad Exchange is different. Basically that is a company brokering traffic from advertiser and website owner.

    2) In all honesty I haven't used those two networks, but used others. In most cases you are bidding against other advertisers, depending on the network that could be CPM based.

    3) Facebook & Google provide their own tracking, including impressions, ctr, etc. Personally I like to track everything myself using an AdServer & my own prosper 202 install, but I avoid FB and Google at all costs so i can sleep well at night!

    All the best my friend.
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    • Profile picture of the author theofferguy2342
      Originally Posted by wDigital View Post

      Hey,

      A few quick answers...

      3) Facebook & Google provide their own tracking, including impressions, ctr, etc. Personally I like to track everything myself using an AdServer & my own prosper 202 install, but I avoid FB and Google at all costs so i can sleep well at night!

      All the best my friend.
      Is Google still a good place to test an offer initially? I figured that if I am going to test an offer, PPC is the way to to go as it is guaranteed traffic. Whether that traffic converts or not though...

      Also, when using Google or another network that has tracking built in, do you still recommend tracking yourself with something like Prosper 202? I see why you need it if you were doing direct buys on sites, but I wanted to know if there are benefits to using your own tracking rather than say, Google's.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dr SiteScout
    Originally Posted by theofferguy2342 View Post

    I am looking into doing some media buying myself, but I must admit it is completely new territory to me. I have a very limited understanding of the process, and I was hoping some fellow forum members can answer a few questions I had.

    1) Are the terms ad exchange/ ad server the same thing? They seem to be used synonymously in certain cases, but I wanted to know for sure. Also, I know Google uses DoubleClick to serve their display ads (or at least that's what I am assuming, please correct me if I am wrong), which is why I wanted to know what the differences are between an exchange and an ad server, if any.

    2) When making a media buy on a network such as Sitescout or CPX Interactive, who exactly am I bidding against when it comes to my ad placement? Is it just the other advertisers on Sitescout's network who are using the same keywords/ channels as I am, or are there advertisers from other networks involved as well?
    You are bidding against other advertisers on our platform and across other platforms that are integrated with the same exchanges and publishers. It's one big real-time auction.

    3) When making a media buy with a bigger network such as Facebook or Google, do they provide tracking tools for CTR, conversions, etc or is that a separate piece of the puzzle that I acquire on my own? Also, do other networks such as Sitescout typically provide tracking, or is this something I acquire on my own?
    On SiteScout all the tracking is provided, from total impressions bid and won, to CTR, to conversions, from landing page clicks to retargeting audience counts, pretty much everything is tracked. View-through conversion tracking should be coming soon. There is really no need for any 3rd party tracking unless you're doing A/B testing on your landing pages or anything else post-click.

    Like I said the display/ media buying landscape is pretty foreign to me, so any help/ comments are much appreciated.
    Understandable. If you have any other questions, please let me know.
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    SiteScout.com
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