5 Online Advertising Networks You Must Know About

Online advertising is very different than the classic methods you likely grew up with. Similarities exist, but there are many more contrasting aspects because of the technology involved.

Advertising online also keeps changing. The big players aren’t known except by the “enlightened” few.

If you just got stared with advertising online, you have likely been led to believe that the only players are Google and Facebook. While it is true, these two places are excellent places to go for your online advertising, there are many more great choices.

Here are the 5 places I suggest you look for getting the most from your ad placements…

These ad networks provide an easy way for small and medium businesses and the new entrepreneurs to begin highly targeted advertising online without the added expense of an account manager or ad agency.

In these 5 online advertising agencies presented below, I will show you the serious players you need to know, and the essentials of compliance in their networks so you can get your ads approved quickly. This is not a detailed lesson in compliance with each network. For that, you should simply read the networks compliance policies.

So let’s get started…

Online Advertising Networks

#1.  Outbrain

Outbrain is an online advertising network designed to optimize your content, connect your content with targeted audiences, and create long-term relationships with readers. It’s smarter programming allowing you to quickly monetize your expert articles and blog content.

It is a form of native advertising also called suggestion engines or discovery engines because it makes suggestions to readers based on the content of the page the ad appears on.

Outbrain is one of the most experienced of the content native ad networks, and does better than most at preventing overly “spammy” ads from entering their network. They do this by reviewing all ads before publishing.

By using Outbrain, you literally can get your content an indirect recommendation from powerful sites like FoxNews, CNN, People Magazine, Fortune, etc.  Below, the image shows you how your ads may appear…

Getting your ad compliant for Outbrain requires following their strict guidelines, though it’s not difficult to meet these guidelines.  Essentially, make good, informative content that is not direct sales, and is not pornographic, or tobacco or alcohol related.  Complete Outbrain Publishing guidelines are here.

According to comScore, Outbrain’s reaches 63.3% of internet users at least once per month, with 147 million viewers of their ads per month.

#2 Taboola

Similar to Outbrain, Taboola recommends editorial and sponsored content across many of the world’s most highly-trafficked sites.

They help publishers monetize their content to achieve higher engagement. They get your content to the right audience in a large scale by discovering content they likely never knew existed.

Taboola is probably a lesser known net by small and medium business, yet has a higher monthly reach than Outbrain according to comScore.

Despite their lesser infamy, you likely clicked or saw one of their ads as show in the image above as 80.9% of internet viewers see at least one of their ads each month. Your content gets delivered to major websites like Business Insider, Yahoo sites, EuroSport, The Weather Channel, The Atlantic, and many more.

Imagine the power of having such massive traffic viewing your content.

Being compliant in Taboola is pretty simple. No illegal content. That’s about it, which is why it can be a more “spammy” network than Outbrain. Nonetheless, this network will get you traffic to your content you never imagined you could have so easy.

#3 AdCash

AdCash is another very powerful online advertising network you likely never heard of previously. The reason is, AdCash powers other networks, so may even have used AdCash without really knowing it.

You might compare them with Google Adwords and Adsense, but they have a significant advantage for you as a small or medium business, or new entrepreneur. Their restrictions are very much slack compared to Google, and that makes them a favorite with many advertisers.

AdCash has many ad formats for online advertising including:

• Display banners
• Fixed Footer Ads
• Interstitial
• Pop unders
• Slide In Ads
• Background Ads

No one can tell you one ad is better than another. Just test the ad type that works best. Results will vary with the type of offer, the audience, and your goals.

#4 Google Adsense and Adwords

This is nothing new, I’m sure. Google’s main income is from their advertising network of Adsense and Adwords. Shocking isn’t it?

Adsense is for ad publishers to place ads on their websites, and Adwords is for advertisers to place their ads in the Adsense and other Google partner networks.

Google does deliver exactly what they promise. Your ad gets to the targeted audience you want and reaches about 83% of all users on the internet each month.

Google Adwords is where you go to place your ads. They have a long list of compliance guidelines. Their advertising policies are known to change frequently and they can be seemingly tough.

I won’t attempt to make them clear here. The best advice is to read their AdWords policies before you begin. Then your ads will appear with less difficulty.

The real meat of the compliance is don’t be deceptive, make landing pages that meet their requirements, and don’t attempt to disguise offers as being something they aren’t.

#5 Facebook

Despite the fact that you must know other networks besides Google and Facebook; Facebook, like Google, is a network you should know and use for excellent results.

Again, nothing new here. As a business owner or entrepreneur, you should already know that Facebook is a major advertising network. Advertising is how they make money to stay alive with people blabbing things about themselves they likely wouldn’t share in a normal conversation.

Now here’s a secret…

Facebook ads are not as big as many lead you to believe. Their reach is to 62% of the internet monthly, while Google reaches 83%. Facebook, as of this writing, is number seven in ad reach.

Facebook ad compliance can be very strict. Often, it might seem burdensome if you didn’t bother to review the rules before you started.

You should start with the prohibited content:

•    Illegal, prescription, or recreational drugs;
•    Tobacco products and related paraphernalia;
•    Unsafe supplements, as determined by Facebook in its sole discretion;
•    Weapons, ammunition, or explosives; or
•    Adult products or services (except for ads for family planning and contraception).

Reviewing the Facebook ad policies is something you must do, because they do change often. Meeting the requirements gets your ads running much faster.