Ad Serving is a procedure that involves an ad request, server, delivery, and performance tracking. Each has its separate role, and this cycle keeps on repeating. In the digital landscape, it allows real-time delivery of the advertisement along with performance tracking and targeting. This assists advertisers in improving their campaigns for better results. Therefore, it plays an important role in enhancing the performance of digital advertising.
Do you want to learn more about ad serving? That’s perfect, as the following blog will act as your guide to tell you about ad serving, the server, how it works, and some frequently asked questions, such as the goal of the ad-serving model, the ad extension that can operate automatically, and how ads are served online.
We briefly mentioned ad serving in the introduction about being the process, where users, who explore the internet instantly receive and view advertisements. If we see the bigger picture, then it is a technology that supports the display of ads on apps, digital platforms, and websites. The ad-serving platforms then come ahead to match ads with the correct target audience, optimizing ad campaigns and monitoring the ad’s performance.
You must be thinking about how these ads reach users in real time. An ad server makes the entire method possible. This server is an exclusive software that is designed to play an essential role in the field of the digital sphere. According to Business Research Insights, the size of the global Ad server market was $2310 million in 2021 and, by 2032, is anticipated to peak at $4896.8. The software acts as a mediator between publishers and advertisers, helping with the delivery of ads, which internet users view while scrolling across cyberspace.
If you remember, we told you in the introduction that the ad serving process involves key factors such as an ad request, server, delivery, and tracking of the ad’s performance. Each of them has its separate roles, which makes the ad serving a seamless task. Their properties are as follows:
When a user visits a website or application, the browser sends a request to the server. This request consists of details such as where the user is viewing the page, which device they use to take the action, and what their search preference is.
What happens next is that the ad server sends the request to the ad server. The special software decides what kind of ads to display in front of the user based on multiple factors, such as their profile, the content of the website, and the targeting criteria of the advertiser.
Once the ad server determines the type of ad that should be displayed ahead of the user, it selects the interest-appropriate ad and sends it in the shape of text, video, and image to the user’s screen for display.
The ad server also has the responsibility of tracking the performance of the advertisement, recording impressions to see how many times the ad was seen, conversions to see the number of times the ad compelled the user to take the necessary action like sign-up or purchase, and clicks to see the number of times the ad was clicked.
At the publisher’s end, ad serving involves monetizing and managing ad inventory on an app or website. It comprises of the following key steps:
In ad inventory management, publishers give space to ad slots on their specific app or website. They further define the size, targeting options, and placement.
Over here, publishers connect their inventory of ads to platforms known as ad exchanges, where buyers and sellers of the same ad inventory can transact and meet.
Ad delivery occurs when a user visits a publisher’s app or website. The ad server then determines the appropriate ad for the particular user based on their profile and the publisher’s targeting criteria.
The performance of the advertising campaign is tracked. How? Publishers use ad-serving channels to track and measure how many impressions, clicks, and conversions the ads have collected, which are displayed on their sites.
Ad servers come ahead to help publishers generate maximum revenue. They do this by optimizing targeting, pricing, and ad placement. For instance, when the ad is displayed at the top of the webpage, it brings in more money since it is referred to as a high-traffic area.
Publishers just don’t accept any kind of ads to display on their web pages or digital platforms. They make sure that the ad is relevant and aligns with their audience’s mindset. If necessary, they may also apply filters to check ad quality to maintain a standard that allows only the correct ads to be displayed that do not end up hurting the audience’s sentiments or offend in any way.
You have read about the ad serving on the publisher’s side, now it is time to discuss ad serving on an advertiser’s side. In their case, they have to manage and deliver ad campaigns across several digital channels. Let’s unveil the steps through which advertisers tackle ad serving:
The cyber-world is also becoming a dangerous place, where there are high chances of click fraud and bot traffic. Hence, to avoid all in the first place, advertisers use fraud prevention tools to protect their advertising campaigns.
Ad serving and ad tracking are no doubt crucial parts of the domain of digital marketing. And both have different properties. They are as follows:
The focus of ad serving remains on the delivery of ads, while ad tracking looks forward to assembling and assessing data related to the ad’s performance on the webpage.
Ad serving monitors basic metrics such as clicks and impressions, whereas ad tracker records much more advanced metrics like cost per acquisition, return on investment, and conversions.
Ad serving helps deliver the correct ads to users, while ad trackers assist in optimizing campaigns and measuring their effectiveness in grabbing the audience’s attention.
We hope you understand how the ad serving cycle works and how it coordinates with the publisher and advertiser to deliver the correct ads in front of the users based on their profile, demographics, interests, and other factors.
The primary goal of the ad-serving model is to deliver ads to the users in such a way that enhances their effectiveness. The process involves targeting the correct audience, who, after watching the ad, are most likely to buy the product without second thoughts. Placing ads in the correct places, where people are not able to overlook and are forced to click to see ahead. Measuring performance, where ad metrics in the shape of impressions, conversions, and clicks are tracked to see how the campaign is performing. Protecting ads from suspicious activities like becoming victims of bot traffic and click fraud.
Google processes the request and serves millions of ads every day. The search engine does not reveal the exact number of ads it serves, but it is said that it is done in billions. The volume of ads served depends on several factors, such as how many people have searched for it, the availability of ad inventory, and user behavior.
The ad extensions that can serve automatically are Sitelink extensions. These appear below the main ad and carry a link to a specific page on their website. Sitelink comes in handy for promoting products, services, and landing pages. The extensions need to be added to their ad campaigns to use them for ad-serving with relevant URLs. Google ADs will select the most relevant site links automatically to display in front of the user based on their search query.
Ad servers make the most out of multiple targeting methods to align ads that fit well with their audience’s mindset so that they receive a good personalised experience. These ads show up in a variety of formats such as video ads, banners, or pop-ups too.
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