Outbrain, headquartered in New York with offices globally, is an internationally known native advertising platform for curating and publishing content across a variety of channels and media spaces, containing editorial controls, analytics for judging impact, and related features.
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Smart AdServer
Score 10.0 out of 10
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Smart AdServer is a French ad server provider with a large international presence. Customers tend to be European media outlets. Smart AdServer It has been a subsidiary of the Axel Springer Group since 2007.
If your client or organization is running a high volume awareness campaign, Outbrain would be a platform to diversify your mix with. Pretty low maintenance and easy to set up, you can get ads running in a few minutes. If your primary goal is conversions, there are probably better channels you can use where the targeting is a little more transparent and would likely see a higher avg conversion rate.
Smart AdServer is great for a marketing department, to track stats and clicks of their audience. It's a great way to engage the client without actually engaging them. We use it all the time to monitor where they're going, what they're interested in, and how engaging our posts are. I would say it's probably not a good idea for a smaller organization, as one social media manager could work it all out
It is easy to use, with functionality covering mobile, desktop and even tablet. I'm always on the go, so it's nice to be able to access my server from pretty much anywhere.
It has a wonderful intuitive user interface, every facet of this is designed and thought over, so it's easy to navigate around the program.
It offers a free trial so there's no real commitment if you just want to try it out, which is nice.
Customer Service - Speaking to a human is nearly impossible, there is no "chat" function, and no phone number immediately available. Ultimately, I've had to email a generic CS contact and wait several days before heading back.
High Number of Guidelines - The number of guidelines one must meet before using Outbrain is much higher than any other ad platform I've used. Most of them are highly specific and not necessarily items that a website would have out-of-the-box.
I would like a more in-depth look at my traffic stats. I can see clicks, where my audience is going, but I'd like maybe some kind of perspective into who my audience is (18-24, adult, etc).
Constant updates. It's nice that they're always looking to update program, but the update can kinda get in the way of my work sometimes.
I'd prefer it if were a little cheaper – the free trial is nice, but getting my superiors to sign off on the cost (they're a bit old school) is a bit tough sometimes.
The use case is very obvious, brand awareness and low cost conversions because of its reach in billions. The platform is easy to use, well sorted and defined with good click optimized algorithms and brands can use it without hesitation. If monitored well and optimized accordingly, this can prove to be one of the best advertising channels.
We had an account manager assigned to us, but they really didn't offer too much help outside of the financial side of things. We used the self-serve platform with mild suggestions every few weeks from our reps amounting to "spend a bit more here."
Here at AdRizer my personal ad sources primarily revolve around Google Ads & Outbrain. Taboola is extremely similar to Outbrain minus the fact that strategies are dictated on the account level unlike by campaign with Outbrain
Honestly, you can use either/or. I'm all about AdServer right now because since Adobe has implemented their cloud service, they've gotten more expensive. Smart AdServer is just one cost, and it's cheaper than Adobe Cloud
None. My perspective is that further testing is needed as well as additional tracking capabilities applied to be able to assess value. However, it's a CPC model and relatively inexpensive in regards to additional reach, especially if it's packaged in with an Earned media push into the marketplace.
It's helped my organization better manage our traffic flow.
It's reduced the amount of work on our social media manager.
It's helped my organization get a better perspective on our clientele - where they're going, what they're interested in, it's been a great asset to our business.
