TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Outbrain

    Score5 out of 10
    N/AOutbrain, 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.N/A

    smartocto

    Score7.4 out of 10
    N/ASmartocto creates smart editorial analytics: analytical tools for newsrooms and content creators, to track and analyse the performance of the content they publish online. Its goal is to make data actionable, because content creators are not data analysts. They need data that's easy to interpret and attractive to look at. Analysing content performance consists of two things: keeping an eye on…N/A
    Pricing
    Outbrainsmartocto
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Outbrainsmartocto
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Outbrainsmartocto
    Considered Both Products
    Outbrain
    No answer on this topic
    smartocto
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    88%
    Would buy again
    7 Answers
    89%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    86%
    Delivers good value for the price
    6 Answers
    89%
    Delivers good value for the price
    8 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    88%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    89%
    Happy with the feature set
    8 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    83%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    5 Answers
    89%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    8 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    86%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
    89%
    Implementation went as expected
    8 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    Outbrainsmartocto
    Small Businesses
    Amazon Advertising Sponsored Products
    Score5.5 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Amazon Advertising Sponsored Products
    Score5.5 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    AdSense
    Score8.7 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Outbrainsmartocto
    Likelihood to Recommend
    1.5
    (17 ratings)
    7.3
    (9 ratings)
    Usability
    7.8
    (5 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.5
    (6 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Outbrainsmartocto
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Outbrain
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    smartocto
    Great for setting up MEL measurements for web based media. Great for use in media environments especially where there is no dedicated data analytics staff. Not sure how useful it would be for those sites that are not content focused.
    Read full review
    Pros
    Outbrain
    • Website network: Outbrain provides high-quality websites in its network so that you can get a quality audience.
    • Affordable pricing: The CPC offered by Outbrain is relatively cheaper than other alternatives.
    • Content dashboard: The dashboard allows you to edit the content before publishing it on Outbrain's platform.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    smartocto
    • Provides detailed stats on overall blog performance
    • Shows which blog topics resonate with readers
    • Measures individual blogs against key performance metrics
    Read full review
    Cons
    Outbrain
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    smartocto
    • It has a lot of information and data all over the place. It took us some time to get used to it and get people properly onboarded. We have seen some improvement, but UX has more space to improve.
    Read full review
    Usability
    Outbrain
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    smartocto
    smartocto is a very user-friendly tool, with a smart & clean interface.
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Outbrain
    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."
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    smartocto
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Outbrain
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    smartocto
    smartocto is much easier to use and is perfectly setup so that newsrooms can see the information they need in a quick and easy-to-use format.
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Outbrain
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    smartocto
    • It had a positive ROI in terms of support they provide and custom based approach to all our media partners
    • Readiness to find solutions to any type of question we might have
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    smartocto Screenshots

    Screenshot of Realtime and smart notificationsScreenshot of Historical insightsScreenshot of Customisable BigscreenScreenshot of Realtime A/B testing of headers and lead-in texts