If you’re a busy online publisher with millions of pageviews a month, most of your time is probably dedicated to creating high-quality content and growing your audience. But you also need to make money – and for most publishers, that means advertising.
Unfortunately, digital advertising is complex and it’s constantly changing. Many publishers miss out on valuable revenue opportunities because they lack the time, resources, skills or expertise to optimize their ad operations (“ad ops”) effectively. In fact, some may not even realize all that goes into revenue generation via ad ops.
What is ad ops?
Ad ops is a broad term encompassing everything related to the planning, management, and delivery of online ad space. It typically involves the use of various platforms and tools, including demand side platforms (DSP), supply side platforms (SSP), data management platforms (DMP), ad exchanges, private marketplaces (PMP), and more.
A comprehensive ad ops workflow includes a wide variety of tasks, including:
- Ad management
- Site management
- Demand management
- Revenue optimization
- Performance optimization
- Ad inventory audits
- Billing and technical operations
- Vendor management
- Performance analysis and reporting
The ultimate goal of ad ops is to drive higher ad revenue for the publisher but doing so requires constant attention, testing, and experimentation. For small and mid-sized publishers, keeping up with the demands of ad ops can be time-consuming as evidenced by the complexity shown in this image of the display advertising ecosystem.
In-house versus outsourced ad ops
A dedicated in-house ad ops team can provide the necessary expertise to manage this complex process, but the high cost of paying a full-time staff puts this option out of reach for small to mid-sized publishers. In addition, programmatic advertising is a highly specialized field, so finding and retaining skilled professionals is no small task.
Instead, many publishers choose to partner with a trusted provider for their ad operations. With the right partner, publishers can get expert support and cutting-edge technology to maximize ad revenue – without the overhead cost of hiring and managing an in-house staff.
Top 5 benefits of outsourcing ad ops
Outsourcing your ad operations to an expert – like Sovrn – provides numerous benefits for small and medium-sized publishers. Here are just a few:
- Technical and strategic expertise
With an outsourced ad ops team, publishers get access to the latest in ad technology, along with experienced professionals who are well-versed in programmatic best practices and industry trends – not to mention website design and development. Your outsourced team has the tools and expertise to audit your site, optimize your ad units and monetization strategy, and maximize overall performance so you don’t get bogged down in technical minutiae. - Continuous campaign optimization
Effective ad operations requires careful planning, precise calculations, and thorough testing. As a result, making changes can be a slow and tedious process for an internal team with wide ranging responsibilities. An outsourced ad ops team is solely focused on executing campaign strategy and making changes to optimize performance – and a good partner will offer 24/7 monitoring for complete peace of mind. - Better ROI with less effort
Publishers know that an effective ad strategy will improve revenue, but it can take a lot of time and effort to get it right. Dedicated ad ops professionals have the expertise to find those small but critical opportunities to increase revenue from ad channels, and they can lower your overhead expenses because you only pay for what you need. The end result? More value from your ad ops investment and significant improvements to your bottom line. - Deep analytics and reporting
Without a dedicated ad ops partner, publishers seldom have the capability to thoroughly test their monetization strategy to gain critical insights into what’s working and what’s not. Outsourcing ad ops provides access to rich data insights, real-time reporting, and in-depth analysis to fine-tune every aspect of your ad strategy. - More time to do what’s really important
Let’s face it – you didn’t get into online publishing so you could spend time managing ad ops strategy. Successful ad ops keeps the revenue flowing, but it requires a lot of time, energy, and expertise. Outsourcing your ad ops can free up your valuable time to focus on your core purpose: creating great content to keep your audience engaged.
Partner with Sovrn for all your ad ops needs
Outsourcing ad ops can make life a little easier for publishers – but only if you choose the right partner. Sovrn Ad Management provides innovative technology and an experienced, dedicated team to help you maximize your ad revenue while reducing overhead cost.
- Industry expertise:
We take the headache out of ad ops with technical support, best practices, and tools to ensure the best ad performance. - Advanced technology:
More efficient use of bid requests and responses, with a unified auction that incorporates display, video, and native formats to maximize yield. - Advantageous pricing:
Volume-based pricing offers a more equitable model for publishers. Generate more revenue with Sovrn and keep more of what you earn! - Granular reporting:
Rich dashboards and real-time reporting provide deep insights into ad performance, so you don’t have to guess what’s working and what’s not. - Flexible service model:
Utilize as much support as you need, whether you’re looking for full ad ops management or simply want to use our wrapper and reporting.
With Sovrn Ad Management, you can stop worrying about ad ops and get back to what you do best: creating great content and growing your audience. Contact us at sales@sovrn.com to learn more about how we can work together.
Google Certified
We’re proud to be a Certified Publishing Partner. This badge shows that we meet rigorous qualification standards, we’re highly trained and we’ve received high rankings in client satisfaction.
