Even though social media is becoming increasingly important in the acquisition of information, a lot of content is still being generated on more traditional websites. For example, more and more people are reading newspapers and magazines online. And these users are now accustomed to receiving suggestions for further contributions after they have finished reading an article. In fact, many readers expect to receive suggestions at the end of every text that they read. This is where Outbrain comes into play.
Outbrain is a so-called content distribution network, which makes it an interesting alternative to Google AdWords. It sees itself as a company that aims to be the link between businesses and publishers. The general idea is that instead of more traditional advertisements (Display Ads), companies create editorial content that could be of interest to readers. Selected articles can also be integrated into other webpages, usually more popular ones. Naturally, the operator of the site charges a fee for this. This means that not every single advertiser has to sign a contract with every publisher. Instead, there are networks like Outbrain that do this for them.
Outbrain provides a widget that website operators can install on their respective sites. As a result, visitors to the website are also suggested articles which are not found on the same website, but instead on that of the advertiser. By clicking on the headline or the thumbnail, the user is directed to the specific article. Advertisers only incur costs when users actually click on the links (CPC). A company sets out a budget for this in advance, and once this is used up, the articles are no longer distributed.
If you do opt for Outbrain, there are further benefits that you can enjoy. According to Outbrain, 50 algorithms help to display content that really appeals to the customer. These algorithms look at the context surrounding the current article, the behavior of the user group, as well as the surfing behavior of the user. Outbrain uses cookies for the latter of these, however, they can also be disabled via opt-out. Furthermore, Outbrain tries to understand when the relevance of an article is no longer given because, for example, if it is no longer up to date or relevant. Such articles then no longer appear in the widgets.
When creating a campaign, you select both the title and preview image. What this means is that the title of the link, as displayed by the widget, does not necessarily have to match the title of the linked article. It also becomes especially important if you are also simultaneously pursuing a SEO campaign with your content. The keyword that appears in the headline may work well for search engines but, unlike an ad, doesn't need to invite clicks. Once this step is complete, you can then decide on a budget and the CPC, which will define how you compete in the auction – Outbrain also auctions advertising spots.
It is also possible to specify the time period (if you do not want the campaign to run until the end of the budget) as well as the target group. To do this, you need to specify the locations where your content is to be on display and the devices it is to be displayed on. An information field next to your specifications indicates the expected range of coverage. With just these few settings, your campaign is ready to go online. Success is easily monitored. Additionally, A/B tests help to identify the best strategy.
It is also possible to promote only one article within a particular campaign, while still adding different images and headlines. This can be done to figure out which combinations work and which do not necessarily generate clicks. However, this link optimization brings about one of the biggest problems for Outbrain, and other similar providers; clickbait. Instead of actually displaying relevant content, readers are encouraged to clicks with promising link titles and thumbnails. However, they are then ultimately brought to a page that contains mostly just advertising.
By establishing clear guidelines, Outbrain tries to counteract this behavior. Along with sexual or illegal content, links that are purely for advertising purposes or have misleading titles are also prohibited. However, enforcing these rules can be difficult. The fact that there isn't more vigorous action being taken against clickbait is probably also down to the publishers. Online media companies are largely financed by Outbrain or one of its competitors.