John Meyer says, “Think for a moment about the lineage of brand marketing. At the dawn of the industrial age, marketers used print media as their exclusive resource. Print was soon augmented by radio, which was subsequently complimented by television, and that trifecta lasted well into the new millennium. The explosion of the digital universe added a new promotional dimension, one that rendered its predecessors woefully primitive by comparison. Now in 2015, and for the foreseeable future, technology has legitimized programmatic buying as a major component in the overall brand marketing equation,... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “To combat ad injectors, Google has added a filter on DoubleClick Bid Manager to automatically keep advertisers from buying injected ad inventory across the exchanges it has access to. Google says it has already received nearly 300,000 complaints in 2015 from Chrome users about ad injectors. Ad injector programs can take over legitimate ad placements or put ads in places that are not designed for ads at all. Google provided the example below showing a scam ad injected on the New York Times site, complete with a pop-up. The programs often end up on users’ machines... [...]

Greg Brown says, “With clickthrough rates of 1% to 5%, mobile banner ads are a sad savior for publishers looking to drive advertising revenue. But they can’t ignore this, as people are increasingly turning to their mobile devices to consume content. Consider this: Elite Daily saw a 61% drop in desktop traffic between January 2014 and June 2015, said Nicole Goksel, vice president of revenue operations, at the Digital Publishing Innovation Summit. Rory Brown, chief content officer at Bleacher Report, said at the same conference that he has seen points in time where 90% of the site’s traffic... [...]

Timothy Schmidt says, “On September 7th, 1982, David Ogilvy, founder of the iconic agency Ogilvy & Mather, sent an internal memo to all of his employees. Sparsely titled, “How to Write,” Ogilvy laid out his commandments for producing clear and efficient written messages. Among them (at number five) was the simple doctrine, “Never write more than two pages on any subject.” Surely then, Ogilvy would have loved the blog. Concise (usually under 1,000 words or less), covering only one topic and always endeavoring to add value. The blog has become a mainstay in today’s digital marketing... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “Another nail in Adobe Flash’s coffin is getting hammered in today. Google is now beginning to pause Flash-based ads by default in its Chrome browser. Google announced the move to automatically pause plug-in content, including Flash ads, in Chrome in June as a way to speed up page loads and cut down on battery drain now that more content is consumed on-the-go. The company also said it has been working with Adobe on the way Flash content is displayed in Chrome on desktops as well. Flash animations deemed unessential are automatically paused while “central content”... [...]

Alesia Hsiao says, “Instagram is one of the leading social media platforms for image-based content. We know that. However, what people don’t always think about is whether it can be used as a viable advertising platform. Engagement rates are high, as Forrester states that the 4.21 percent engagement rate makes Instagram the king of social media. That’s incredible, and this reason, along with others, makes this an advertising platform you have to begin considering. How Does Advertising Work on Instagram? Instagram advertising is simple to spot. At the top of each sponsored image, it will... [...]

Tyler Rhodes says, “If you’ve been noticing that you’re just not getting any click-throughs on your banner ads, you’re not alone. People have grown weary of ads that don’t speak to them or interrupt their reading activities. But there’s hope. Along with outlining some of the most common reasons why banner ads are ignored, we’ve included food for thought on how to make the whole advertising experience better for your readers to begin with. People Aren’t Click on Your Banner Ads Because…  They’re Irrelevant Did you serve someone an ad that wasn’t the right... [...]

Rob Rasco says, “Our industry is on a journey. Digital media is growing up, and as mobile becomes the predominant way people consume content, marketers are learning the best ways to incorporate it into a broader offering. Mobile’s ascent to market dominance has been one of our industry’s fastest shifts to date. According to eMarketer’s research, published in Direct Response Tactics Take Majority of US Marketers: “In 2014, mobile advertising spend versus desktop reached an all-time high of 41 percent of all US digital advertising spend.” ComScore’s 2015 US Digital Future in Focus... [...]

John Boitnott says, “Successful businesses consistently search for new ways to reach customers, not only through new channels of communication, but through the channels they use each day. Google, as one of the top tools used by consumers everywhere, has the attention of almost every brand. If they can find a way to reach Google users through their searches, businesses realize they can increase brand recognition and bring in new customers. Google has worked hard to make sure its paid ads deliver real value to business. This keeps companies paying for the service even when they could get clicks... [...]

John Moyer says, “Native advertising is a type of online advertising that matches the form and function of the platform on which it appears. When content is designed to match the style of the publication, it provides a tremendous boost to your web traffic. When you see a sponsored or featured post on a blog, magazine or newspaper site, the post is most likely an example of native advertising. In addition to sending leads to your website from a trusted and valuable source, native advertising gives you high-quality inbound links to your domain. Inbound links from a high-authority website to... [...]