CEO Insight: What is “entity search” and how will this affect the ad landscape?

If you are an industry vet reading this, you may be familiar with entity search and the ongoing discussions taking place in the ad and marketing world.  Many marketers are currently debating about what entity search means for their bottom dollar.  Let’s first take a step back and clearly illustrate what this new search behavior means for the industry. 

 

Entity search removes users from a “keyword-based” search activity and propels us into a new way of ad placement.  The concept resolves language-based ambiguities and creates a database of facts about specific, unique entities such as people, places, businesses, events, etc. 

 

One breakthrough example on the minds of everyone currently is Google’s Knowledge Graph.  In some cases, Knowledge Graph is displacing and even removing traditional display ads, forcing businesses to load their products into Google’s product catalog or enlisting into Google Reviews.  With Google’s Knowledge Graph search results pages will look fundamentally different from keyword-based search results, which we’ll delve into more detail on in a forthcoming post when we explore how to properly utilize Google’s Ad Sense as search changes. 

 

For now, entity search offerings are focusing less on keywords and more on intent-based or collective intelligence.  The real estate is different and understanding the way entity search affect online visibility is critical for this industry. 

 

We can’t just sit back and watch the evolution of search happening in front of us, we have to be able to identify these trends and explore ways to make content commercially viable.  To help marketers adapt to the entity search landscape they must first identify the new opportunities, and also stay focused on branding in order to reap the benefits of the SEO that comes with it. 

 

Tune in for our next piece where we’ll explain if Google’s Ad Sense is still the right solution for marketers.

 

Recommended reading – http://www.searchenginejournal.com/getting-your-site-ready-for-the-knowledge-graph/65950/ 

6 Tips To A Successful Holiday Campaign! By, NTENT

What’s Facebook Missing? #SemanticSearch

 

As many Facebook users were surprised to discover, the social networking giant recently integrated hashtags—popularized by competitor Twitter—into their interface in an effort to help aggregate conversations.  As has become the norm on Twitter, the hashtag feature allows Facebook users to follow conversations about a specific topic across the entire social network (as opposed to just their friend network), and communicate with other users whom they never would’ve been able to connect with otherwise.  From the marketers’ perspective, hashtags allow brands to extend their reach beyond their current network as they can not only tap into existing conversations, but also use hashtags to start new conversations around a specific campaign and encourage brand fans and followers to join in.  For example, a major event like the Super Bowl will have its conversation aggregated into a specific tag (e.g., #SuperBowlXLVII).  Theoretically, Facebook could sell that hashtag conversation page to advertisers to create a branded experience, although Facebook has not released an official statement on this topic.

 

Despite the momentum with hashtags, Facebook still has room for improvement before its new features reach their full potential.  Searches based on single keywords are arguably outdated, and will not serve as a long term strategy.  Contrarily, Facebook’s Graph Search is powered by much more comprehensive and effective semantic technology; hashtags will become truly powerful when they are integrated into the Graph feature.  How?  Graph search allows marketers to learn more about the common likes and interests of Facebook users.  Incorporating hashtags would allow these marketers to tap into the conversations that these users are having about their shared likes and interests.  As a result, they would be able to create highly targeted micro-campaigns. 

 

 

As leaders in the search technology space, we’re looking forward to how social networks like Facebook utilize semantic technology to reach hashtags’ full potential.

 

 

For more information, read CEO Colin Jeavons’ latest piece in Media Post, available here.  

NTENT Continues to Uphold Best Practices to Combat Piracy and Counterfeiting in Accordance with White House Push for Voluntary Industry Action

NTENT is highly committed to the integrity of e-commerce and has joined the White House and advertising industry leaders in adopting new voluntary codes to address counterfeiting and online piracy.

Our services are compliant with the Best Practices Guidelines for Ad Networks to Address Piracy and Counterfeiting, deepening our longstanding focus on quality.

In addition to implementing these industry codes, NTENT has always gone to great lengths to proactively combat any potential fraud on our advertising network. We combine human intelligence with technology to ensure that content and traffic is legitimate and each and every publisher we work with must pass our SIP process.  We scrutinize every application to join our advertising network and, in fact, have rejected nearly 25% of the submissions we have received.

Also, every one of our advertisements are screened via our risk model which significantly decreases the probability of counterfeit goods being exchanged through our platform.

To read more about our efforts, or to contact us about any suspicious products or content on our network that you may think are pirated or counterfeit, please check here.  

 

 

CEO Insight: NTENT Breaks Into Auto Space

We are thrilled to announce the expansion of the NTENT network, launching our first-ever automotive vertical content network.  In order to kick off this new offering, we’ve aligned with leading media and merchandising company, Source Interlink, which focuses on the automotive, action sports, and other niche enthusiast audiences.

 

“Our attention is always focused on our audience and their needs. By partnering with NTENT, we can support our content with complementary ads based on our site user’s interests, providing a seamless and robust online experience,” said Eric Schwab, EVP Sales and Marketing of Source Interlink.”

 

The auto industry is alive and thriving with more than $11.9 billion spent on paid search in 2012, according to Borrell Associates.  We are looking forward to opening up new avenues for advertisers to more effectively reach consumers on industry leading sites including Automobile.com, Automotive.com, MotorTrend.com, and even more focused outlets such as the Street Rod Channel Performance Channel, Tuner Channel, In-Market Channel, and more starting this month.

 

Our mission is to provide more valuable, more accurate search and ad targeting to people seeking information, knowledge, products or services within their area of interest. We are continuously working with our partners to improve their customers’ experience, and the inclusion of the automotive vertical into NTENT demonstrates our commitment to those core principles. Through NTENT, we’ve seen our customer’s double traffic to their website and in some cases reduce their cost per acquisition by over 61%.

 

NTENT powers an enhanced user experience by better matching ads to the surrounding content and context of each site we work with.Our goal is to maximize ad appeal and provide our partners with new revenue streams from paid search advertising utilizing our proprietary semantic technology, all while keeping the customer experience as seamless and dynamic as possible.

 

The Vertical Content Network can even add auto to fields already served such as – entertainment, family, home, garden, wedding, and woodworking – and by growing our network into the flourishing automotive market, NTENT now reaches over a billions monthly pageviews, and counting!

 

For more information, please take a look at the full press release here: http://bit.ly/149yCUD

 

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more exciting news from NTENT.

 

-          Colin

Digital Revolution 2.0: Q&A With NTENT’s CEO Colin Jeavons

Q&A With NTENT’s CEO Colin Jeavons:  Digital Revolution 2.0

KR: Everyday the media is buzzing about a new advertising or search technology. It’s almost as if a “Digital Revolution 2.0” is happening. Do you agree with that?

 

 

CJ: In a world that is becoming faster and faster paced with each passing day, it is increasingly imperative that we innovate new technologies that streamline everyday processes to save consumers time.

 

 

KR: How is NTENT rising to the challenge of this ever changing digital landscape?

 

 

CJ: By making search results more efficient and optimized, NTENT’s semantic technology does just that: fewer irrelevant blue links to click through, and more relevant initial results.  When you ask a semantic engine a question, it gives you a straight answer — not an infinite list of multiple-choice options.  It allows you to find exactly what you are looking for, exactly when you need it…not after five minutes of tedious clicking. 

 

KR:  What challenges do marketers face in newly evolving world of online advertising?

 

 

CJ:  As the consumer experience is made more efficient, advertisers and marketers must work to ensure that their content is reaching its desired audience more than ever before, as the negative consequences associated with each misplaced advertisement are amplified by today’s unforgivable and fast-paced, digital environment. Fortunately, semantic search technology affords these marketers and advertisers a means through which to do so. 

 

KR: How does semantic search differ from traditional search in helping marketers create a more relevant and meaningful advertising experience?

 

 

CJ: Traditional search engines merely search the web for particular keywords, semantic search engines read all of the content on the web, which helps contextualize a consumer’s query, helping them achieve more relevant responses.  This same concept applies to content placement.  Whereas the current standard leaves marketers and content creators with countless misplaced advertisements, semantic technology’s holistic web analysis will display content to consumers who will actually be interested in seeing it, raising the click-through rate of each advertisement substantially. 

 

 

KR: Could you argue that part of the “digital revolution 2.0” is being driven by a “semantic technology evolution” to some degree?

 

 

CJ:  It’s certainly part of it. With the aggregation of these concepts and processes, we will see exponential improvement and growth in the digital marketplace in the coming years. In fact, we are already seeing this phenomenon: Google’s Knowledge Graph and Facebook Graph Search. Its race to build the most robust semantic search engine but that takes time. This is why the original semantic search pioneers are ahead of the game (but that’s another topic). As our technology is tied to this market, its continued success will translate to equally as great success in business and innovation for NTENT, which will in turn be passed onto the consumer. It’s about giving delivering more accurate and more valuable results to consumers faster.

Combat Click Fraud with this Checklist

 

The advertising trades have been buzzing with articles and debates about click fraud as consumers, advertisers and publishers have fine-tuned their ability to identify botnet traffic.  The topics of ad impressions, brand safety and “real” human conversions are resurfacing to bring traffic security to the forefront – and we’re glad it’s in the spotlight.  The seedy underbelly of the internet is alive and well as evident by the fact that Security researchers at Spider.Io found that a botnet called “Chameleon” had infected over 120,000 desktops in the U.S. and could net over U.S. $6 million in a single month! On the other hand you will find publisher sites with fifteen ads on one page and they are sure to count each as an impression that is charged back to the advertisers. Sound familiar?

 

 

The good news is that the rebirth of the click fraud discussion has given way to new quality assurance strategies. There are some advertisers, publishers and technology providers that are joining forces to combat the dark side of the web by choosing to take the high road and develop processes to ensure the quality of traffic is upheld and brands are secure.

 

 

We’ve developed a checklist to help our advertisers make smarter choices when it comes to where they place their ads:

 

 

• What sites is the ad network comprised of? Is there a mix of top quality and niche sites?



• Do they have standards in place before allowing sites to join their network?



• What process do ad networks use to scrub traffic? Do they have an on-site ad ops team?



• What is the contingency plan if bad traffic is detected?



• Is the network a participating member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau or the Network Advertising Initiative?



• Is the network vertically aligned so I can target to be industry specific or is the only option to advertise across the network?



• Does the network have reporting available and accessible to me?



• What transparency do I have into site refers?



• What technology do they use to target my ads?



• Does the network have examples of where their current ad inventory is running?



• Can I talk to a person if I need support?



 

 

As Click fraud remains a nettlesome problem for advertisers, employing due diligence and the right strategy to mitigate the risks will help protect campaigns. At NTENT, we’ve instated our Security Integrity Process to combat click fraud and to uphold our commitment to the content creators, advertisers and consumers. 

5 Point Checklist to Conduct a Campaign Health Check Up

Summer time is officially here and that means we are already half-way through the year. Now is the perfect time to give your paid search campaigns a checkup. You most likely created a plan at the beginning of the year, but have you stuck with it? We’ve pulled together a 5 point checkup program that will help you diagnose the health of your campaigns. Once you’ve done your assessment you can implement a strategy that will ensure that your campaigns are in tip top shape to drive conversions and stay ahead of the competition.

 

1) Audience Assessment

Are you positioning your products for your target audience? Who is your target? What benefits or utility does your product provide them? What are their passion points?

Knowing who you are trying to reach is the essential starting point for writing ad copy and selecting images. Once you have identified who your target consumer is, create a profile to understand their interests, passion points and online behaviors. Then, you can figure out the best way to create ads that connect with your target consumers.

2) Consumer Connections

Are you connecting with consumers? Connecting with consumers is the key to getting them through the front door and to getting them to come back for more. This process begins with your ad copy. The consumer profile you create during the audience assessment phase will help you figure out the best way to create copy that results in stronger consumer connections.

What do we suggest?

Create a list of benefits and adjectives that describe your product. Then, create a list of what consumers would look for if they were searching for your product.

Next, create a table segmented by themes that appeals to your consumers. For example:

Deadline (24 hour sales)

Emotional (Something Special for Mom)

Promotional (Save 10%)

Extreme (Lowest Rates Available)

In addition, you will want to make sure that your ads are targeted on relevant sites.

3) Campaign Goals & Conversions

What is the goal of your campaign? Do you want to drive traffic to your site? Push a purchase of a product? Increase membership sign ups? Want consumers to read or watch something?

The copy of your ads should always relate to the specific goal of your campaign. For example, if you want consumers to buy your product, your ad copy should be product specific and highlight any sales associated with it.

4) Competitive Insights

What are your competitors up to? Competitor research is essential to developing a sound strategy for your marketing campaign and it should be conducted multiple times throughout the year. Start by doing a quick search of your competitors. Make a note of the language they are using in their ads and their promotions. You can take it a step further by creating a SWOT analysis. Once you’ve done that, create a few variations of your ad copy: one that is drastically different from the competition and the other that falls in line with the competition.

5) Effective Landing Pages

Are your landing pages effective? Ads are the entry point to your business and landing pages are the front door. If your ads are being clicked but your conversions are low, you might have a bigger problem; our guess is that your landing pages need a tune up.

There are a few basic rules that apply to building effective landing pages:

1. Messaging should match your ad copy


2. Call to action should be clearly stated


3. Don’t clutter the page


4. Use directional queues to drive action


5. Give users a way to explore more on your site if they want

The first step to diagnosing the health of your ad campaigns is to start with a check-up. So, pull out your pen, pull up your ad campaigns, landing pages and your metrics to get started with this 5 point checklist. Once you've completed your assessment and made your diagnosis you can start to optimize your campaigns and tweak your strategy. Conducting this check up on a monthly basis is the key to maintaining good ad hygiene (plus you’ll be ahead of the game for the upcoming holidays).