Yield Optimization

According to Statista, the digital advertising spend amounted to $522.5 billion in 2021 and has been projected to reach $836 billion by 2026. This is the golden period for publishers to capitalize and generate high revenue through monetizing. With effective yield optimization strategies publishers can reap the benefits of this situation.

What is Yield Optimization

Yield Optimization is the practice of using a set of strategies to maximize digital advertising value by increasing ad performance. These strategies help publishers to sell their ad inventory at the highest possible price by displaying ads in the most efficient way. Analyzing elements like ad placement, demand, technologies, advertising techniques, etc., can greatly increase ad performance. This ensures maximum revenue generation for the publisher.

Best practices for yield optimization

• Optimize your site: Test and determine the best-performing ad slot size, layout, position, and ad type to optimize yield. Analyze user behavior while testing the above, by tracking important metrics like bounce rate, CTRs, and average time spent to check user engagement. Optimize your requirements to suit specific device types to ensure better advertising performance. In a nutshell, optimize your site suiting demand and user experience.

  Tip: Position the high-performing ads above the fold to increase yield.

• Follow policies: Stay updated on the publisher policies set by Google and other mediation platforms. Adhere to these policies to update ad sizes, user experience, ad duration, etc., regularly and improve ad performance.

• User Acquisition: Expand your audience base and improve ad performance to optimize yield. By increasing audience reach, you can access a larger pool of potential customers, leading to higher impression volumes and ad opportunities. This drives engagement and overall revenue per impression, hence resulting in higher revenue generation.

• Diversify demand: Tailor your demand partners for individual ad formats for effective yield optimization. Test and choose demand partners, exchanges, ad networks, agencies, or brands. Ensure substantial demand partner participation to increase competition and achieve maximum revenue.

  Tip: Choose a demand partner who can be your tech partner. Understand their specializations, advertising capabilities, targeting technologies, and tools, and see if they suit your needs.

• Understand key metrics: Stay updated on industry acronyms to effectively evaluate ad performance and optimize strategies accordingly. Key metrics like Viewable CPM (vCPM), Cost Per Impression (CPM), Cost Per Action (CPA), Click-through rate (CTR), etc., are important to make crucial decisions that significantly affect advertising value.

Yield management techniques

• Programmatic Deals: Select the appropriate programmatic deal to optimize yield effectively. Programmatic Direct, Preferred deals, Real-Time/Open Auctions, and Private Market Place (PMP) are the various type of deals that publishers can choose from.

  Understand the advantages and disadvantages of each deal to determine the most suitable one(s) for your business needs. By doing so, publishers can maximize their revenue and increase the value of their inventory.

• Bidding Techniques: As a "publishe's crucial to understand the different" bidding techniques in digital advertising to make informed decisions and optimize your yield. Implementing effective bidding techniques can help publishers increase the value of their inventory and generate higher revenue by selling it at optimal prices. Header Bidding, Waterfalling, and Open Bidding or Exchange Bidding Dynamic Allocation (EBDA) are the popular bidding techniques. Test these bidding techniques and determine the one(s) that works best for your business goals.

• Ad Formats: Right ad formats boost ROI by maximizing ad visibility. Experiment with various ad formats to identify the best-performing ones. Among all ad formats, Native ads and Video ads have proven to generate high ROI because of their non-intrusive and engaging experience. Make sure to opt for ad formats that are mobile-friendly.

  Tip: Optimize ad placement for mobile devices by positioning a 300*250 size ad below the fold, as mobile users tend to scroll more.

• Floor Pricing: Floor pricing is a strategy that allows publishers to sell their inventories at an optimal price based on user behavior and demand. Analyzing these data helps publishers optimize pricing strategies. Setting a floor price can ensure that your inventory is not sold at a subpar price, thus maximizing the yield.