Saturday 23 June 2018

Google Display Network vs. Demand Side Platform

Marketers have lots of choices when it comes to display media, however, the primary choice for many people who are engaged in Search Engine Marketing and looking to increase display reach is the Google Display Network. But there are pros and cons of using the GDN instead of employing a DSP and the best decision is not obvious. Here are the primary factors to consider when choosing GDN, DSP or both.

Budget – If you aren’t spending over 100k a month, the reasons to consider a DSP are less compelling because you probably can get all the reach, targeting and ad diversity you need from within the GDN.

Banner Testing – Custom ads cost money to create. The GDN and some DSP facilitate Dynamic ad creation within their ad servers using templates. In addition, some DSP integrate with a DCO (Dynamic Creative Optimization) platform such as Flashtalking or Spongecell to allow for creative to be dynamically created from feeds or other data sources. Google GDN serves text centric ads using Adwords account data and ad groups, but it also has a responsive ad creation tool for the GDN. One can include images, and it can be effective.

Reporting – When you stay within the Google technology stack, centralized reporting is much easier to implement and manage.

Ease of use – The GDN looks and feels almost like Adwords, making it easier for agency or in-house staff to use it without additional training.

Budget Fluidity – If budgets are being moved around based on results or changes in target KPIs, it’s often easier to do so within one platform.
Reach – While GDN has good reach, DSPs now have that reach plus more – so if you’re doing retargeting or need to reach a niche audience, a DSP can often find more of the audience you’re looking for. DSP have inventory from AdX (the DoubleClick Ad Exchange) plus other exchanges/SSPs (Supply side Platform) such as PulsePoint, OpenX, AppNexus, Sonobi, Rubicon, PubMatic and others. In addition, there is an option of doing PMP (Programmatic private marketplace) where there is a direct publisher-to-advertiser relationship and programmatic direct with specific publishers.

CPC vs. CPM preferences – The GDN gives you a choice as to How to pay. But even though you will be invoiced on a CPC basis, the yield management algorithms inside the GDN are calculating an effective predictive CPM when deciding where, and how often, to serve your ad. Nearly all inventory purchased through DSPs is made available for real-time bidding on a CPM exchange, including Google and others.

Data Partnerships – Google gives you access to many audience types, including retargeted audiences and demographic, contextual and interest based targeting. Similarly, DSPs often have data partnerships with a broad set of partners and can facilitate the use of that data not only for targeting but also to influence the bids on inventory/impressions. DSPs have inventory from AdX plus other exchanges, including AppNexus, Rubicon and PubMatic along with PMP partnerships and programmatic direct.

Integration with a DMP (Data Management Provider) – Data is a byproduct of programmatic media and marketing in general. Larger marketers use DMPs to collect, unify and activate data. This allows them to identify and target the right audiences. DMPs can also be used in conjunction with a DCO platform to personalize ads to segments of the audience. This personalization can even be based on recent experiences or engagements you’ve had with others.

Some advertisers and agencies use a DSP and GDN at the same time, but one must be cautious when doing this. If you based your bids on the same audience, the result may be that you’ll end up bidding against yourself because inventory in AdX is bid on by your DSP and Google GDN simultaneously. If you need to use both your DSP and GDN to accomplish your marketing objectives, make sure you use different ad creative and perhaps a different landing page user experience.

No comments: