Choosing the right advertising network is an important step in running successful display advertising campaigns. This article is will show you 5 of the best ways through which you as a business-minded person can choose an advertising network that perfectly suits your organisation’s goals. By following the step below in a holistic manner you will know what you want from an advertising network, make better decisions and ultimately run better display advertising campaigns.

One of the main benefits of programmatic advertising is its automation. While you can still buy ads for a preset price, the vast majority of programmatic ad prices are determined on the spot, sold at auction for the value of the ad spot right at that moment. This means that at the time you buy the ad, you’re paying what it’s worth. Not only that, but automation means that instead of having to manage your ad spots, an automatic system manages them for you, freeing you up to do what you really want.

So if decisions like where the ad displays and what your minute-to-minute marketing decision-making should look like, does it really matter what ad network you use? Aren’t all automated advertising systems the same? Well, not really.

1. Who is Your Target Audience?

It is essential to choose an advertising network that has the reach you require. However, if your audience is located in a specific geographical region then choose an advertising network that specializes in that region.
When defining your target audience build different buyer personas to identify the different types of people you want to reach with your display ads.  There are two main types of population within display advertising namely; the general population and the niche or specific population. 
All that each of these means is that you can either reach some specific people with a particular ad network or you can also choose to go with an ad network that allows you to reach anybody with your display advertising. When you know the target range of a particular network, you can then compare it with the people that you want to reach in order to choose the one that helps you fulfill your desires.

2. Fill Rate is Important

If you simply take out ad spots unthinkingly, your ads may display to people who don’t care about your product. Instead, do a little research using Analytics and find out where most of your customers or potential audience hail from. Then choose a mobile ad network that has a good fill rate, or ad delivery percentage, in that area. This maximizes the chances that your ads will be successfully displayed to the people who care about them.

3. Weigh-up the Positives and Negatives

This is the next step to take when choosing a display ad network. Since there are a lot of display ad networks available, it is very important that you look at what each of these display adverting networks offer you before commit to one. Opting for a particular ad network means that you have entered into a partnership with them and in terms of business dealings, it is always vital that you know your partner very well.

4. Ad Type Affects User Experience

Spammy popups that interrupt the intended purpose tends to put the consumer off. Instead, consider mobile ad networks that offer native advertising, which embeds the ad inside the user experience. Think sponsored posts on Facebook: It’s an ad without feeling like an ad, and therefore has a much better chance of retaining the user.

5. Pricing Structure

When choosing an advertising network you should be familiar with the pricing structure of that particular network. You should not only take into consideration the pricing model, but the differences in pricing between different networks. The cost of running a campaign via a network will depend greatly on the network itself. Expect to pay more for networks that have access to premium spaces on premium websites, however, you might also profit more from using such networks.

6. Re-targeting Ability is Key

This means keeping track of browsing that hasn’t yet resulted in conversion (i.e. a search for “plane flights to Majorca” without an actual ticket bought), and serving that ad back to the customer across devices. If you aren’t a major player with a login ID, you may lose your ability to re-target when consumers switch devices, so instead you’ll have to ride the coattails of a big name.
Google, for instance, offers AdMob, so if you choose that as your ad network you’ll have access to their re-targeting capabilities. If you choose not to take that route, the second-best bet is to find a mobile ad network that parses ad data points to try and determine patterns about what advertisements are likeliest to appeal to particular customers.

7. User Experience

This deals with the operating of your display advertising account that you have on a particular ad networking site and your user experience. There are ad networks that help you with all that you need in relation to optimizing your account for you and there are also those that leave everything in your hands. Therefore, it is up to you to decide whether you feel you need to work with a network that offers a high level or support or not. However, bear in mind that such service comes at a cost.

8. Network Features

This is one major thing that you should also take note of before choosing an ad network as each of the various ad networks offer different features. Ad networks like Google AdWords, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads and many others have their own unique tools that they offer to a particular user and it depends on you the individual to pick that one that helps you to achieve your targets.

These are the steps that you can follow in choosing an ad network to partner with in your line of business. Equipping yourself with this vital piece of information will help you to make an informed decision with regards to picking a display advertising network that gives you all that you need to make your business a success.

9. Go Mobile

Mobile ad networks offer you – the ad buyer – various options when it comes to basic use. Perhaps you dig running massive ad campaigns with multiple prongs, in which case you’ll want a mobile ad network that supports a lot of functionality. If instead you wanted one basic ad that worked seamlessly no matter what, you might opt for a simple SDK (software development kit). While your mobile ad network options are almost endless, your choice will largely depend on your goals and how you like to interact with technology.

Final Thoughts: Research is Key

The key to choosing the right advertising network is to do your research. You should research your own business needs as well as the advertising networks themselves and keep the following things in mind:

• Define your target audience and identify they networks that will reach them;
• List the positives and negatives of each network to find the one the fits your needs;
• Get familiar with advertising network price structure to find one that will enable you to reach your business goals;
• Try out different networks, if possible, or research the user experience of different networks;