In the past decade, the increasing usage of artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the way business owners, marketers, and publishers generate income. AI and its application, machine learning (ML), are being used to drive more effective marketing campaigns, power automated customer service systems, and, most importantly, generate more advertising revenue for publishers. As AI continues to become more accessible and powerful, it presents great opportunities for publishers to maximize their ad revenue.
What is AI in the Context of Ad Revenue?
AI can be broadly defined as a machine’s ability to perform tasks that are typically reserved for human thought. To do this, AI relies on algorithms—special programmed instructions that are used to compute data and reach desired outcomes. Machine learning, a subset of AI, is defined as a computer’s ability to “learn” complex patterns without being explicitly programmed to do so. ML algorithms consume massive amounts of data and are designed to determine relationships between that data. This is significant because these algorithms can be used to easily detect which ads attract the most viewers, how ads need to be targeted in order to boost click-through rates, and much more.
How Will AI Change the Way Publishers Make Ad Revenue?
Publishers have long faced the challenge of getting the best return on ad spend. As user attention-spans continue to shrink, advertisers are now more focused on ensuring their ads are highly targeted, so they can reach the right customers. AI can greatly improve the way publishers make ad revenue by providing better targeting capabilities, optimal ad placement, and deeper insights into how an audience is engaging with ads.
Better Targeting Capabilities
AI can be used to improve targeting capabilities by detecting different customer segments, analyzing customer purchase behaviors, and understanding customer preferences more accurately. AI-powered customer segmentation technology can automatically divide customers into relevant segments based on their past behaviors. This allows publishers to deliver more relevant, personalized advertisements to their customers, increasing the chance of a potential conversion.
Optimal Ad Placement
Publishers can use AI to determine the most effective placement for ads across their webpages. AI algorithms look for patterns or correlations between the placement of ads and the performance of those ads to determine the best spot for ad placement. This ensures that ads are placed on the most valuable real estate, maximizing click-through rates, views, and conversion rates.
Deeper Insights into Audience Engagement
AI can be used to measure the effectiveness of ads by providing deep insights into how customers are engaging with the ad. AI algorithms can analyze customer behaviors to understand which ads are generating the most clicks and conversions. With AI, publishers can measure the effectiveness of their ad campaigns in real-time and make adjustments if necessary to maximize revenue.
What are the Potential Benefits and Drawbacks of Using AI in Ad Revenue?
AI technology can provide a number of benefits to publishers as they work to maximize their ad revenue. AI can save publishers significant amounts of time, money, and effort as it automates ad optimization tasks; provides better customer segmentation capabilities; and provides deeper insights into how an audience is engaging with an ad. Additionally, AI can improve targeting accuracy by detecting different customer segments, analyzing customer purchase behaviors, and understanding customer preferences more accurately.
However, there are also a few drawbacks to using AI in ad revenue. AI algorithms require massive amounts of data to “learn” how to reach the desired outcomes and this can be costly for publishers. Additionally, AI algorithms are difficult to audit, which can lead to issues of bias in the results. Lastly, AI can lead to a decrease in ad rates as automated systems become more prevalent.
Conclusion
As AI continues to become more accessible and powerful, it provides a wealth of opportunities for publishers to maximize their ad revenues. AI can be used to improve targeting capabilities, optimize ad placement, and provide deeper insights into an audience’s engagement with the ad. However, publishers should be aware of the potential drawbacks of using AI in ad revenue and understand that AI algorithms require a significant investment of time and money to achieve the desired outcomes.
References
Rodrigues, A. (2019). Using AI to increase Ad Revenue: Benefits, Challenges and Best Practices. Retrieved from: https://www.martechadvisor.com/articles/ad-investment/using-ai-to-increase-ad-revenue-benefits-challenges-and-best-practices/
Perkins, K. (2018). How AI Is Really Being Used in AdTech. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/youbrandinc/2018/09/18/how-ai-structures-are-really-being-used-in-adtech/#3125c3b5536c