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Komli launches first online ad network aggregator
Aided by real-time auctions, Komli.com is setting up an ad network aggregator for small- and medium-sized publishers
With giants like Microsoft completing the aQuantive deal, Google acquiring Double Click and Yahoo buying up Right Media, you can expect a lot of action in the online ad network space.
In order to cash in on this rising tide of online advertising, ad network Komli.com has launched a new initiative called PubMatic.com, an interface between publishers and online ad networks. In other words, it helps publishers manage the inventory of online ads served up from partner ad networks, via a competitive auction route. Currently, PubMatic.com offers four ad networks – Google AdSense, Yahoo! Publisher Network, ValueClick and Komli.
Here’s how it works: A publisher who has subscribed to various ad networks such as Google AdSense or Value Click can create an account with PubMatic.com. After registering, a publisher can create an Ad Tag – a small piece of code that a publisher can use to insert ads on his site. Ad Tag is similar to the HTML code provided by online ad networks, but there’s a difference. The container tag represents all ad networks, which means that ads from various networks start appearing on a publisher’s site.
Amar Goel, founder, PubMatic.com, says the USP of PubMatic.com lies in “its capability to maximise online ad revenue, simplify the process of implementing online ads through online ad networks for publishers, and helping online ad networks to spread their reach across various publishers”.
For the publisher’s space, PubMatic.com conducts an auction in real time among its online ad network partners. But doesn’t providing a platform for other ad networks eat into the revenues of its own ad network? Goel agrees and says, “It is very much possible that PubMatic.com will eat into some of the revenue of Komli.com, but they are looking at a broader perspective by taking care of the interests of publishers.’’
The site will help publishers decide what kind of ads – text, image or videos – can work best for them. However, in the absence of more details about the value-added services, it isn’t clear exactly how PubMatic will differ on this count from other ad networks.
About future plans, Goel adds, “Once out of the alpha version, PubMatic.com will add more online ad networks, more features on reporting, tag management, and tools for communication between publishers and ad networks.”