The impact of website traffic quality on marketing ROI
Recently a story made headlines that provided a real-life lesson on the importance of marketers verifying their digital media buys
This example highlights a broader issue in the industry, which is why it is essential for marketers to have independent assurance that the sites they advertise on have taken steps to ensure the traffic they deliver is human.
Here we look at what marketers need to know about the quality of website traffic and why it’s important to select media partners that participate in third-party audits.
Traffic sourcing 101
Traffic sourcing is any method by which publishers acquire visitors through third parties. For simplicity, let’s separate “traffic sourcing” into two types: legitimate marketing activity and illegitimate traffic sourcing.
Legitimate marketing activities include posting articles on social media, buying sponsored social posts or display ads, sending an e-mail newsletter or running a contest. These are legitimate audience acquisition methods that attract people who might be interested in the content and advertisements provided on the sites.
Illegitimate traffic sourcing occurs when a publisher pays a traffic supplier for a fixed number of visits to their website, often at the end of the month or quarter to fulfill a campaign. The problem with this type of sourcing is that the traffic is likely robotic. The publisher might not know that this traffic is robotic because it may appear human in their web analytics, ad serving or fraud detection reports. It might also appear to be human traffic in the advertiser’s fraud detection reports.
When a publisher purchases traffic, it may look legitimate, but bots can’t produce meaningful conversions such as making purchases or requesting more information. When ads are shown to bots, marketers are wasting money that could be better spent with a publisher that provides a valid human audience that can deliver meaningful engagement.
How to get more confidence in traffic quality
There are steps marketers can take to ensure their ads are shown in quality advertising environments. Fraud detection software is a great step, but since software only addresses the problem from an ad delivery perspective, another layer of protection is needed to minimize risk.
A third-party digital publisher audit adds friction by addressing fraud risk at the publisher level. During the process, auditors take a deep dive into a publisher’s records, processes and data to determine whether the traffic to the publisher’s website is valid and that the organization is adhering to industry standards and best practices. As a result, marketers can prioritize audited publishers in direct buys or in programmatic channels through inclusion lists.
Partnering with publishers that have demonstrated that they have a solid system in place to minimize fraud risk helps marketers increase the chance their ads will be seen by humans and make the most of their media investment.
Next steps: what marketers can do
Integrating audited media into your media plan is simple. Here are some tips to get started:
1.) Determine what partners you want audited: Make a list of media partners you want audited or use the AAM Audited Domain list to find websites that already participate.
2.) Ask for audits: If you advertise with a publisher that isn’t audited, ask them to have an audit. Not only do audits benefit marketers, but publishers receive valuable insights from auditors who can help them optimize their web analytics so that business decisions are based on accurate information.
3.) Direct your investment toward audited sites: Invest in audited digital publishers. Not only will you signal your commitment to partnering with sites that offer greater transparency, but you will maximize your marketing budget by giving your campaigns the greatest chance to reach humans and achieve positive results.