Taboola is one of the largest native advertising traffic sources out there. In recent times, the founder of Taboola, Adam, has revealed some interesting developments in the company. After the initial bad news that around 6% of the workforce had been let go, Adam talked about some great news. Taboola is entering into a new collaboration with companies like BuzzFeed, HuffPost, and, most importantly, Yahoo. So, what does this mean to advertisers who rely on Taboola for their ongoing marketing campaigns? Read ahead to find out.
How the Partnership Will Play Out
Taboola is an Israel-based company, and its founder and CEO is Adam. Sometime in September, the company laid off around 100 employees and continues running with nearly 2,000 people. The main objective here is to lower their operating costs by close to US$38 million. Though this development came with a low-key announcement, Taboola also entered into a partnership with BuzzFeed. Taboola and BuzzFeed are an excellent fit for native advertising, and soon, BuzzFeed will implement an ad feed on its pages. Similar deals will also result in users seeing more Taboola ads on platforms like Yahoo and HuffPost.
What this Partnership Means to Advertisers
From the advertiser's perspective, this is great, because you get access to a broader audience and traffic source. You’ll reach more people from a single platform since these websites are top-ranking with impressive organic traffic. With just a few tweaks, you should be able to squeeze out the most performance from your campaigns. You can also figure out ad placements for products, which may work very well on specific platforms only. Having more publishing platforms also adds flexibility to your advertising strategies because you can play around with different options.
Buzzfeed is Ideal for Native Ad Campaigns
BuzzFeed is an excellent platform for native ad placements. If you check the BuzzFeed website, you’ll notice that almost every article resembles a native ad feed. Or, even a content arbitrage article. The approach displays several click-bait headers that entice readers to click and read more. Browsing the pages on BuzzFeed gives you an in-depth overview of how native advertising works. You’ll also get ideas for designing compelling headlines that readers would want to click on. Then there are enticing split-frame images, portrait images, landscaping images, and much more. Listicles are yet another effective approach that generates lots of clicks and is super relevant in Q4.
Yahoo Has the Desired Demographic for Targeting
Having a more extensive reach is critical for the success of platforms like Taboola. This reach makes it an attractive proposition for advertisers and brand owners. The new, long-term partnership with Yahoo could prove to be a strategic move spanning at least three decades. Yahoo has an excellent audience that is ideal for targeting with native ads. The typical demographic here is from the older age groups, which is something you want for running native ads.
Taboola Gets Investment in Exchange for a Platform
Word has it that Yahoo has invested in 25% of Taboola shares and signed an exclusive partnership. According to the agreement, Taboola ad feeds will now run on every Yahoo premium publisher site. This is a win-win situation for both platforms. An added factor is that this digital partnership will run for a minimum of 30 years, which is quite unusual. But, it also indicates that the companies are super confident about their decision.
Taboola is, undoubtedly, one of the top players in the world of native advertising, along with Outbrain. However, they can’t compare with internet giants like Google or Facebook. Taboola needs significant investment if it can hope to compete with big traffic sources like Facebook, TikTok, or Google. Further, these giants have advanced algorithms, unlike Taboola.
Native Ads are the Obvious Solution for Anti-Cookie Policies
The interesting factor is that the collaboration between Taboola and Yahoo might just provide the ideal solution for the new cookie-less world. The latest iOS14 tracking issue is possibly only the first of many others likely to emerge in the coming years. Taboola is essentially an open web, unlike Facebook and Instagram, that run on applications on user mobile phones. This factor could work out to an advantage because the ads can continue to perform even with cookie-less tracking strategies.
More Anit-Tracking Rules Coming Up Soon
In the near future, more companies might release anti-tracking policies similar to Apple. Since the iOS14 update, ad performances on platforms like Facebook have, undoubtedly, taken a huge hit. Several advertisers have been unable to match up their traffic to the time before the update. With this collaboration, Taboola might have ideated a long-term solution to get traffic even if cookies are no longer permitted. Not to mention, the company has acquired crucial funding to remain competitive against giants like Google. Let’s not forget they are now equipped to compete with competing native ad players like Outbrain.
Watch this Space!!
Whether you rely on native ads to generate traffic for your company or a digital marketing agency, you’ll stay on top of these developments. To ensure consistent performance and results, keep your finger on the pulse of the industry. A great place to look for updated information is Purple Black. We are a native advertising-only agency developing performance-based campaigns for our clients. Connect with us, and we’d love to provide updates on the world of native ads.
