4 Secrets Behind International Monetization
The Internet is a borderless community where publishers can monetize their international traffic in many ways, provided they do their homework and understand their diverse audience.
The Internet is a borderless community where publishers can monetize their international traffic in many ways, provided they do their homework and understand their diverse audience.
When discussing the next big way for publishers to drive higher monetization, the focus tends to be on capturing mobile and social traffic. While both of these traffic sources are relevant and should not be left off the table, there’s another avenue publishers can take to monetize international traffic.
The Internet is a borderless community, where a site’s local country or region is not the only way to monetize. After your direct buyer relationships, there’s more untapped supply you can use to increase fill and drive revenue.
Here are a few secrets to making the most of your international traffic:
Before you jump into monetizing your international traffic, make sure you do your homework. Rules and regulations differ globally, so verify you are not in violation of local market rules and guidelines. For example, the UK has a very strict cookie law that publishers need to adhere to, or face hefty penalties. Review the steps you need to take to be compliant as you enter new marketplaces to keep in good standing with the powers that be.
A great way for you to connect with buyers seeking global audiences is to use an SSP. They have aggregated global demand and are an easy way for you to start testing your international traffic’s value. Keep in mind that the pricing for international inventory may not be apples to apples with a site’s local country. However, quality standards – high viewability and fraud-free inventory – are key drivers to higher CPMs, fill rates and overall revenue. Of course, the types of ad placements that you run on your site may yield higher results; quality high impact ad placements will most likely get you higher CPMs. This especially holds true, if your content and user base are in demand by global brands.
To help gain entry into a new market, partner with your current publisher monetization platform partner to help drive revenue for your international inventory. Their global footprint in key global markets will bring validity to your international traffic, evoke trust and open the door to a new market. Partnering with your publisher monetization platform also alleviates the stress of maneuvering day-to-day business transactions.
It’s important to understand the geographic locations of your site visitors and take note of the four or five other countries that send visitors to your site. Share this information with your partners, both SSPs and publisher-monetization platforms, to ensure that they serve ads to relevant international audiences and do the appropriate demand outreach. Relevant, targeted ads should drive better performance and ultimately higher CPMs.
Monetizing your international traffic may bring you additional revenue that you would have otherwise left on the table, but some legwork needs to be done. Make sure you closely study where your main traffic sources originate and review what marketplace hurdles you may have to conquer. From there, work with a knowledgeable SSP to start running some tests with your inventory. Once you see what types of success you have, continue to study the market to see if it’s worth hiring a third-party to help solidify your presence in the region.
Homepage image via Shutterstock.