Ask.com to launch contextual ad platform

Move over simple search, Ask.com is getting ready to launch a new advertising platform for contextual ads. The platform is expected to launch in mid-May.

by Kristina Knight

According to reports, the contextual ad product will be an addition to the current Ask Sponsored Listings platform. Advertisers already on board with ASL will be automatically added to the contextual project. They can decline the addition if wanted. The platform will include a customized ad display and give marketers the option of choosing where the ads will be shown according to relevancy or price. Advertisers will also have reporting tools and referrer blocking.

Unlike the contextual platforms currently offered by Yahoo and Google, the Ask.com contextual platform will allow publishers to set "page yield thresholds" and "relevancy thresholds".

Behaviorally targeting users and then showing ads both in context has been shown to increase advertisers return on investment. For example, coordinating an ad for cooking supplies with search results from a search on celebrity chefs. However, showing ads out of context has also been shown to increase conversions for direct marketers. In either case, it appears that contextually relevant ads have a better chance of appealing to users than random ads that simply pop up on a webpage.

The platform will debut with other IAC properties such as TicketMaster.com, Match.com and Evite before rolling out to non-IAC-owned sites.