IAB hopes to help marketers cut down on buying errors

Buying ads anywhere can be confusing; buying ads on the Internet is perhaps the most confusing ad space, however. Why? Because many marketers don't understand what the different sites and ad networks are really offering.

by Kristina Knight

The Interactive Advertising Bureau has released a set of best practices to help marketers with the online media buying process and - hopefully - cut down on mistakes made and misunderstandings between marketers and networks.

“The research that we’ve conducted with publishers and third-party ad servers has led us to conclude that strong internal controls related to campaign setup and an early review of counts will significantly reduce occurrences of large counting discrepancies,” said George Ivie, Executive Director of the Media Rating Council (MRC).

Here are the key results from the joint study between the IAB and several advertising agencies.

First, they recommend that advertising agencies and networks clear up the ambiguous language in contracts. Rather that explaining in obtuse language, the council recommends using simple language that advertisers and publishers can understand and that can be placed in an ad server.

Next, set up billing information that is clear and concise. Tell marketers and businesses exactly when they can expect to be billed for search ads, for display ads and how those bills will be sent.

Finally, don't skimp on the explanations. The survey indicated that many businesses don't understand what they are getting from a media buy because they don't understand the differences between a simple display ad purchase and a rich media ad purchase.

By offering more information to businesses interested in online advertising, ad networks and agencies can better ensure a top ROI on the campaign and can build loyal working relationship between agencies and advertisers.