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In my previous article for WNIP, I wrote about the importance of ad fraud verification and what publishers need to know in order to protect themselves from unscrupulous actors both on the buy and sell-side.
I discussed the imbalance between publishers and advertisers, specifically that publishers are exposed to greater risk. Because of this exposure, many publishers will have installed a third-party security product aimed at limiting this risk.
In this article, I’m going to explain why publishers, especially small to medium-sized publishers with a minimum of 1M page impressions/mth, should consider partnering with smaller digital ad verification companies and not the larger, more established ones. Why? Let’s examine the reasons:
Flexibility
Whilst there are large digital ad verification vendors with superb technology such as WhiteOps, MOAT or DoubleVerify, their level of flexibility is low. What does this mean in reality? Larger vendors will find it harder to allocate tech teams to help small publishers with specific issues. They won’t be able to pause a release in the middle of the week to push an important upgrade to their infrastructure or to their set of logic. Even if they want to have a customized solution, it’s hard to execute. Smaller verification companies, by contrast, will do whatever they can to help their clients and, as a smaller publisher, you will be valued.
Attractive Pricing
Large vendors have deeper pockets to lure new clients to use their solutions. They don’t necessarily use this as a unique selling point but it’s available as a sales tactic. What is the catch? Small to medium-sized publishers can’t ask for a reduced rate on their services – if they do, they will never be prioritized equally to the big companies’ other clients. It’s that simple. Smaller verification companies will offer attractive rates together with excellent service. Their interest will be to grow together with your publishing business. Let them prove to you that they deserve it.
Customer Support
It’s easy to recognize a growing company – they’ll be eager to provide you with the best technology and support. There is a reason why the biggest publishers in the industry always use smaller verification products as a backup solution or as internal products. With all due respect to the big digital ad fraud verification vendors, there is something magical in the way that startups move. Their teams want more. More support, more communication. Better involvement between them and their clients. You can feel it. Your verification company will be proud to be part of your journey. Proud to help you overcome a challenge. Not for the benefit of one PR or another. They want to be there because they believe in their product and solution.
Publisher- Focused Vendors
Every year, over $40 billion dollars are lost due to fraudulent activity. No matter what the verification companies offer to their clients, it’s never enough. More importantly, what most of the digital ad fraud verification companies offer are solutions for advertisers. Not for publishers. If the logic for big verification companies is to protect and prioritize advertisers and exchanges higher than publishers, you should collaborate with smaller vendors who prioritize differently.
To conclude, if you are a small to medium-sized publisher looking for a digital ad fraud verification service, don’t automatically assume big is better. As an ad fraud security expert of many years, I can attest that the reality is rather different.
Yehonatan Reut
Fraud Detection & Digital Marketing Consultant
Yehonatan Reut has a decade’s experience in tackling ad fraud. In 2011, he led the anti-fraud efforts of Matomy Media Group. In 2015 he joined Protected Media, building their customer support team, creating their integration processes, and opening their office in New York. During this time, he worked on nearly all of the various authentication products available. He has worked with Taboola, RevContent, Facebook, SpringSer, Smaato, Escalated.io, and others, and is now one of the leading ad fraud specialists worldwide.
About: Escalated.io is a programmatic ad fraud vendor designed for use within the entire ecosystem from the sell-side to the buy-side. Its range of tools are built for the real-time measurement and blocking of ad fraud to protect ad spend or ad revenue. Escalated.io works with every client to find a solution within its customizable and flexible platform that addresses the need, delivers the result, and saves companies money while providing transparent reporting with actionable insight.
