Three questions to ask a potential ad management partner in 2021

Finding a great ad management partner is all about asking the right questions. You should be working with someone who has your best interests at heart, and who is working to make the future a better place for independent content creators. 

Here are three important questions to ask when looking for an ad partner.

1. How did you do in 2020?

Despite last year’s ups and downs, an ad management partner with a solid foundation should have shown strength in the face of adversity, with increasing year-over-year publisher revenue . While 2020 was a tough test for many companies, it showed who was prepared to weather the storm and who wasn’t. 

A great ad management partner will be able to point to growth, such as bringing on new programmatic partners or expanding their team. They should also be committed to protecting publishers and guarantee that you’ll get paid, absorbing the difference if advertisers come up short. 

2. What are you doing to get ahead of upcoming industry changes?

The ad industry has changed drastically over the last several years, with more tectonic shifts

on the horizon. Your ad manager should be staying ahead of the curve for you, leaving you with more time to focus on your strengths. 

A good ad manager will actively represent your interests in the industry by being part of critical industry groups like: 

• W3C, the international community that develops open web standards
• Interactive Advertising Bureau, the organization responsible for online advertising standards
• Prebid.org, which shapes the leading open-source header bidding wrapper

It’s not enough just to have a seat at the table— look for an ad manager who clearly communicates any news back to you, so you can strengthen your content strategy. You want a partner who can break down technical concepts and trends into actionable insights for your business, giving you a leg up on the competition.

3. Why are you the best partner for my business?

Your potential ad partner should be able to point to strong industry relationships, leading technology, and an expert sales team. They should have impeccable quality standards—for publishers and advertising partners—and a world-class publisher community that commands top dollar from advertisers. 

You’ll want an ad management partner with such a good industry reputation that advertisers are eager to negotiate unique deals, special campaigns, and exclusive access you can’t get anywhere else. 

A great ad manager will also be proactive about optimizing your site all the time, through constant monitoring and personalized layout recommendations. They should innovate with new ad units and placements, giving advertisers a variety of ways to place ads on your site while keeping your readers happy.

Finding the right fit for you

Ultimately, your ad management partner should take care of everything ad-related for you so you never have to worry that you’re missing out on revenue. If they’re doing an excellent job, you won’t even realize all of the moving parts in the background. 

You’ll be free to focus on your business and develop more amazing content, creating a profitable cycle that continually increases your revenue. 

We’d love the opportunity to answer the questions from this post and chat with you about why we think CafeMedia/AdThrive is the best ad manager (we even coined the term back in 2013) for high-quality content creators.